MSDA at WGU without having taken calculus?

[Fab]

I graduated from TESU in 2018 with my BSBA in Accounting. I am interested in the MS in Data Analytics program at WGU. I was told by the enrollment counselor that I would need to have taken at least calculus one and two to succeed in the program. I was told differently by some people that have completed the program. So I figured I would ask here. What has your experience been with this program if you are in it or have completed it? Do you think I need calculus to be successful with it? Thanks in advance.

[MNomadic]

Admission requirements unique to this degree.

To be considered for enrollment in this program, you must:
1. Possess a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field, Business degree (Quantitative Analysis, Accounting, Economics, Finance, or degree with similar quantitative focus). 
OR
2. Possess any bachelor’s degree PLUS one of the following:

• Two years of related work experience
  
• Relevant and current IT certification
  
• Related IT coursework 
  

Admission requirements 
So the WGU page for that program makes no mention of calc 1 & 2 being required and even says that an accounting degree is acceptable for admission. It never hurts to brush up on or learn calculus and if you wanted, you could look into taking calc through SL or SDC to better prepare. Good luck!

[jch]

Here are some options for calculus I courses and, if necessary, credits:
ASU EA offers precalculus and calculus 1 in self-paced and scheduled asynchronous formats if you'd like to take a course. Free to audit, and $425 for credit ($400 is only paid after passing) if you end up needing it. https://ea.asu.edu/

Another option is the free calculus CLEP course at modernstates: https://modernstates.org/course/calculus/

[ss20ts]

Straighterline has calc 1 & 2. I would think this requirement would be on the website. At least, I hope it would!

[AwardTour]

I graduated from TESU in 2018 with my BSBA in Accounting. I am interested in the MS in Data Analytics program at WGU. I was told by the enrollment counselor that I would need to have taken at least calculus one and two to succeed in the program. I was told differently by some people that have completed the program. So I figured I would ask here. What has your experience been with this program if you are in it or have completed it? Do you think I need calculus to be successful with it? Thanks in advance.

I haven't spoken to anyone at WGU since the MSDA program was changed in November of 2020. I actually spoke to them right before it changed. I was told their primary concern for non-STEM undergrads is their ability to program (write code). This is due to the amount of Python and R in the MSDA program. Before the SAS certs were removed I was told a SAS cert would be enough for me to be admitted into the MSDA program. 

Calculus is not covered directly in the MSDA program. The closest you will get are some topics in "Advanced Data Analytics" which would all be applied. It is odd that you were told that you might also need "Calculus II" considering that WGU (I don't think/not totally sure) even has a Calculus II course available. In fact, the changes that occurred to the MSDA program last year included the removal of "Advanced Statistics". Advanced stats is still covered in the "Predictive Modeling" course but this time it is applied statistics rather than a course focused purely on Math. 

Your undergrad degree that you have already might be enough. The enrollment counselors at WGU are front-line staff that don't have all the answers. You probably got some bad info. Tell them you already graduated from WGU and that you want to schedule a meeting with someone in Graduate Admissions. That is what I did last year.