Graduate Catalog 2013-14

COMPUTER MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS

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Application Deadlines:
For domestic classified status, the deadline is approximately a month before the start of classes (Definite dates are on the application itself).  International students, please see the FAQs #16 for your deadline.  NOTE:  If you are a new graduate student and you intend to apply for a Competitive Graduate Award (CGA), the deadline for having all of your application materials turned in moves up to January 15th.  If you apply for the CGA but your SIUE application is incomplete, your application for the Competitive Graduate Award will be removed from consideration.

MASTER OF SCIENCE

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 Graduate Committee oversees this program, which is housed within the School of Business.  This is an applied 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, systems analyst, consultant, system integrator, technology manager, project leader, and application software specialist. 

The program of study conforms to the MSIS 2006 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), technology and management core courses, career track elective courses, and a final examination.

ADMISSION

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 is typically in business, but individuals with other backgrounds who are interested in the program are invited to discuss their career objectives with the program director to determine if their goals are consistent with the objectives of this program. 
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 of purpose detailing the applicant’s background and career plans. 

Applicants should complete the following steps:  apply for admission to the Graduate School (including providing appropriate support material, e.g., official transcripts), take the GMAT, and submit a statement of purpose.  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 once during the Fall term and once during the Spring term for the upcoming term.  Although the average student admitted to the program exceeds these admission requirements, 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 on the verbal portion and 25 on the quantitative portion, and an analytical writing score of at least 4.0.

Program Foundation Courses (Prerequisite Courses)

Students entering the program will need the 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.

PROGRAM OF STUDY

The program requires 31 semester hours and consists of 7 core courses, 3 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 (2.0) is earned.  All program foundation courses must be completed with a grade of B (3.0) or better including transfer credit.

Computer Management and Information Systems Core (21 hours)

     CMIS 468-3 Business Telecommunications

     CMIS 528-3 Strategic Management of Information Technology

     CMIS 526-3 Information Systems and Technology

     CMIS 540-3 Project Management Fundamentals and Best Practices

     CMIS 557-3 Enterprise Resource Planning

     CMIS 564-3 Database Design

     CMIS 570-3 Software Systems Design

Elective Courses (9 hours)

Elective courses enable students to add a specialized focus to their study of information systems.  Examples of specialized focuses include, but are not limited to:  (1) Project Management, (2) Systems Design, Development and Implementation, (3) Database Administration and Database Programming, and (4) Enterprise-Wide Information Systems (ERP).  A formal Project Management Concentration may be completed by selecting electives that fulfill requirements for the concentration described below.

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 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 are among the organizations providing internship opportunities to MS CMIS students.

To complete the academic requirements for the MS in CMIS students must complete the CMIS 587 practical experience requirement and the CMIS 589 final exam requirement.

EXIT REQUIREMENTS

Students must enroll in CMIS 589-1 Final Examination for one credit.  Each candidate for graduation must pass this 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 apply knowledge gained through the program, to draw and defend conclusions, and to complete work in a creditable manner.  The examination will address topics covered in the Computer Management and Information Systems core courses and will also examine candidates on knowledge and understanding of topics covered in elective courses that they completed.  The final examination may be written or oral as determined by the faculty.

COMPUTER MANAGEMENT AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS

CONCENTRATION IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Students may choose to pursue an MS in CMIS degree with a concentration in project management.  This concentration equips future business leaders with an understanding of the fundamentals of project management and exposure to areas of key interest to project managers such as project risk, procurement, quality management, and change management.  Course work addresses many of the concepts covered in the project management certification exam that is administered by the Project Management Institute.

The course work in the concentration balances theoretical concepts with applied exercises and cases.  Students have the opportunity to apply project management concepts and processes in a “live” project.  These experiences enable the student that concentrates in project management to emerge with a much better understanding of the dynamics and challenges associated with projects, as well as effective practices for managing them.

In addition to the MS in CMIS foundation and core requirements (which include CMIS 540 Project Management Fundamentals and Best Practices), students choosing the project management concentration must complete nine credit hours.  Specifically, students must complete the following courses:

CMIS/MGMT 535-3 Project Management Standard Processes

CMIS/MGMT 536-1.5 Procurement Management in Projects

CMIS/MGMT 537-1.5 Project Risk Management

Additionally, students must complete one of the following courses:

MGMT 551-3 Managing Organizational Change and Innovation or

MGMT 553-3 Seminar in Quality and Performance Management

CMIS 548-3 Program and Project Portfolio Management