Management and Information Systems

Department Head: Dr. James J. Chrisman
Area Advisors:
M.S.I.S.: Dr. Robert Otondo
Ph.D. concentration in Management: Dr. Allison W. Pearson
Ph.D. concentration in Information Systems: Dr. Kent Marett

320 McCool Hall
Box 9581
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Telephone: 662-325-3928
E-mail: gsb@business.msstate.edu

The Department of Management and Information Systems offers the following graduate programs:

• Master of Science in Information Systems (M.S.I.S.)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Systems (Ph.D.)
• Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration with a concentration in Management (Ph.D.)

The department also participates in the interdisciplinary Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) program.  See the Business Administration section of this publication for M.B.A. and Ph.D. information.

Master of Science in Information Systems

The mission of the Master of Science in Information Systems program at MSU is to prepare students to become information systems professionals who can successfully develop, acquire, and integrate information technology across levels and functions of a firm in the continually changing global business environment by:  equipping students with critical technical skills; strengthening communication skills; enhancing the students’ understanding of business functions/operations; developing professional attitudes; and enhancing the students’ understanding of the link between an organization and information technology.

Admission Criteria

The applicant for the Master of Science in Information Systems (M.S.I.S.) program should hold a bachelor’s degree from a fully recognized four-year institution of higher learning that enjoys unconditional accreditation by appropriate regional accrediting agencies.  The applicant must meet all general requirements stated in this publication.

The applicant for the M.S.I.S. program must have a grade point average of 3.00/4.00 or higher over the last 60 hours of undergraduate coursework.  Admission to the M.S.I.S. program also requires a competitive score on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) or the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).  While either GMAT or GRE scores are accepted, the GMAT is strongly preferred.

When a student is deficient in one of the criteria cited, the student's application may still be considered based on the strength of other materials contained in the student's application.  However, reasonable minimum levels must be achieved in both the applicant's GPA and GMAT/GRE scores.

Our full-time, on-campus, and distance M.S.I.S programs accept applications for the fall, spring, and summer semesters.  The deadlines for submitting all application materials, including GMAT or GRE scores, are the same general deadlines used by MSU's Office of the Graduate School.  These deadlines can be found in the Admissions Requirements section of the Graduate Catalog.

International Applicants

An international applicant not holding a prior degree from a U.S. institution must submit an indicator of English proficiency including one of the following: 

1. A TOEFL score of 575 PBT (233 CBT or 84 iBT) or
2. An IELTS score of 7.0.

Other indicators of English proficiency may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Transfer of Credit
Up to 6 hours of graduate transfer credits may be accepted toward fulfilling the requirements for the MSIS degree, provided the credits have been earned in a recognized (regionally accredited) institution and are considered applicable to the student's graduate program. These credits are considered part of the student's program and must adhere to the eight-year time limit restriction.  Grades of C or below are not acceptable, nor are extension credits from other institutions.

Provisional Admission

A student who has not fully met the GPA or other requirements stipulated by the University may be admitted on a provisional basis.  The provisionally-admitted student is eligible for a change to regular status after receiving a 3.00 GPA on the first 9 hours of graduate courses at Mississippi State University (with no grade lower than a C).  The first 9 hours of graduate courses must be within the student's program of study.  Courses with an S grade, transfer credits, or credits earned while in Unclassified status cannot be used to satisfy this requirement.  If a 3.00 is not attained, the provisional student shall be dismissed from the graduate program.  Academic departments may set higher standards for students to fulfill provisional requirements; a student admitted with provisional status should contact the graduate coordinator for the program’s specific requirements.  While in the provisional status, a student is not eligible to hold a graduate assistantship.

In addition, students must complete the foundation courses listed below (or have equivalent undergraduate credit) with a grade of C or better.  The College of Business offers survey courses in place of undergraduate prerequisites.  These are especially designed for non-business undergraduates and may be taken before or during the M.S.I.S. program. For each row in the table below, students without equivalent undergraduate credit must choose either the course from Column A or–if available–alternative course(s) from Column B.

Foundation Course Replaces

A	B
ACC 2203 Survey of Accounting	ACC 2013 Principles of Financial Accounting & ACC 2023 Principles of Managerial Accounting
BQA 8443 Statistical Analysis for Business Decision Making*	BQA 2113 Business Statistical Methods I & BQA 3123 Business Statistical Methods II
MGT 8063 Survey of Management*	MGT 3114 Principles of Management & Production Management
EC 4043 Survey of Economics*	EC 2113 Principles of Macroeconomics & EC 2123 Principles of Microeconomics
FIN 3123 Financial Management
MKT 3013 Principles of Marketing
3 hours of programming courses**

*Offered only through the distance program.

**Examples of prerequisite classes that would fit the programming requirement include the following. Note that these are just examples.  Any 3 hours of programming will be allowed.

Examples of Prerequisite Courses Fulfilling Programming Requirement

BIS 1523	Web Development I	3
BIS 2523	Web Development II	3
BIS 3523	Advanced Languages I	3
CSE 1233	Computer Programming with C	3
CSE 1273	Computer Programming with Java	3
CSE 1284	Introduction to Computer Programming	4

Academic Performance

A grade of C or better is required on all undergraduate prerequisite courses. A student in any graduate degree program in the College of Business may not continue in the program with grades below B in more than 6 hours of core graduate coursework, regardless of the overall average. Thus, any program is terminated automatically when a seventh credit hour below B is recorded on core graduate coursework.  In addition, the normal MSU requirements for satisfactory progress in a graduate program will be applied.

Minor in Information Systems

A graduate minor in information systems is offered to both business and non-business graduate students. Students interested in business and technology may wish to pursue this minor. Typical career paths range from programmer to systems analyst, database administrator, network administration, IT manager, and chief information officer.

