Information Systems Technologies, Master of Science

Admission

Please refer to “The Graduate Admissions Process” section for general graduate admission information and requirements.

1. Before registering for your first course, please submit a graduate application for admission accompanied by a non-refundable $35 application fee.
2. Steps for registration:
   1. Register for IST 7000 as the first course in the IST program.
   2. Provide an official transcript from a regionally accredited college, university, or other degree-granting institution, verifying completion of a bachelor’s degree. Send official transcript(s) directly to Wilmington University from the identified college or university.
   3. Review and sign the Code of Conduct Policy (required for the Information Assurance concentration only)
   4. Attend a Master of Science Information Systems Technologies (MS-IST) orientation session at one of the sites
   5. Register for DIS 095 (core courses are offered as hybrid which require the completion of DIS 095).

All Information Systems Technologies students are encouraged to complete IST 5000, an introductory academic writing course during their first semester.

Program Purpose

The express purpose of Wilmington University’s Master of Science program in Information Systems Technologies is to satisfy workplace needs for talented employees with advanced knowledge about managing information systems. Students completing the program will better understand the relationship between business requirements and technology solutions with an emphasis on applying a systems approach when integrating information technology into strategic business/education/government activities. Moreover, to capitalize on the inter-disciplinary nature of modern information systems and the settings in which they are implemented, the MS-IST includes four career concentrations.

Program Competencies

The graduate student who successfully completes the Information Systems Technologies program will be expected to:

1. Oral Communication
• Speak with confidence, clarity, and conciseness.
• Research, prepare, and deliver professional presentations.
2. Written Communication
• Write clearly, concisely and appropriately using correct English grammar, punctuation, usage, mechanics, sentence structure, and vocabulary.
• Utilize appropriate APA format for scholarly writings.
3. Disciplined Inquiry
• Utilize quantitative, qualitative and scientific reasoning to solve problems.
• Exercise critical thinking strategies, including reasoning, problem solving, analysis and evaluation.
• Define a problem or issue and develop questions and methods to address the problem or issue and/or to create new knowledge.
4. Information Literacy
• Access and use information effectively, efficiently, and appropriately.
• Evaluate the quality of sources and content.
• Use technology to effectively locate and communicate information.
5. Ethics
• Demonstrate knowledge and application of prescribed ethical code(s) and/or behaviors promoted by the profession.
6. Integration Component
• Identify systemic interrelationships.
• Apply a Systems Thinking Approach to identify benefits, disadvantages, and synergies of an Information System.
7. Business Application
• Synthesize creative solutions recognizing the interdependence of various components in an organizational system.
• Demonstrate the ability to apply various models concerning planning, organizing, controlling, and actuating an informational environment within a modern organization.

Program Design

The graduate program in Information Systems Technologies is designed using guidelines as published jointly by the Association for Computing Machinery and the Association for Information Systems. Students who successfully complete the graduate degree program in Information Systems Technologies will possess a working command of current informational practices that can immediately be applied in business, educational, and governmental organizations regardless of size. Degree recipients will be capable of managing complex projects from inception to completion, including professional services engagements and the acquisition and management of informational infrastructure. The managerial nature of this program is closely aligned with the business curriculum at Wilmington University, but with a decidedly technological (or alternatively, a “design”) leaning. As each student is expected to choose a concentration that caters to their vocational predispositions, competencies in the management of specifically tailored aspects of technology, and the synergies attributable to an interdisciplinary learning approach, are expected to be program outcomes. Students graduating from the MS-IST program should be prepared to provide leadership in the Information Systems (IS) field. Graduates will have the following skills, knowledge, and values:

• A core of IS knowledge
• Integration of IS and business foundations
• Broad business and real world perspectives
• Communication, interpersonal, and team skills
• Analytical and critical thinking skills
• Specific skills leading to a career

MS-IST Program Requirements

The 36-credit MS-IST program is designed around a set of five building blocks. The courses in the IS Foundations and Business Foundations blocks are prerequisites for the program. Students with inadequate backgrounds in these areas are required to take additional courses and will therefore require additional credits to complete their degrees. The IS Core block defines the minimal knowledge required of all MS-IST students. This knowledge is both technical and managerial in scope. The core represents a standard that defines the MS-IST program and differentiates it from traditional computer science programs. The five building blocks are:

• IS Foundations
• Business Foundations
• IS Core
• Integration
• Concentrations

Information Systems Foundations and Business Foundations Courses (MS-IST Prerequisites)

A minimum foundation of essential prerequisite knowledge is needed to prepare students for the remainder of the curriculum.

Information Systems Foundations

Most students entering the MS-IST program already have work or academic experience sufficient to undertake the MS-IST core described below. Students who have an insufficient level of experience to enter the program will be identified during their initial interview with the Program Chair/Advisor and appropriate measures will be prescribed to prepare the student to enter the program.

Business Foundations

The minimum area requirements are three courses on the basics of business: one on internal organizational considerations, one on external organizational considerations, and a third course in one area of business.

A graduate with an MS in IST needs to know a number of business-related topics if he/she is to function well in an IS job, particularly if that job involves managing in a private or a public organization. Students can sometimes satisfy the business foundation courses by taking equivalent courses in departments other than business. For example, psychology or sociology programs often cover organizational behavior. Furthermore, foundation courses can be taken at a senior undergraduate level. Three business courses are a minimal set of knowledge for MS-IST graduates. The program is conceived as being a two-culture program, including both the IS and business cultures. Given that IS graduates will work in firms and will interact with business-educated people, they will need to be able to communicate with many people who have a business background. Since many of these people are not likely to know the IS field, it becomes the responsibility of IS professionals to become culturally bilingual in computing and business. The ability to understand financial accounting, particularly costs, and the ability to understand how companies are organized and how people behave in organizations are required of IS graduates. In addition, an alternate business prerequisite course (other than marketing) can be tailored by the student and his/her advisor to an area compatible with the career concentration chosen by the student.

MS-IST Core Course Requirements

The six core courses listed below are required for program completion.

The process of “integration” constitutes the capstone emphasis of the MS-IST program. After students complete the core, they need to synthesize what they have learned. Furthermore, system integration is a pervasive aspect of IS practice. Integration can be viewed from three perspectives: a) Integrating the Enterprise; b) Integrating the IS Function; and c) Integrating IS Technologies. The capstone course IST 8100 is required for program completion.

Concentrations

A concentration consists of five or more related courses that prepare a student for a specialization in their chosen major.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Concentration

Five courses from the following list of possible options must be completed in order to satisfy the concentration.

Information Assurance Concentration

Five courses from the following list of possible options must be completed in order to satisfy the concentration.

Internet/Web Design Concentration

Five courses from the following list of possible options must be completed in order to satisfy the concentration.

Management and Management Information Systems Concentration

Five courses from the following list of possible options must be completed in order to satisfy the concentration.