Requirements for master's degree with an information systems (iSC) specialization:
Students must satisfactorily complete all prescribed prerequisite courses, a comprehensive examination, and thirty-six (36) graduate credit hours for the Information Systems specialization in the SoC Master of Science degree. Required prerequisite courses are prescribed by the Information Systems Coordinator after reviewing prior academic work and results from any required School of Computing Foundation Placement Examinations. Information Systems Specialization majors must complete their Information Systems program with a minimum grade of "B" in core courses, and an overall program GPA of 3.0. The thirty-six (36) graduate hours consist of twelve (12) hours of CORE courses, nine (9) hours of REQUIRED courses, and fifteen (15) semester hours of approved elective courses according to the selected concentration option as follows:
| Requirements | Course Title | Credit Hours | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Courses - All core courses must be completed with a minimum grade of "B". | 12 | ||
| ISC 561 | Info Systems Database Mgt | ||
| ISC 565 | Info Systems Project and Change Mgt. | ||
| And select two (2) from the following: | |||
| ISC 545 | Management Information Systems | ||
| ISC 560 or CSC 527 |
Info Systems Analysis- Design Software Engineering Principles |
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| CIS 530 | Information Assurance and IT Auditing | ||
| CIS 538 | Operating Systems Concepts and Security | ||
| Required Courses | 9 | ||
| ISC 559 | Applications Design and Implementation | ||
| CIS 518 | Research Methodologies | ||
| And select one (1) from the following: | |||
| ISC 567 | IS Function Integration | ||
| CIS 595 | CIS Research Development | ||
| Concentrations | 15 | ||
| Three concentrations of study are available to students who select the Information Systems Specialization in the SoC Master's program. These are Thesis, Project, and Course-Only concentrations. | |||
| A. Thesis Concentration - For the Thesis Concentration, fifteen (15) semester hours of required and elective course work are required. | |||
| Research Development | CIS 595 | ||
| A minimum of three (3) semester hours credit of CIS 595, Computer and Information Sciences Research Development, are required. | |||
| A Thesis Concentration student may only enroll in CIS 595 after successfully completing CIS 518 and their core courses. A Thesis Concentration student must be enrolled in CIS 595 in the semester during which they defend their thesis prospectus. A grade of "C" or lower in CIS 595 will result in the dismissal of the student from the Thesis Concentration to the Course-Only Concentration. | |||
| Thesis | CIS 599 | ||
| A minimum of three (3) semester hours credit of CIS 599, Computer and Information Sciences Thesis, must be applied towards the degree for
the Thesis Concentration. Students may only enroll in CIS 599 after successfully defending their thesis prospectus (minimum grade of "B" in CIS 595). A Thesis Concentration student must be enrolled in CIS 599 in the semester during which they defend and/or submit their thesis. A grade of
"C" or lower in CIS 599 will result in the dismissal of the student from the Thesis Concentration to the
Course-Only Concentration.
|
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| Elective Course Work | |||
| Nine (9) semester hours of additional approved electives are required. A maximum of three (3) semester hours of Special Permission courses may be applied to the degree for the Thesis Concentration. A list of Pre-Approved Information Systems courses and a list of Special Permission courses are given at the end of this section. | |||
| Comprehensive Examination | |||
| All students in the Thesis Concentration must pass an oral comprehensive examination administered after the thesis committee accepts the thesis. The School of Computing Comprehensive Examination Policies and Procedures document and the Comprehensive Examination Application form are available at https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/soc/essentialstudentlinks.html | |||
| B. Project Concentration - For the Project Concentration, fifteen (15 ) semester hours of required and elective course work are required. | |||
| Research Development - ISC 595 | |||
| A minimum of three (3) semester hours credit ISC 595, ISC Project Development are required | |||
| A Project Concentration student may only enroll in ISC 595 after successfully completing CIS 518 and their core courses. A Project Concentration student must be enrolled in ISC 595 in the semester during which they defend their project prospectus. A grade of "C" or lower in ISC 595 will result in the dismissal of the student from the Project Concentration to the Course-Only Concentration. | |||
| Project - ISC 598 | |||
| A minimum of three (3) semester hours credit of ISC 598, Information Systems Project, must be applied towards the degree for the Project Concentration. Students may only enroll in ISC 598 after successfully defending their project prospectus (minimum grade of "B" in ISC 559). A Project Concentration student must be enrolled in ISC 598 in the semester during which they defend and/or submit their project prospectus. A Project Concentration student may only enroll in ISC 595 after successfully completing CIS 518 and their core courses. A grade of "C" or lower in ISC 599 will result in the dismissal of the student from the Project Concentration to the Course-Only Concentration. | |||
| Elective Course Work | |||
| Nine (9) semester hours of additional approved electives are required. A maximum of three (3) semester hours of Special Permission courses may be applied to the degree for the Project Concentration. A list of Pre-Approved Information Systems courses and a list of Special Permission courses are given at the end of this section. | |||
| Comprehensive Examination | |||
