Is USF's MS in Business Analytics a Cash Cow? (2026)

Is USF's MS in Business Analytics a Cash Cow? The Data (2026)

The University of South Florida — that's South Florida, the public R1 in Tampa, not the University of San Francisco — runs a STEM-designated MS in Business Analytics and Information Systems (MS BAIS) out of its Muma College of Business. It's roughly a one-year, coursework master's that markets a 36-month STEM-OPT runway to a heavily international applicant pool. That's the demand-side profile that gets a program flagged. So we ran it through our Cash-Cow Index — an 8-test rubric scored entirely on public facts.

A note before the table: USF is mid-transition. The MS BAIS has been marketed in recent cycles as the MS in AI and Business Analytics ("formerly known as the Master of Science in Business Analytics and Information Systems," per USF's own pages), and Muma is rolling out a new 30-credit MS in AI in Business for Fall 2026 that the school says replaces it. We score the BAIS/AI-Business-Analytics line as it has been publicly described; terms are clearly in flux, so verify current specifics with the program.

The data

The score

International 10 · Full-pay 9 · Open-door 3 · One-year 7 · Middleman 2 · Factory 6 · Visa 6 · Outcomes 4 → Total ≈ 47 / 100 — "Some markers."

This is the honest result, and it lands well below the elite-cash-cow band on purpose. The demand side reads cash-cow-adjacent: STEM/OPT marketed up front, a coursework master's finishable in a year, and (anecdotally) a heavily international cohort. But four tests pull it firmly down. It's selective, not open-door — a real GMAT 650/GRE 321 bar, no test waiver for internationals, and a reported ~10% admit rate (Open-door: 3/12). It's run in-house, with no online-program-manager skimming 40–60% of tuition (Middleman: 2/12). The sticker is modest for a public R1 — roughly $30K for an international student, a fraction of the six-figure private programs we've scored (Full-pay: 9/18). And it publishes placement and salary data rather than hiding it (Outcomes: 4/10) — even if that data is dated and unaudited. Those are exactly the markers that separate a demand-driven public program from a pure revenue mill.

Mitigating context

USF is a public R1 and Muma is AACSB-accredited; the MS BAIS has carried genuine external recognition (a top-30 US QS ranking in its category, and a "value for money" nod). Because USF runs the program itself, more of your tuition stays inside a public institution rather than flowing to a for-profit partner. Unlike many programs in this series, it does publish placement and salary figures and a named-employer list — treat them as program-reported and somewhat dated rather than independently audited, but the disclosure counts in its favor, and the published admit rate signals a real selection bar, not a turnstile. The most fixable gaps are freshness and granularity: a current, program-level international-enrollment share and an up-to-date, response-rate-disclosed outcomes survey would let applicants price this honestly. One structural footnote worth knowing: USF's international enrollment actually fell by ~266 students in Fall 2025, with "most of the decline … at the master's level" (WUSF) — a reminder that these cohorts are sensitive to visa and policy conditions, not a guaranteed pipeline. Price the real cost and assume little-to-no funding, which our data on assistantship funding for international MS students shows is the norm.

For comparison on the same rubric, the private programs in our broader cash-cow master's investigation score far higher, mostly on six-figure tuition; a public in-house program that scores lower — the benchmark for a genuinely good deal — is Georgia Tech's OMSCS. Two siblings publishing alongside this one sit in similar territory: Stony Brook's MS in Computer Science and San José State's MS in Computer Science, both affordable public options scored in the same series.

Right of reply. USF and the Muma College of Business are welcome to respond — including a current program-level international-enrollment share, an up-to-date acceptance rate, and a recent, methodology-disclosed outcomes survey — and we will publish it in full.

This is opinion and structural analysis based on public data as of June 2026 — not financial, immigration, or admissions advice. "Cash cow" is an evaluative label for a revenue-oriented structure, not an allegation of wrongdoing. Figures change and several here conflict across USF's own materials; verify current terms with the program. GradPilot is independent and unaffiliated with USF.

Sources

USF Muma MS BAIS / MS AI and Business Analytics program pages, FAQ, and master's listing (usf.edu/business); USF Graduate Studies tuition rates and cost-of-attendance (usf.edu controller / admissions); USF World international demographics (usf.edu/world); USF catalog (catalog.usf.edu); USF Oracle on out-of-state tuition increases (usforacle.com, Jan 2026); WUSF on Florida international enrollment (wusf.org, Dec 2025); QS World University Rankings (Business Analytics, 2020). Accessed June 2026.

Related Reading

• The Cash-Cow Index: Score Your Master's Offer in 8 Tests
• Cash Cow Master's Programs at Elite Universities
• Is Stony Brook's MS in Computer Science a Cash Cow?
• Is San José State's MS in Computer Science a Cash Cow?
• Is Georgia Tech's OMSCS a Cash Cow? (the low-score benchmark)