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Master of Science, Major in Computer Management
and Information Systems
The Department of Computer Management and Information Systems in
the School of Business offers a Master of Science degree in Computer
Management and Information Systems (CMIS). The CMIS program
is an applied computing program that focuses on the areas of information
systems, software engineering, computer system architectures, data
communications, and related management issues. The program
prepares students to be practitioners in positions such as software
developer, consultant, system integrator, technology manager, systems
programmer, project leader, and application software specialist.
The program of study conforms to the MSIS 2000 model curriculum
and guidelines published by the Association for Computing Machinery
(ACM) and Association for Information System (AIS). The curriculum
includes specific program foundation courses (prerequisite courses),
computing core courses, career track elective courses, and a final
examination.
Application
Procedures
The admission process involves four basic steps. These steps
will satisfy requirements for both application to the Graduate School
and to the MS in CMIS program.
Step 1. Complete both sides of
the Application for Admission to the Graduate School, indicating
that your major is the MS in CMIS. Sign and date the application
and mail it along with the $30 non-refundable application fee to:
School of Business Student Services Office
P.O. Box 1186
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL 62026-1186
Step 2. Applicants must
request official transcripts from each of the following institutions:
- a. The undergraduate degree granting institution (or the institution
at which it is in progress). SIU graduates may omit this
step.
- b. All institutions at which graduate-level courses have been
completed or are currently in progress.
- c. Any institution where a course was taken and you want it
evaluated for waiver of a foundation course.
Official transcripts must be mailed directly to:
Graduate Admissions
P.O. Box 1047
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL 62026-1047
Step 3. Applicants must take
the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) and have official test
scores sent to the School of Business. Information may be found
on the GMAT web site:
www.gmat.org The GMAT school code for the M.S. CMIS program
at SIUE is 3T9CD83. GMAT scores are only valid if taken within
ten years prior to a candidate's admission.
Step 4. Applicants must
submit a statement detailing the applicant's background and career
plans. Forward your statement detailing your background and
career plans to:
School of Business Student Services Office
P.O. Box 1186
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL 62026-1186
The Information Systems Discipline
Computing technology is changing. High-performance
computing of today will be the standard computing in five to ten
years. Small to mid-sized companies, and even large companies,
have a difficult time tracking changes in computing technology and
adapting the changes to their benefit. Most small and mid-sized
organizations cannot afford to employ a research and development
team to track and evaluate the potential impact of new computing
products and technology. This can result in two types of costly
errors: failure to move to new appropriate technologies and
the adoption of inappropriate technologies.
In the past, the job of a computer specialist was simpler.
A substantial portion of commercial computing involved a few categories
of application programs running on centralized mainframe computers.
In this setting, many managers were able to rely on the dominant
vendor, IBM, for advice and support. The technical skills
and knowledge needed by an applications developer were
generally confined to the ability to use COBOL and perhaps IBM assembler,
knowledge of file structures, and familiarity with systems development
methodologies.
Over the years, commercial computing has become substantially more
complex, and this trend will continue into the foreseeable future.
Changes continue to occur in the technology, the range of applications,
the size of the user community, and the role of the dominant industry
vendors. In technology, significant happenings include the
rapid growth in the capabilities of personal computers, the maturation
of network technology, the development of reliable software techniques
for distributing computations and data, and the development of sophisticated
user interfaces. The growth in both the range of applications
and the size of the user community has been driven by changes in
technology and by significant reductions in the cost of computer
hardware. Key problems a company faces are determining its needs,
how to get what it needs, and adapting its personnel to new computing
technology.
As a student in the CMIS program, you will master the knowledge
needed to participate productively in this dynamic computing world.
The outlook for individuals with master's degrees in the information
systems field remains good. While the number of individuals
obtaining training in information systems has risen dramatically
in the past decade, the increase in the number of individuals with
the in-depth computing and information systems knowledge provided
by the CMIS program has been much slower. All projections
for employment in the field foresee continued growth and demand
in this area.
Admissions
The minimum requirements for admission to
the graduate major in Computer Management and Information Systems
are:
| 1) |
A bachelor's degree
from an accredited college or university. The undergraduate
major should be in business, engineering, mathematics, or computing.
