David B. Meinert, Graduate Director Glass Hall, Room 368 Phone: (417) 836-4178 Email: mscis@missouristate.edu

Program Description

The Master of Science in Computer Information Systems provides relevant and timely graduate education to information systems professionals. It is intended for experienced professionals who need increased skills in the effective management, development and implementation of information systems in organizations. Building upon work experience, the program uses a combination of intensive on-campus learning sessions and extensive distance-learning assignments to deliver a high-quality graduate learning experience to students. The result is a program which develops the effective organizational and job-specific skills needed by members of the fast-paced information systems field.

The credit-hour costs for classes taken by students enrolled in the MS in CIS program are assessed at a higher rate than other graduate program. For the 2007-08 academic years, the fee amount will be $395 per credit hour.

The MS in CIS program is accredited by AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

Entrance Requirements

The Master of Science in Computer Information Systems is open to persons with the following qualifications:

1. At least three years of information systems work experience.
2. At least one course from an institution of higher learning in each of the areas of database, systems analysis and design, and programming.
3. A GPA of at least 2.75 for the last 60 hours of academic work. In addition, students must have attained a score of at least 450 on the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) or a comparable percentage rank score on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
4. A background in business administration, including exposure to accounting, finance, management, marketing, and economics. These business requirements will be waived if the student has an undergraduate or graduate degree in business administration or courses equivalent to at least nine credits in three different areas of business. The Graduate Director will determine if the student has the necessary background.

Applicants who do not meet the normal admission requirements, but who show an indication of high promise, will be considered by the Program Director for probationary admission on a case-by-case basis.

Program course work is offered in a lock-step sequence in which each cohort (20-25 students) completes the program together. Students may start their program any semester in which a new cohort begins.

Degree Requirements (minimum 36 hrs)

The Master of Science in Computer Information Systems is a 36 credit-hour program. Course loads are nine hours per semester for four semesters. Students must complete a minimum of ten courses (30 credit hours) in MS in CIS degree program as part of the residence requirement. Up to 6 semester hours of graduate work can be transferred from another accredited graduate school and applied to the MS in CIS degree requirements. All transfer credit must be approved by the Program Director. Typical course sequence and course loads are as follows:

Semester 1
CIS 632 Information Systems Planning
CIS 634 Staffing the Information Systems Function
CIS 636 Network Planning & Administration

Semester 2
CIS 638 Information System Project Management
CIS 644 Information System Management
CIS 642 Management of End-User Computing

Semester 3
CIS 640 Comparative System Development Method
CIS 646 Data Modeling & Database Administration
CIS 647 IT Legal Issues

Semester 4
CIS 650 Information System Resource Acquisition
CIS 654 Organizational Transformation
CIS 656 Special Topics in Information Systems

Research

Research projects with oral or written reports may be required in any graduate CIS course. Significant professional research components are included in many courses.