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Master Degree with Information Systems (IS) Specialization Requirements

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USA Bulletin

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, a minimum grade of “C” in CIS 518, 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:

Core Courses (12 semester hours):

All core courses must be completed with a minimum grade of a "B".

  • ISC 561 - Info Systems Database Management
  • ISC 565 - Information Systems Project and Change Management

And select two (2) from the following:

  • ISC 545 - Management Informations Systems
  • ISC 560 - Information Systems Analysis - Design
  • IA CIS 530 - Information Assurance and IT Auditing
  • IA CIS 538 - Operating Systems Concepts and Security

Required Course (9 semester hours):

  • CIS 518 - SOC Research Methodologies
  • ISC 559 - Applications Design and Implementation

And select one (1) from the following:

  • ISC 567 - IS Function Integration
  • IA CIS 595 - CIS Research Development

Concentrations (15 semester hours):

Three concentrations of study are available to students who select the Information Systems Specialization in the SoC Masters program. These are THESIS, PROJECT, and COURSE-ONLY concentrations. Regardless of the selected concentration, Information Systems specialization majors wishing to comply with USA’s CAE/IAE graduate curriculum must complete either the Thesis or Project Concentration and must maintain a portfolio of project and assignments from IA course work, as defined by the SoC IA Portfolio Review Committee.

1: Thesis Concentration

For the Thesis Concentration, fifteen (15) semester hours of required and elective course work are required.

Research Development

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 and Project Concentrations to the Course-Only Concentration.

Thesis

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.

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.

2: Project Concentration

For the Project Concentration, fifteen (15) semester hours of required and elective course work are required.

Project Proposal Development

A minimum of three (3) semester hours credit of ISC 595, Information Systems Project Proposal 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 thesis prospectus. A grade of "C" or lower in ISC 595 will result in the dismissal of the student from the Thesis and Project Concentrations to the Course-Only Concentration.

Project

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 proposal. A Project Concentration student must be enrolled in ISC 598 in the semester during which they defend and/or submit their project.

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.

3: Course Only Concentration

For the Course Only Concentration, fifteen (15) semester hours of elective course work are required.

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. No credits from ISC 598, CSC 598, or CIS 599 may be applied to 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 examination. Students should take the examination as soon as possible after successfully completing CIS 518 and Computer Science core courses. Students wishing to sit for the examination must apply online to the Director of SoC Graduate Studies by the Friday of the last week of classes in the semester prior to which the examination is to be taken. The comprehensive examination is offered at least once 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.

Computer Science 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 six (6) credit hours of non-ISC or non-CIS courses will be allowed. For DoD IASP and SFS Scholarship Information Systems majors and graduate students wishing to comply with USA's CAE/IAE Information Systems graduate curriculum, courses labeled IA are required.

Pre-Approved Information Systems Electives

  • ISC 510 - Health Informatics
  • ISC 550 - Health Systems Analysis and Design
  • ISC 551 - Human/Computer Interface Design
  • ISC 553 - Information Systems Web Site Management
  • ISC 555 - Health Data Management and Decision Support
  • ISC 557 - Modeling and Decision Support Systems
  • ISC 563 - Information Systems Database Administration
  • ISC 568 - IS Enterprise Integration

Note: ISC 568 may be taken at most two (2) times - may ONLY be taken with the COURSE ONLY CONCENTRATION

  • ISC 572 - Advanced Data Management
  • CSC 511 - Communications and Network Analysis
  • CSC 514 - Modeling and Simulation
  • CSC 527 - Software Engineering Principles
  • CSC 533 - Artificial Intelligence and Heuristic Programming
  • CIS 590 - Special Topics
  • IA CIS 535 - Digital Forensic Analysis
  • IA 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 or the Project 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 Science Research Development
  • ISC 595 - Information Systems Project Proposal Development
  • CIS 598 - Computer and Information Sciences Project
  • ISC 598 - Information Systems Project
  • CIS 599 - Computer and Information Sciences Thesis

For additional information about our IS graduate programs, please contact Dr. Debra Chapman at isgraduate@southalabama.edu or (251) 460-7370.