Individuals with other backgrounds who are interested in the
program are invited to discuss their career objectives with
the program director. The undergraduate major requirement
can be waived by the CMIS Graduate Committee for individuals
whose background and goals are consistent with the program objectives. |
| 2) |
An undergraduate grade point
average of 2.5, or above. |
| 3) |
Submission of Graduate Management
Admission Test (GMAT) scores. |
| 4) |
Submission of a statement detailing
the applicant's background and career plans. |
The admission process involves two stages: an administrative
review of your admission packet, and a review by the CMIS Graduate
Committee. Admission decisions will be made by the CMIS Graduate
Committee on a "rolling" basis, whenever a complete admission
packet is received. To gain admission, students must have at
a minimum:
| 1. |
an admission score of at least
1050, where admission score equals 200 times the four-year cumulative
undergraduate grade point average (A=4.0) plus the GMAT score;
and |
| 2. |
a GMAT score of at least 500
with raw scores of at least 20 in the verbal portion and 25
on the quantitative portion, and an analytical writing score
of at least 4.0. |
Admissions are often limited to the best students meeting the minimum
admission standards due to the high demand for graduate computer courses.
Program Foundation Courses (Prerequisite Courses)
Students entering the program will need the specific background
detailed below. The Program Foundation Courses are prerequisite
courses that do not count toward completion of the MS in CMIS.
The background courses must have been acquired within the past seven
years.
| Proficiency in: |
Prerequisites ** |
Meets Foundation Need |
| Quantitative Methods |
MS 502 |
General Skill |
| Technical Writing |
ENG 491 |
General Skill |
| Fundamental of Information Systems |
CMIS 515 |
Information Systems Foundation |
Hardware and Systems Software
or
Unix and Server Systems |
CMIS 462 or 310 |
Information Systems Foundation |
| |
|
|
| Two of the following
programming languages: |
Information Systems Foundation |
C++
|
CS 140 |
|
Visual Basic Language
|
CMIS 142 |
|
COBOL Programming
|
CMIS 260 |
|
Financial Accounting |
ACCT 501 |
Business Foundation |
| Management of Organizations (Org.
Behavior) |
MGMT 514 |
Business Foundation Internal Focus |
| A business functional course with
an external customer focus |
One of the following: FIN 513,
MKTG 516, or PROD 519 |
Business Foundation External Focus |
** MS 502, CMIS 515, ACCT 501, MGMT 514,
FIN 513, MKTG 516 and PROD 519 may be waived by satisfactory completion
of a comparable undergraduate course with a grade of B or better.
Within the School of Business, comparable courses are MS251, CMIS
342, ACCT 200, MGMT 341, FIN 320, MKTG 300, and PROD 315, respectively.
Program of Study
The program requires 31 semester hours and consists of 6 core courses,
4 elective courses, and a final examination course. Students
in the program must maintain a grade point average of at least 3.0
in all graduate courses. No credit is allowed toward degree
completion for courses in which a grade below C is earned.
All program foundation courses must be completed with a grade of
B or better including transfer credit.
Computer Management and Information Systems
Core (18 hours)
CMIS 570-3 Software Systems Design
CMIS 564-3 Database Design
CMIS 468-3 Business Telecommunications
CMIS 540-3 Project Management
CMIS 520-3 Managing Technology
MBA 534- 3 Strategic Management
Elective Courses (12 hours)
Elective courses enable students to add a specialized focus to their
study of computing. Examples of specialized focuses include,
but are not limited to: systems design, development and implementation,
database administration and database programming, and computer networks,
among others. The CMIS program director maintains the current
list of approved electives. Students must submit a written
request to the CMIS program director for approval to deviate from
the approved elective list.
Students not possessing prior work experience within the computing
and information systems field will be required to select CMIS 587-3
Information Systems Internship as one of their electives.
This is to ensure that students not possessing prior work experience
are afforded the opportunity to practice learned skills in a supervised
information technology environment prior to degree completion.
Corporate members of the School of Business Technology Roundtable
provide internship opportunities.
Final Examination (1 hour)
Students must enroll in CMIS 589-1 Final Examination for one credit.
Each candidate for graduation must pass a final examination conducted
by the graduate faculty of the department. The final examination
will require candidates to demonstrate an appropriate standard of
scholarship and to provide evidence of the ability to think critically,
to draw and defend conclusions, and to complete work in a creditable
manner. The examination will primarily focus on topics covered
in the Computer Management and Information Systems core courses;
however, additional questions will examine candidates on knowledge
of topics covering in elective courses that they completed.