| All students in the Project Concentration must pass an oral comprehensive examination administered after the project committee accepts the project. The School of Computing Comprehensive Examination Policies and Procedures document and the Comprehensive Examination Application form are available at https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/soc/essentialstudentlinks.html. | |||
| C. Course Only Concentration - For the Course Only Concentration, fifteen (15) semester hours of elective course work are required. | 15 | ||
| Elective Course Work | |||
| Fifteen (15) semester hours of approved electives are required. A maximum of six (6) semester hours of Special Permission courses may be applied to the degree for the Course Only Concentration. A list of Pre-Approved Information Systems courses and a list of Special Permission courses are given at the end of this section. ISC 568 may be taken at most two (2) times for the Course Only Concentration. | |||
| Comprehensive Examination | |||
| Students in the Course Only Concentration must pass a written comprehensive examination. Students wishing to sit for the examination must apply on-line to the SoC Director of Graduate Studies by the Friday before the start of classes in the semester in which the examination is to be taken. The comprehensive examination is offered twice a year. The School of Computing Comprehensive Examination Policies and Procedures document and the Comprehensive Examination Application form are available at https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/soc/essentialstudentlinks.html | |||
| Information System Electives | |||
| A list of Pre-Approved Information Systems elective courses and a list of Special Permission courses are given below. All other courses must be approved by the Information Systems Coordinator. | |||
| A maximum of nine (9) credit hours of non-ISC or non-CIS courses will be allowed. | |||
| A. Pre-approved Information Systems Electives | |||
| ISC 510 | Health Informatics | ||
| ISC 550 | Health Systems Analysis and Design | ||
| ISC 553 | Information Systems Web Site Management | ||
| ISC 555 | Health Data Management and Decision Support | ||
| ISC 568 | IS Enterprise Integration (may be taken at most two (2) times - may ONLY be taken with the Course Only Concentration) | ||
| CSC 511 | Communications and Network Analysis | ||
| CSC 514 | Modeling and Simulation | ||
| CSC 527 | Software Engineering Principles | ||
| CSC 533 | Artificial Intelligence and Heuristic Programming | ||
| CIS 518 | Research Methodologies | ||
| CIS 590 | Special Topics | ||
| CIS 535 | Digital Forensic Analysis | ||
| CIS 540 | Network Security Management | ||
| ISC 590 | Special Topics in Information Systems | ||
| Special Permission Courses | |||
| Approval of the Information Systems Coordinator and the Director of the SOC Graduate Studies is required for CIS graduate faculty sponsorship of a Special Permission Course. A maximum of nine (9) credit hours of Special Permission courses may be applied to the degree for the Thesis Concentration; a maximum of six (6) credit hours of Special Permission courses may be applied to the degree for the Course Only Concentration. | |||
| CIS 594 | Directed Study | ||
| CIS 595 | Computer and Information Sciences Research Development | ||
| CIS 599 | Computer and Information Sciences Thesis | ||
| Department of Information Systems and Technology Staff | |
|---|---|
| Senior Instructor, Information Technology Degree Program Coordinator, and Department Chair | Mrs. Angela M. Clark |
| Professor, Information Systems Degree Program Coordinator | Dr. Jeffrey P. Landry |
| Associate Professor, Health Informatics Degree Program Coordinator | Dr. Matt Campbell |
Department of Information Systems and Technology website
https://www.southalabama.edu/colleges/soc/cist
Information Systems
The Information Systems (IS) discipline centers on the development of systems that will improve the performance of people in organizations. Information Systems professionals design, implement, and maintain the information systems that form the backbone of today's global economy. Information Systems graduates pursue professional careers as application developers, database analysts, systems analysts, IS project managers and directors. The combination of business, technical, and interpersonal skills are what recruiters seek in IS graduates.
Health Informatics
Technology is revolutionizing the way that healthcare is delivered both in the United States and around the world. The Health Informatics discipline focuses on improving patient care and outcomes through the use of information systems. Health Informaticists accomplish this in three main ways: supporting the healthcare provider, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare organization, and empowering the patient to be more involved in their own care. Health Informatics graduates pursue professional careers with hospitals, large clinics, healthcare software vendors, and various state and federal agencies. The combination of healthcare, technical, and interpersonal skills allow HI graduates to enter these organizations and be productive immediately without the additional training that other traditional technologists may require. Health Informatics is a rapidly growing field that provides graduates who save lives and impact society through the use of technology.
Information Technology
Information technology professionals utilize state-of-the-art, computer-based tools to deliver today’s rapidly evolving computing technology to knowledge workers in widely diverse situations. The information technologist must be prepared to work in the complex network and World-Wide-Web environments to meet the needs of the end users in today’s organizations. These tasks require bringing solutions together using the different technologies developed by the computer engineers, computer scientists, and information scientists.