2022-2023 Graduate Course Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 Graduate Course Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Information Systems, MS


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


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


A student may pick six (6) courses from the list below.  Courses from any graduate program at the iSchool or other schools on campus that are not on the list may count as electives, but must be approved through the iSchool petition process before registering for the class. 

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 register for IST 971 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.