The final examination may be written or oral as determined by the
faculty.
See the Exit Exam Page for more
information.
Transfer, Proficiency, and Prior Learning Experience
Credit
Transfer credit can be applied to the program subject to the rules
of the Graduate School and subject to approval of the CMIS Graduate
Program Director or CMIS Department Chair. Current guidelines
allow nine hours of transfer credit. Transfer credit may be
applied toward CMIS core and elective courses, but not toward the
Final Examination requirement. University course credit hours
for proficiency examinations and prior experience will not be granted.
Substitutions
You may request permission to substitute other courses for core
courses or to substitute other courses for those courses on the
acceptable elective list. The request must be made by written
petition to the CMIS Graduate Program Director. For a core
course substitution, the petition must document that the student
has acquired recent and equivalent background and is qualified for
the substitute course. Substitute elective courses must build
on the core and be appropriate for your background and career plans.
Prior approval of the CMIS Graduate Program Director is required
for all substitutions. When a substitution is approved, a
copy of the approval letter will be sent to the Graduate School.
Scheduling of Courses
Most courses are scheduled in the evening to accommodate part-time
students. The number and variety of courses offered each year
are sufficient to support full-time students. The core courses
are offered every year. Some courses are offered during the summer.
A full-time student can complete the program in two consecutive
academic years plus one summer (5 semesters). A part-time
student who completes three courses per year can complete the program
in 3.5 consecutive calendar years.
Faculty and Staff
See the departmental web site for a current listing:
www.siue.edu/BUSINESS/cmis/faculty
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Prerequisite Courses (all waiverable)
MS 502-3 Quantitative Methods. Methods of quantitative data
presentation and analysis. Probability theory; parameter estimation;
hypothesis testing; fundamentals of linear regression; correlation,
and chi-square analysis; Prerequisite: program admission.
ENG 491-3 Technical and Business Writing. Technical communication,
professional correspondence, reports, proposals, descriptions, and
evaluations, word processing and graphics software. For students
in English, Business, Engineering, Nursing, the Sciences, and the
Social Sciences. No experience with software or computers
is required.
ACCT 501-3 Financial Accounting. Source, nature, and interpretation
of accounting data; analysis, measurement, and presentation; significance,
and relevance of output information to a variety of external needs;
financial reporting in a global economy. Prerequisite:
program admission.
MGMT 514-3 Management of Organizations. Organization theory
and management principles with regard to organization structure,
process, and behavior; includes motivation, interpersonal and group
dynamics, organization design and effectiveness.
CMIS 515-3 Information Systems Theory. Information systems
from a theoretical perspective with emphasis on business information
systems and their development for effective planning, control, and
strategy.
CMIS 462-3 UNIX and Server SYSTEMS. Unix and Windows operating systems.
Includes scripting languages, server software installation and configuration,
and client computer software installation and configuration. May
be taken for graduate credit. Prerequisite: program
admission; consent of instructor.
Meet the prerequisite requirement for two
of the next three computer programming courses.
CS 140-3 Introduction to Computing I. Programming course that
assumes basic computer literacy. Introduces the C++ language
and basic problem solving. Two lecture hours and two laboratory
hours per week. Prerequisites: program admission.
CMIS 142-3 Visual Basic Programming. The Visual Basic Programming
language is used to teach business computer programming using a
visual programming approach; includes fundamental programming principles
for event-driven programming. Prerequisites: program
admission.
CMIS 260-3 COBOL Programming. Business-oriented computer programming
using listings, computations, comparisons, tables/arrays, files.
Students apply logical methods to the design of programs.
Prerequisites: a previous course in computer programming.
Meet the prerequisite requirement for one
of the next three business functional courses.
FIN 513-3 Corporate Finance. Capital budgeting, financial
asset pricing, risk management, investments, dividend policy, cost
of capital, and long-term performance. Function and role of
international and U.S. capital markets. Prerequisites:
ACCT 501; MS 502 or equivalent.
MKTG 516-3 Marketing Management. Understanding marketing environment,
and its functional role and managerial implications. Focus
on needs satisfaction, market segmentation, target marketing, positioning,
and marketing mix.
