2019-2020 Undergraduate Course Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2019-2020 Undergraduate Course Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Information Management and Technology, BS


Contact:

Deborah Nosky, Program Director, 230 Hinds Hall
315-443-1864, dlnosky@syr.edu (Until 12/31/19)
 
Jennifer Stromer-Gallery, Program Director, 230 Hinds Hall
315-443-1823, iugrad@syr.edu (As of 1/1/20)

Website:

B.S. in Information Management & Technology

Introduction:

The School of Information Studies offers a bachelor of science degree (B.S.) in Information Management and Technology. This degree program provides a broad introduction to information management, services, and technologies, coupled with a firm foundation steeped in coursework from the liberal arts and sciences. Students learn the most effective ways to find information, assess people’s technology needs, and design and manage systems that meet those needs.

Coursework in Information Management and Technology teaches students how to locate and acquire information resources; select, manage, and use information technology; and help organizations use information resources to work more efficiently and effectively. The overarching emphasis is on the usefulness of these information systems to people.

Admission:

Students may be admitted into the B.S. in Information Management and Technology program in their first year at Syracuse University.

For students transferring into the Information Management & Technology program from another university, a grade point average of at least 3.0 is required and admission is determined on a space available basis.

Internal transfer students are admitted to the BS in IM&T program at the end of fall and spring semester. The number of students accepted is determined on a space available basis. The selection process is highly competitive and based on a number of factors including rigor of previous coursework, success in IST core coursework,  overall success as a full-time student at Syracuse University and a personal statement that clearly articulates the student’s understanding of the how their interests align with the needs of the Information field .  Please visit the Student Services Suite in Hinds Hall 114 for an application, as well as dates and times for the next iSchool transfer information sessions.  

Dual Enrollment:

A formal dual program of study is available in cooperation with the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and with the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. A student may apply directly to the dual programs as an incoming first-year student or may add the dual, as a current student, after completion of the dual degree admission requirements.  Admission to the dual programs is highly competitive. Upon graduating, dual majors receive a bachelor’s degree (one diploma) conferred jointly by the two schools.

Information Studies/Management

Students who select a dual degree program of study with the Martin J. Whitman School of Management often seek a working knowledge of business with the technical training in information systems to set them apart from standard business school graduates. Job opportunities are plentiful and get more exciting as the advances in technology prepare businesses for competition in the global marketplace. Technology coupled with business is the ultimate preparation for the job market in the future. Students may combine the Information Management and Technology major with any of the Whitman majors: Accounting, Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises, Finance, Management, Marketing Management, Retail Management, and Supply Chain Management.

The School of Information Studies is the home college. To complete the dual degree program with the Whitman School, students must complete a minimum of 141 credits for graduation.

Information Studies/Public Communications

Online news sites, e-newsletters, video downloads, and blogs are competing with traditional sources of information such as newspapers and magazines, other printed materials, television, and radio. New communications professionals understand the need to be savvy in emerging technologies, and many aspiring professionals enroll in the dual degree program in Information Management and Technology and one of the majors offered through the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Students may combine the Information Management and Technology degree major with any of the Newhouse majors, including Advertising, Broadcast and Digital Journalism, Graphic Design, Magazine, Newspaper and Digital Journalism, Photography, Public Relations, and Television, Radio, and Film. This 138-146 credit dual program of study prepares students to work in the information technology intense world of public communication. Newhouse is the home college.

Overview:

The B.S. in Information Management and Technology teaches students to understand the value of information to society, organizations, and individual professionals. Students are prepared to analyze the information needs of individuals and organizations and to design and manage information systems that meet specific needs.

Information is now recognized by many organizations as their most valuable resource. Information professionals are employed by a variety of organizations, including governments, health care facilities, research institutes, legal services, large and small retail industries, banks and investment companies, sports and entertainment industries, consulting firms, colleges and universities, and international agencies.

The study of information focuses on the use and users of information, as much as on the systems that manipulate information. Students must have a broad education in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, as well as in the areas of information management and information technologies.

All students take an Information Management and Technology primary core of 24-25 credits, which includes basic courses in information technology, information-based organizations, and information management. Students select 15 additional credits from a wide array of  additional Information Management and Technology courses. Students are required to combine courses from their IST core and elective credits that enable them to complete one of the following concentrations:

  • Information Security
  • Project Management
  • Network Management
  • Web Design and Management
  • Data Analytics
  • Digital Retail Strategies

Courses within the Information Management and Technology curriculum prepare students for a wide array of positions that:

  • Perform organizational information needs analysis and information planning
  • Formulate information and information technology policies and procedures
  • Conduct research and development in information technologies appropriate to support an organization’s mission
  • Facilitate technology transfer between organizational units
  • Monitor and evaluate information resources, including information sources, services, and technologies
  • Coordinate information resources management across and outside an organization
  • Budget for and acquire information resources

Students may further focus on an area of interest by incorporating one or more concentrations into their coursework, thus enhancing their marketability.

