Curriculum

To fulfill all the outcomes of the MSMIT program, you must take a minimum of 40 semester credits of graduate work, usually consisting of ten 4-credit courses. The 40 credits are divided into 28 credits of core courses, 8 credits of elective courses, and 4 credits for the culminating experience.

As the title signifies, the MS Core Courses are a cluster of required business and information technology courses that represent the core of the interdisciplinary collaborative program. These courses are intended to provide you with the skills necessary to become an effective leader, manager, or entrepreneur in today’s high-tech, global marketplace. Given the complexities that emanate from strong and growing global forces and conflicting values, international and ethical issues are discussed in all courses.

Elective courses must have the approval of a graduate advisor. You may include approved undergraduate, upper-division courses as electives. The approved undergraduate course list is available through your graduate advisor.

What will I learn as an MSMIT student?

After completing the program of study, you should be able to demonstrate the following Learning Outcomes (LO):

• MSMIT Entry LO Overview of the management and information technology curriculum and industry including ~ ability to describe the core knowledge in business management and information technology and the learning experience required to acquire the core knowledge ~ understanding and application of research methods especially in the context of internet technology ~ ability to write basic, yet complete business plans, research papers, and system design documents ~ ability to describe the roles and impacts of business management and information in a multicultural society and global marketplace ~ an established literature survey habit in order to continuously update knowledge ~ ability to utilize basic technology tools including word processing, spreadsheet, presentation tools, and searching and basic publishing on the Internet ~ demonstrated fundamental leadership and communication skills
• MSMIT LO 1 Information system analysis and management including ~ understanding of the criteria and process for acquisition, development, and evaluation of information systems ~ understanding and application of formal methodologies to improve system planning, analysis, and architecture design ~ ability to conduct appropriate usability, reliability, and efficiency tests on an information system ~ ability to describe human-computer interaction issues and apply them in information system development and evaluation
• MSMIT LO 2 Electronic commerce system design and development including ~ understanding of the architecture of an electronic commerce system, including system hardware, system software, database system, on-line transaction, and user interface ~ understanding of how an electronic commerce system is developed, including timeline, essential personnel, and appropriate software tools ~ ability to describe and develop the essential components of an electronic commerce website ~ ability to develop a basic, yet complete, electronic commerce system including a user-friendly and effective interface to customer and administrator; a well designed database system; and a set of programs that implement the business logic ~ ability to describe the privacy, security, and reliability concerns of an electronic system ~ understanding of appropriate online business models and the ability to evaluate them
• MSMIT LO 3 Electronic commerce system management and strategy including ~ ability to create a viable e-business plan by effectively evaluating electronic commerce opportunities in terms of costs and benefits ~ ability to prepare a marketing plan and budget for a company’s product or service with applications of Internet marketing components ~ understanding of the traditional and new communication/marketing approaches that create competitive advantage in the new economy ~ insights on how to implement strategy in the new economy ~ fundamental understanding of the environment and strategies in the new economy ~ understanding of the metrics that new economy firms use to measure progress, customer satisfaction, and financial performance ~ ability to describe security and encryption in the context of electronic commerce ~ ability to examine the effects of new technology, mergers, and synergies on old and new economy platforms ~ skills in recognizing, analyzing, and resolving real-world ethical problems using diverse approaches to ethical decision making in the context of electronic commerce
• MSMIT LO 4 Organizational behavior in knowledge-based firms including ~ understanding of such issues as leadership, employee motivation, personality differences, the design of jobs and organizations, organizational cultures, high-performance teams, performance appraisals, conflict management, and negotiation techniques with special emphasis on knowledge workers whose jobs are designed around the acquisition and application of information
• MSMIT LO 5 Venture formation and financial strategy including ~ ability to assess a firm’s present and projected financial status and devise appropriate financing and financial management strategies, including tapping outside sources of capital
• MSMIT LO 6 Culminating experience including ~ ability to contribute to the disciplines or the professions by adding to technical/professional knowledge or by providing an original application of technical/professional knowledge in the professional field (e.g. a field study, a project, applied research, or a professional article of publishable quality)

Which courses should I take to achieve each MSMIT Learning Outcome?

• Entry LO
  BUS/CST 600 Graduate ProSeminar
• LO 1
  BUS/CST 610 Information System Analysis and Design
  and BUS/CST 670 Database Management: Methods and Applications
• LO 2
  BUS/CST 655 Electronic Commerce: Design and Development
• LO 3
  BUS/CST 640 Electronic Commerce: System Management and Strategy
• LO 4
  BUS/CST 660 Organizational Behavior in Knowledge-Based Organizations
• LO 5
  BUS/CST 651 Venture Formation and Financial Strategy
• LO 6
  BUS/CST 700 Graduate Capstone

What courses does the MSMIT program offer?

MSMIT offers courses in business management, information system development, system management, organizational behavior, leadership development, business communications, database management systems and other related topics, including the following: Graduate ProSeminar: Introduction to E-Commerce, Information Technology, and Research Methodology; Information System Design and Analysis; E-Commerce: System Management and Strategy; Venture Formation and Financial Strategy; Electronic Commerce: Design and Development; Organizational Behavior in Knowledge-based Firms; Database Management: Methods and Applications; and Graduate Capstone.

What are the unique features of the MSMIT curriculum?

Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Interdisciplinary collaboration—entering into mutually beneficial and well-defined relationships to achieve common goals—is our hallmark. The MSMIT program is dedicated to a curriculum that jointly develops a structure of shared responsibility, mutual authority, and accountability for success in integrating diverse academic traditions such as business, information technology, and information systems. The classes by nature are interdisciplinary, as the technology-focused outcomes also incorporate principles of management and the management-focused outcomes use technology-based global organizations as case studies.

Technology Infusion
Technology infusion means integrating modern learning technology and pedagogy to create education adequate for the contemporary world. The MSMIT graduate program recognizes the role of technology in tomorrow’s world and foresees that the use of technology is critical to the startup, survival, and expansion of entrepreneurial ventures in the 21st century. The MSMIT curriculum infuses technology tools as resources to learners within in-class and field-learning experiences.

Ethical Reflection and Practice
Ethical reflection and practice are incorporated throughout the curriculum. This is accomplished in the selection and use of cases, experiential exercises, lecturers, and visiting speakers who focus on ethical dimensions of the topic at hand.

Multiculturalism and Globalism
Multiculturalism and globalism have become increasingly important as global interdependence grows. Crosscultural competency is necessary both for business success and culturally competent citizenship in a pluralistic global society. We have designed the MSMIT program to infuse awareness of international and multicultural topics through selected cases, exercises, lectures, and visiting speakers.

Applied Learning
Applied learning has a high priority within the MSMIT program as the testing ground for practical application of concepts and methods learned in the classroom. Our faculty believes that classroom instruction is necessary but not sufficient for attaining the learning outcomes, which the program requires for graduation. The emphasis on applied learning is reflected in the projects you will complete in the e-lab, an interdisciplinary research and development laboratory dedicated to benefiting tri-county area businesses and organizations.