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Hi,
There was a time when businesses looking for analytic professionals would primarily focus on candidates with a Master's degree in quantitative fields such as Maths, Statistics, Economics and Computer Science. PhDs were in great demand too. A couple of things have happened in the last few years. Firstly, the analytic tools have become more user friendly. A lot of the latest tools are GUI based. Instead of learning a coding language one now needs to just master the graphical user interface of the tool, which is a lot easier. Secondly, experience has taught businesses that effective analytics exists only in the context of a business and a business problem. Those who have strong technical and quantitative skills but a poor understanding of the application of analytics in a business context, are likely be weak performers. Even experienced statisticians sometimes get caught up in the technique and accuracy of their predictive models and forget to pay sufficient attention to common sense and business logic. So a combination of more user friendly analytic tools and a need for higher business understanding to leverage the analytic insights better, has forced businesses to reverse their hiring philosophy. Instead of trying to find business-savvy mathematicians and statisticians, companies are now looking to hire data-savvy, business professionals. Companies like Genpact, WNS, Infosys, Accenture, Target etc. Are all hiring from business schools. B schools like the Iims, FMS, SP Jain and XIM have always been happy hunting grounds for analytic companies. Now even other institutes like MDI, SIOM, GIM, NIT and IMT are being targeted by these companies. With starting salaries ranging from 5 lacs to 12 lacs even for non IIM MBAs, analytics has become a coveted field in business schools around the country. Good luck.

Each university has their own set of admission requirements. These requirements are mentioned in the programme brochure. For eg Harvard mentions as follows
Each year the department receives nearly 400 applications to the doctoral programme and offers admission to about 6 percentage of applicants. The typical incoming class size is 16 students. The admissions process is extremely competitive, but if you are serious about pursuing a Ph.D. in history, you are encouraged to apply. Successful applications have shared many of the following characteristics
Personal statement that makes clear why the applicant wants to study history in graduate school, and why the applicant wants to study at Harvard. This statement often illustrates the applicants research interests and notes potential advisors
Three strong letters of reference from people who know the applicants writing sample of remarkable quality that asks historical questions
Fluent or nearly fluent in English
Reading ability in two languages other than English
Strong undergraduate, and, if applicable, graduate record, with excellent marks in history courses
High GRE scores.