As information specialists are in high demand in the marketplace, careers are not limited to specific disciplines or industries. Our graduates are highly sought out for  positions such as information security managers, information management consultants, web design and development managers, database developers, project managers, process managers, database designers and managers, systems and design analysts, network administrators and managers, technology evaluators, user training and support technicians, and many other roles.

Some students may prefer to continue their education after receiving the bachelor’s degree in order to pursue a professional career in such fields as business, education, government, law, librarianship, or medicine. The B.S. degree is an excellent pre-professional degree in that it combines a broad liberal arts education with computer and information technology skills, as well as information seeking, use, and presentation skills, and a conceptual understanding of information’s role in the modern society and economy.

Students graduating with a major from the iSchool can petition to waive up to 6 credits toward the MS in Information Management, thereby reducing the number of credits needed to complete the graduate degree.

Information Management and Technology majors often complement their programs with one of the many Minors at Syracuse University in diverse field offered by Syracuse University.

Student Learning Outcomes


The educational objectives of the undergraduate program in information management and technology are to enable graduates to do the following:

1. Interpret Information and Communication Technologies.  Describe the spectrum of information and communication technologies used across contexts.

2. Apply Information and Communication Technologies.  Communicate appropriately using information and communication technologies to solve problems.

3. Evaluate Information and Communication Technologies.  Critically and ethically evaluate the impact of information and communication technologies.

4. Create Information and Communication Technologies.  Design and implement innovative information and communication technologies to address existing or emergent problems.

5. Manage People & Processes.  Demonstrate the ability to coordinate people and processes towards common goals through information and communication technologies.

Curriculum


To graduate, students must complete a minimum of 120 credits with a 2.0 GPA and must maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average in courses offered by the School of Information Studies.

The 120 credits must be distributed as follows:

  • 39-40 credits for the Information Management and Technology Major
    • 24-25 credits in the Information Management & Technology Primary Core
    • 15 credits of Information Management & Technology Electives
  • 21-23 credits in Skills Electives
  • 12 courses / minimum 36 credits in Arts and Sciences Divisional Requirements
  • 21-24 credits in General Electives

I. Information Management and Technology Major (39-40 credits)


A. Information Management and Technology Primary Core (24 to 25 credits)


B. Information Management and Technology Electives (15 credits)


Students must complete five additional IST courses to fulfill their Information Management and Technology elective requirement. Any 3-credit IST course outside of the primary core may be taken to fulfill this requirement. GET/IDS courses may be counted by petition as Information Management and Technology electives if they are not already being counted toward the Global Enterprise Technology minor.  

As students define their professional interests, they may choose coursework to match their planned career paths. Therefore, it is required that students use their Information Management and Technology electives to complete one of the required concentrations from the list below.

Concentrations:


Students enrolled in the B.S. in Information Management and Technology are required to complete at least one of our course concentrations as a requirement for graduation.

Information Security Management:

Project Management:

Network and Systems Management:

Web Design and Management:

Data Analytics

Electives:

*IST 421 - Information Visualization  will be a ‘meets with’ IST 719 until demand justifies a separate undergraduate section.

*IST 443 Critique of the Information Age is being renumbered/renamed to IST 343 - Data in Society  for the undergraduate program, with the content enhanced to include current trends.

*IST 565 Data Mining is being renumbered to IST 407 , as a stand alone undergraduate course.

Digital Retail Strategies (in partnership with Whitman School of Management):

II. Skills Electives (21-23 credits)


A. Programming Skills (3 credits)


All students majoring in Information Management and Technology are required to complete the computer programming course listed below:

C. Quantitative Skills (6-8 credits)


All Information Management and Technology majors are required to attain minimum competence in mathematics. Students may satisfy this requirement by completing the quantitative skills requirement of the Liberal Arts Core curriculum of the College of Arts and Sciences.

III. Arts and Sciences Divisional Requirements (12 courses; minimum 36 credits)


More than one-third of the courses required for completing the Information Management and Technology major are taken in the College of Arts and Sciences. The three divisions of the Arts and Sciences-Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Social Sciences, and Humanities-play a central role in the information management and technology curriculum. Students are required to take three courses in each of the three divisions. In addition, three courses in any of the divisions must be completed to fulfill this requirement.

IV. General Electives (21-24 credits)


Students can take any Syracuse University course open to them or concentrate on a minor, a dual degree, a combined degree, an internship experience, or study abroad.

V. International Experience


Students will be required to complete one international experience to graduate with their iSchool undergraduate degree. This international experience is intended to expose students to how business is accomplished in other countries, as well as how to integrate business and information exchange between these countries, and work within multi-national teams. Students can fulfill their international requirement in one of the following ways:

  1. Semester abroad
  2. University exchange
  3. Short term abroad program
  4. International internship
  5. Coursework (6 credits from an approved list)
  6. Approved international component - by petition