2023-2024 Graduate Course Catalog 
    
    Apr 30, 2024  
2023-2024 Graduate Course Catalog

Information Systems, MS


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Contact:

Mike Fudge
Program Director
(315) 443-2911
igrad@syr.edu

Website:

Overview:

Information has a powerful effect on the contemporary enterprise.  Digital innovation and ever-rising competitive pressure confront the strategist with complex new challenges every day. In such environments, technically-skilled professionals can promote sustained value creation and enterprise resiliency through mastery of key elements – digital technologies, big data, and policy - that shape strategic decision-making on the ground. 

The Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS) graduate degree program at the iSchool is designed to help students master the complexities of digital transformation. Through rigorous coursework and hands-on critical engagement of challenges in the classroom and in the field, MSIS students learn by designing and developing digital applications, devising management strategy, crunching big data for insights, and evaluating the implications of policy from economic, social, and ethical perspectives.    

The iSchool at Syracuse University is a leading center for defining both the theory and practice of information and technology management. The MSIS graduate program, like the iSchool itself, is highly interdisciplinary in focus, combining interests in digital technology, enterprise strategy, organizational psychology and design, data analytics, economics, public policy, and human-computer interaction. 

Professional Values and Competencies:

MSIS graduates acquire skills in management and organizational change, solution analysis and design, communication and collaboration, business process improvement, and applied information technology. Our graduates learn to approach challenges with strategic vision, while ensuring that technology solutions integrate with enterprise goals.

Student Learning Outcomes


Successful students in the Master’s of Information Systems program will be able to:

  1. Create information systems solutions for organizations and individuals
  2. Apply principles of management strategy, economics, finance, and information systems to support how organizations add value
  3. Analyze implications of professional decisions from the viewpoint of fairness, accountability, transparency, and ecological sustainability
  4. Explain how public policy and socio-economic forces influence professional decision-making
  5. Design communications for various purposes and audiences
  6. Demonstrate leadership and collaboration skills in professional practice

Required Core: 12 credits


Students must complete IST614, IST621, and IST654.  Students choose either IST651 OR IST659.

Electives: 18 Credits


Prescribed Electives: 12 credits


Students must select four (4) courses from the list below.

Free Electives: 6 credits


To study in an area of interest such as Data Analytics, Cloud, Information Security, Management, Advertising, Law, Government, Healthcare, etc., students are allowed to select 2 additional courses, or 6 credits total:

  • Any IST course 600-level or higher OR
  • Any Non-IST Graduate-level course, filed by petition and approved prior to registration

Exit Requirement: 6 credits


Students register for IST 755, the MSIS Capstone course, after the successful completion of IST 614 and 24 credits in the degree program. Students register for IST 765, the MSIS Research Capstone course, after the successful completion of IST 614, IST 671, and 24 credits in the degree program. IST 765 is intended for students who wish to complete a research project in the area of enterprise digital transformation, under faculty supervision, and in place of IST 755. Students can register for IST 971 when they are halfway through their program of study. Students with one or more years of full-time professional experience in the information technology field may substitute the internship requirement for another three-credit course from the list of electives and must follow the iSchool petition process for approval.

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