Description of the Field
Information systems refers to the effective integration of computing
resources to support the operations, analysis, decision making, and
planning functions in business organizations. The information
systems curriculum prepares students for professional careers in the
rapidly expanding field of computer based business systems.
Teaching
If you are going to work in business and try to have an impact on
how your company does business — how well it coordinates with other
companies, how efficiently it conducts its business, how well it
manages the knowledge of its employees — then you must understand
technology. Our curriculum emphasizes skills in three areas:
fundamental business skills; a deep understanding of the role
information systems play in business strategy, management and
operations; and technical competence that will enable you to analyze
genuine business problems from an IS perspective, and to design,
build and maintain systems that solve them. Different programs
(e.g., MBA and B.Sc.) emphasize these areas to different degrees.
Departmental classes range from those that introduce the student to
the problems of managing complex information resources demanded by
progressive firms to those that build applied skills with today’s
computer-based analytical tools — and everything in between.
General Skills
Through courses in our program, students typically gain these
skills:
- Effective written and oral communications
skills, including public speaking.
- Familiarity with computer concepts and
applications.
- Quantitative skills, including mathematics and
accounting.
Specific Skills
Some of the skills developed by the information systems major
include:
- Knowledge of hardware and software
technologies.
- Familiarity with database and data
communication systems.
- Skills in systems analysis and design.
- Proficiency in current technology such as Java,
ASP and .NET.
Research
Our faculty spearhead research efforts on a wide range of topics at
the intersection of computing and business, often in collaboration
with faculty from other departments and doctoral students. This
research addresses the appropriate, innovative, effective design and
use of information technology to serve business needs. We use
empirical, behavioral and computational approaches in different
types of problem domains, including business value of IT and IT
strategy to meet business needs, economics of software development,
decision support and supply chain, among others. They draw on the
disciplines of computer science, economics, organizational science,
cognitive science and organizational, social and cognitive
psychology. |