Accelerated Program

Highly qualified undergraduate BIS majors are encouraged to apply to the BIS Accelerated Program.  this program permits students to earn up to 9 hours of graduate-level courses and earn both undergraduate and graduate credit simultaneously.  Students must consult with a graduate advisor to ensure graduate credit could be applied to a program of study for the graduate degree.  Application to this program may be made as early as the end of the junior year (i.e., after completion of 90 or more hours of graded undergraduate courses).  Students interested in applying to the BIS Accelerated Program should contact the department's MSIS Area Advisor, Dr. Robert Otondo, at rotondo@business.msstate.edu for more details.

Departmental requirements for entrance to the Accelerated Program are:

• A GPA of 3.50 or higher for all undergraduate work
• A minimum of 60 hours toward a bachelor's degree.

For students enrolled in an Accelerated Program, the MSU Graduate Council has established the following guidelines in cooperation with the Registrar's Office.

Once the student is accepted into the Accelerated Program, the student and the advisor may select up to 9 hours that will satisfy both undergraduate and graduate requirements.  These courses may be split level (i.e., 4000/6000) or 8000-level classes.  The student should take the course for graduate credit (i.e., 6000-level or higher).  the combination of undergraduate and graduate credit hours may not exceed 13 hours within a semester.

The student should use the Undergraduate Enrollment in Accelerated Degree Program form  to (i) receive from the Office of the Graduate School a level override that enables the student to enroll in the graduate course(s) and (ii) activate a process with the Registrar's Office to obtain both undergraduate and graduate credit for the course.  After successfully completing the graduate-level class(es), the Registrar will grant credit for the undergraduate course and give the same grade as received for the graduate course.  For the case of a split-level class, the transcript will show credit for both 4000- and 6000-level on the transcript.  In the case of an 8000-level class, a special topics undergraduate course of the same title will be entered on the transcript to allow dual credit.

Students are permitted to opt out of the accelerated program at any time, at which point they could complete only the undergraduate portion of the program.  No additional dual counting of courses would occur after the students opted out of the Accelerated Program.

Students are expected to apply to the graduate degree program during the last semester in which they are enrolled in the bachelor's program.  Application to the graduate degree program would be made through the standard application process via the Office of the Graduate School.  Students will received the bachelor's degree once the requirements for the bachelor's degree are met.  Students will be required to complete all of the requirements for both the bachelor's and graduate degrees in order to receive both degrees and those requirements will be identical to the requirements for students enrolled in traditional bachelor's and graduate degree programs.  Students will be classified as undergraduates until they fulfill all the requirements for the undergraduate degree.  At that time, upon admission to graduate school, they will be classified as graduate students and will be subject to all the guidelines pertaining to the graduate degree.

Master of Science in Information Systems

BIS Required Courses
BIS 8113	Management Information Technology and Systems	3
BIS 8213	Advanced Systems Analysis and Design	3
BIS 8313	Advanced Database Design Administration	3
BIS 8513	Business Telecommunications	3
BIS 8613	MIS Administration	3
BIS 8753	Information Systems Collaborative Project 1	3
BIS Elective Courses 2
Select two of the following: 3		6
BIS 6113	Business Information Systems Security Management
BIS 6513	Microcomputers and Networks
BIS 6523	Business Programming with COBOL
BIS 6533	Decision Support Systems
Free electives		3
Programming courses 4		3
Total Hours		30

1	Capstone course for the M.S.I.S. program and constitutes the comprehensive exam.  A grade of B or better in this course is required for graduation.
2	The student must take at least two BIS electives. The remaining hours may be selected from courses either inside or outside the College of Business with the approval of the student’s major professor. In addition, elective hours must be approved by the student’s major professor.
3	NOTE:  "Students who have already taken a course for credit at the 4000 level are not allowed to enroll in the same course for credit at the 6000 level without explicit permission of the instructor and graduate coordinator of the department offering the course, and the Dean of the Graduate School." (MSU Academic Operating Policy and Procedure 11.04 (Revised March 2014), Item #5; available at http://www.policies.msstate.edu/policypdfs/1104.pdf)
4	Must be completed either before or in conjunction with the rest of the coursework.

No more than 6 hours may be below the 8000 level.

Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration with Information Systems Concentration

See the Business Administration - Ph.D. Programs of Study .

Doctor of Philosophy in Business Administration with Management Concentration

See the Business Administration - Ph.D. Programs of Study .

Graduate Minor in Information Systems

Select one of the following: 1		3
BIS 6113	Business Information Systems Security Management
BIS 6513	Microcomputers and Networks
BIS 6523	Business Programming with COBOL
BIS 6533	Decision Support Systems
Select two of the following:		6
BIS 8213	Advanced Systems Analysis and Design
BIS 8313	Advanced Database Design Administration
BIS 8413	Data Analytics
BIS 8513	Business Telecommunications
BIS 8613	MIS Administration
Total Hours		9

1

NOTE:  "Students who have already taken a course for credit at the 4000 level are not allowed to enroll in the same course for credit at the 6000 level without explicit permission of the instructor and graduate coordinator of the department offering the course, and the dean of the Graduate School.") MSU Academic Operating Policy and Procedure 11.04 (Revised March 2014), Item #5; available at http://www.policies.msstate.edu/policypdfs/1104.pdf)

Minimum GPA of 3.00 is required.

The master's student selecting the minor must name a minor committee professor from the Department of Management and Information Systems to his/her graduate committee. Any student interested in a minor in information systems should contact the Department of Management and Information Systems at (662) 325-3928.

Management

Business Information Systems