Haoxuan Bao, MS’18

Haoxuan Bao
Haoxuan Bao

SAP Finance Business Analyst, Illumina

With “Zero” experience of SAP, I started out in UTD M.S. ITM Program since Spring 2017, which ultimately delivered an amazing and rewarding experience. During the journey with the program, I completed a set of SAP-related courses and earned three SAP certifications in ERP, S/4HANA, and HANA. With consistent learning passion about SAP and remarkable deliverables given by UTD M.S. ITM Program, I finally found my dream job, SAP Finance Business Analyst (Internal Consultant) with Illumina, Inc. Hence, I would love to highlight a few remarkable points that I highly recommend towards your current or future journey with M.S. ITM Program.

Classes: I strongly recommend MIS 6319 Enterprise Resource Planning & MIS 6338 Accounting Systems Integration and Configuration to those students who do not have prior exposure to SAP. These courses can tremendously help you to get started with learning SAP. The contents of these courses are well designed for students who want to be a SAP consultant and can undoubtedly serve you well in real business world of SAP consulting.

TERP 10: You must go for it if you want to enter SAP professional field! This certification is highly recognizable and will bring you over to the SAP Professional field with eases. During the 10-days training session, you will learn a wide range of stuff around SAP under Dr. Thompson’s elaborate instructions. I truly believe you will pass the certification exam if you closely follow through his lectures. SAP Events: Do not hesitate to join SAP Users Group – UTD chapter. This group is under great directions of Dr. Thompson and frequently host a number of popular SAP events where you take a chance to learn SAP from the perspective of real business world as well as build up your social connections with SAP Professional Elite.

Internships: Once you achieve the afore-mentioned items, the only assignments for you to find an internship is to roll out a fantastic resume and keep learning SAP stuff as much as you can (Not limited to SAP ERP, but also SAP HANA and S/4HANA). I spent a large amount of time applying for tons of jobs in SAP during Fall 2017, and finally I got an interview with Illumina. I even felt like ‘finding a job’ was my full-time job. Don’t be frustrated when you never heard back and then tentatively adjust your strategy if necessary. I truly believe if you could leverage your SAP learning with M.S. ITM program and fulfill all of the “missions” mentioned above, you would naturally earn a job spot for yourself. It just takes time and your continuous endeavors.

More from MS Information Technology Management Testimonials

Richa Rashmi, MS ITM ‘24

Richa Rashmi, MS ITM ‘24

With a background as a Technology Analyst in the SAP domain and nearly five years of IT industry experience, I aspired to expand my knowledge and unlock opportunities for advanced positions. Choosing the MSITM program at UTD turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. I was confident in my choice of the Enterprise Systems track, which allowed me to focus on Enterprise-centric courses that aligned with my career goals.

Samrudhi Yergude, MS ITM ‘24

Samrudhi Yergude, MS ITM ‘24

The opportunities for growth, exposure, and networking at UTD were exceptional. The MSITM program at JSOM is an outstanding platform for anyone with an SAP background looking to advance their career. I highly recommend it to fellow students aspiring to excel in the SAP field. It's truly the best place to build a solid foundation for your future.

KUMAR GAURAV, MS ITM ‘17

KUMAR GAURAV, MS ITM ‘17

I embarked on a transformative journey at the UT Dallas, seeking to break free from professional stagnation. With 4 years of experience in project management and data analysis, I yearned for fresh skills and perspectives. The MS ITM program became my gateway to revitalization. Immersing myself in data warehousing, in-memory processing, and mastering data modeling, statistics and visualizations, I emerged equipped to seize challenging opportunities as a data engineer. The friendly environment, stellar faculties, and impactful courses have truly been the pillars of my successful transition and ongoing growth in the dynamic field of information technology.

Tushar Mumbaikar, MSITM ’23

Tushar Mumbaikar, MSITM ’23

Combining my robust SAP Sales and Distribution background with a strategic choice, I enrolled in JSOM's MS-ITM curriculum at UT Dallas. Opting for the SAP Alliance-guided Enterprise System track was deliberate, as it offers a diverse range of SAP courses and valuable SAP TS410 certification. This has significantly enriched my functional and technical expertise across multiple SAP domains. UT Dallas' alignment with industry standards ensures a solid foundation and coupled with my existing skills, positions me well for roles requiring functional understanding and technical implementation within SAP.

Mani Atukuri, MSITM’ 23

Mani Atukuri, MSITM’ 23

HIRS Analyst | Paccar

Hello, my name is Mani Deep Atukuri. I pursued my master's degree from ITM with a concentration in Enterprise Systems. My journey with SAP began when I worked at my first job with SuccessFactors, which piqued my interest and led me to pursue higher studies in the same field. During my first semester, I took the ERP with SAP course under the guidance of Professor Lou Thompson.

Information Systems Degree Options


The Bachelor’s in Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence prepares students to solve analytics problems embedded in a business context. Empower yourself to seek analytical roles by combining fundamental ideas in economics, finance, information technology, marketing, operations management and statistics with various analytics concepts using a range of tools and programming languages.

BS Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence

The Bachelor’s in Information Technology and Systems (ITS) program is a unique blend of technical and business curriculum. This STEM designated degree program provides students with practical and theoretical training in information technology. Graduates from the program are in high demand because of their diverse technical skill set and their ability to understand how technology affects business processes.

BS CIS-TECH

The Master’s in Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence program (BUAN) is a 36 semester credit hour STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) designated degree program. This highly-ranked program provides students with the practical and theoretical knowledge needed to pursue careers involving a wide variety of data science, data engineering, and data analytics roles within a number of business domains.

MS Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Options

The Master’s in Information Technology and Management (ITM) program is a 36 semester credit hour STEM designated degree program ranked 17th in the US by US News and World Report. The MS ITM degree prepares students for careers as IT professionals working in a variety of industries and roles. The program features a state of the art curriculum, online or class room delivery options, and the ability to complete the degree on a full-time or part time basis.

MS ITM

Develop strong research skills that are especially relevant for students interested in an academic career. Research seminars are held regularly, and each year the Information Systems area sponsors a speaker series to bring researchers from other universities to UT Dallas.

PhD in Management Science, Information Systems Concentration