PROD 519-3 Operations Management. Management of manufacturing
and service operations. Topics include process technology
and product design, forecasting, long range and aggregate planning,
management of independent and dependent demand, and quality.
Prerequisite: MS 502 or equivalent.
Computer Management and Information Systems
Core (18 hours)
CMIS 570-3 Software Systems Design. Techniques and tools for
information systems analysis and design. Process-oriented
modeling and structured design concepts and techniques. Re-engineering
business processes, and quality-assurance and reliability.
Prerequisite: CMIS 515 or instructor permission.
CMIS 564-3 Database Design. Enterprise-wide data modeling.
Conceptual database design, entity-relationship and object-oriented
models. Physical database design, relational model, and normalization
theory. Prerequisite: CMIS 515 or instructor permission.
CMIS 540-3 Project Management. Theory and techniques for managing
technology projects within constraints of time, functionality, and
resources. Topics include project initiation, planning, executing,
controlling, and closing. Prerequisite: CMIS 570.
CMIS 468-3 Business Telecommunications. Concepts and terminology
dealing with data communication and distributed systems with emphasis
on business applications. Prequisite: Program admission.
CMIS 520-3 Managing Technology. Application of systems models
to improve a manager's ability to identify, understand, control,
evaluate, plan, acquire, and use technology. Prerequisite:
CMIS 515.
MBA 534-3 Strategic Management. Analysis, formulation, and
implementation of firm's strategy studied from a general management
perspective. Interrelationships between the firm and its external
environment, and between the firm's corporate, business, and functional
strategies are emphasized. Prerequisites: Completion
of all program prerequisite courses; Consent of program director.
Elective Courses (12 hours)
Students will take four electives from a list of approved courses
that are maintained by the program director. Students not
having prior work experience in the computing field will be required
to complete a three-credit internship as one of their electives.
Students may petition to add a course to the list of electives by
justifying how that course adds to their program focus. The
list of current electives includes:
CMIS 460 Advanced Visual Basic Programming
CMIS 472 End User Systems Development
CMIS 563 SQL-PL/SQL
CMIS 587 Information Systems Internship
CMIS 597 Independent Study in CMIS
CMIS 598 Readings in Information Systems
CMIS 565 Oracle Database Administration
CMIS 572 Rapid Application Development and Prototyping
CMIS 588 Seminar in Computing and Information Systems
(different topics offered include:
Oracle Developer Tools; Java Programming; Web Site Programming;
Computer Security)
CS 438 Artificial Intelligence
EBUS 550 Best Practices in e-Business: Concepts, Models, and
Applications
EBUS 551 Technology Foundations of e-Business
EBUS 552 Marketing Strategies for e-Business
EBUS 553 Management in a dot.com world
EBUS 554 The Economic and Regulatory Environment of e-Business
EBUS 555 Supply-Chain Management for e-Business
EBUS 556 Advanced Online Research
EBUS 559 Advanced Topics in e-Business
EBUS 560 e-Business Practicum
Additional courses from the Department of
Computer Science may be appropriate electives providing students
meet the course prerequisites. The prerequisites for these
courses require an extensive background in computer programming.
CS 414 Operating Systems
CS 438 AI
CS 482 Computer Graphics
CIS 525 Principles of Simulation
CIS 535 Software Engineering
CIS 547 Network Programming
CIS 550 O-O Design and Programming
Final Examination (1 hour)
CMIS 589
See the Exit Exam Page for more
information.
Computing Resources
The computing resources for the M.S. in Computer Management and
Information Systems program are provided by the Office of Academic
Computing. Campus academic computing facilities are organized
into five clusters to enhance resource sharing.
Facilities consist of a several open-access laboratories equipped
with IBM compatible personal computers as well as several computer
classrooms. All the classroom and laboratory computers are
connected to the University's local area network and to the Internet.
Classrooms are served by a variety of Windows, Novell, and UNIX
servers and provide Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP software. A
high-tech classroom is devoted exclusively to upper division and
graduate classes and is used for hands-on training in the building
of computer networks and for client/server software installation,
as well as technical support training.
The University's local area network is linked to MIDnet, a regional
National Science Foundation network which provides access to external
data and research networks such as the Internet. Faculty and
students also utilize resources of the National Center for Supercomputing
Applications which they access via the Internet link.
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