Ines Marin used a grad certificate in business analytics to bolster the skills she already had
Ines Marin
The business world is moving faster than ever. Ines Marin is determined to keep up.
Already, she had earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the Daniels College of Business—education that provided plenty of professional flexibility.
When the NCAA granted athletes impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic an extra year of eligibility, Marin, a Summit League champion swimmer, took her studies a step further and enrolled in the Master’s in Management program.
“But then when it comes to actual hard skills like coding, there’s a new world I needed to have to be a complete employee one day, or a candidate to work somewhere,” said Marin, who hails from Santiago, Chile.
Marin decided to tack on a graduate certificate in business analytics and make a serious investment in her future.
Daniels offers 15 different graduate certificates in a wide range of disciplines, from corporate finance to real estate development to leadership in the outdoor recreation industry.
The programs are designed to maximize flexibility. Most offer both a streamlined 16-credit and a specialized, more in-depth 24-credit option. All students learn from experienced faculty, work with business-specific advisors, receive free lifelong career support from Daniels Career Services and gain access to a network of 40,000 alumni around the world.
Students can use their certificate as an on-ramp to a Daniels master’s program—or simply earn a valuable credential for their resume.
For Marin, the certificate felt like a minor to complement her master’s degree. Business analytics classes were a new challenge, different than anything she had done before. But the supportive faculty made it fun as she quickly found her stride.
Marin graduated in June 2025 and is eager to join the business world. She’s not too picky, she says, but is confident in the skills she has developed.
“I’m going to use the business analytics graduate certificate for almost everything, in every single job [I get],” she said. “I think it’s an asset to have and it will differentiate every single candidate that [already] has soft skills.”
She wants others to know that it’s never too late to gain professional development or expand on their academic degree.
“It’s tough to challenge you[rself] in areas you don’t know,” she said. “[But] you will become a better professional, someone with more knowledge.”