Grand Valley State University

Computer Information Systems, M.S.

Subject Overview

The School of Computing and Information Systems offers a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in computer information systems. The program's primary purpose is to make educational opportunities available to West Michigan's professional computing community. The CIS program is a hybrid of computer science and information systems. It incorporates topics from both disciplines providing flexibility in tailoring a graduate degree. CIS students complete two content areas that give them depth of study, choose electives to give them breadth, and finish with a capstone experience.

Program Description

Admission
In addition to graduate admission requirements, candidates must meet the following requirements:

1. U.S. students must have a grade point average of at least 3.0 from all undergraduate coursework or a satisfactory score on the GRE or the GMAT test. All international students must have a satisfactory score on the GRE or the GMAT test regardless of undergraduate GPA.

2. Have a base of underlying knowledge relevant to graduate study in the computing field.

This can be demonstrated by previous academic study or work experience. A consultation with a faculty member may be necessary to verify appropriateness of work experience as a substitute for academic preparation. Candidates without relevant background experience may satisfy any deficiency with appropriate courses. For comparison, the relevant courses at Grand Valley are CS 162, 163, 230 or 251, 330 or 350, and 333 or 353. In addition, the material covered in CS 500 forms a foundation for study in the program. A student who does not have this knowledge will be required to take this course.

3. Submit acceptable recommendations from at least two individuals attesting to the likelihood of the candidate's successful completion of the program.

4. Submit a resume detailing work experiences and accomplishments.

5. Submit a personal statement of career goals and background experiences, including an explanation of how this program will help achieve educational and professional objectives.

M.S. CIS Program
All Master of Science students in computer information systems need to work directly with the CIS graduate program chair to develop a plan of study.

The program incorporates assignments and writing appropriate to the discipline. Each student is required to perform independent work with appropriate academic citation when the work of others is used.

Grand Valley offers research opportunities to all graduate students. Some students will collaborate with faculty on ongoing research projects and other students will find or create research opportunities independently.

Faculty
Almost all faculty in the School of CIS hold doctoral degrees, and have a wide breadth of experience in industry. Faculty members keep abreast of the changes in this rapidly expanding field. They continually update their professional knowledge through participation in conferences, meetings, and seminars. Many are active in professional societies, a number have written textbooks, and others serve as consultants.

Equipment
Grand Valley classrooms are equipped with computers connected to both the campus network and the Internet. Most of the campus provides wireless network access. In addition to the campus network of computers, the School of CIS has its own dedicated computer laboratories. All computing students have access to these labs for coursework and independent projects.

Career Opportunities

Job opportunities in the computing and information technology industry are growing rapidly. The U.S. Department of Labor projects six of the fastest growing occupations for 2004-2014 are in computing.

Degree Requirements

All master's degree candidates must complete a total of 33 credits, as indicated below:

CS 500 Fundamentals of Computer Science* (3 credits)
All courses in two content areas (18 credits)
Three elective courses (9 credits)
Capstone, project, or thesis course (3 credits)

*Students not required to take this course must take an additional elective.

Content Areas
The graduate program includes the following six content areas designed to provide sustained coverage of topics essential to the regional-computing community. Each content area satisfies the requirements for a certificate.

Software Engineering
CS 611 Software Engineering
CS 612 Requirements Specification
CS 613 Software Testing

Object-Oriented Technology
CS 621 Object-Oriented Programming
CS 622 Software Design Methodologies
CS 623 Graphical User Interface Design

Information Systems Management
CS 641 Management of Software Development
CS 642 Software Project Management
CS 643 Information Systems Policy

Distributed Computing
CS 654 Computer Networking
CS 656 Operating Systems
CS 658 Distributed Computing

Database Management
CS 673 Database Design
CS 676 Database Management Systems
CS 679 Advances in Database Mgt. Systems

Biomedical Informatics
CS 661 Medical & BioInformatics
(Plus two of the following)
CS 635 Knowledge Discovery & Data Mining
CS 665 Clinical Information Systems
CS 671 Information Visualization
CS 677 High-performance Computing
CS 678 Machine Learning

Additional Elective Courses
CS 672 Computer Systems Architecture
CS 674 Modeling and Decision Systems
CS 675 Compiler Construction
CS 680 Seminar: Computer Information Systems
CS 699 Directed Readings in Computer Science

Capstone Experience
All master's candidates must complete one of the following options. The capstone may only be taken after all courses in the two selected content areas have been completed.

CS 692 Master's Capstone Course. The capstone course topic will vary each semester. Contact the school one semester before beginning CS 692.

CS 693 Master's Project. Contact the school for detailed information one semester before beginning CS 693.

Master's Thesis
CS 690 Master's Thesis Research
CS 695 Master's Thesis

The thesis option includes writing, presenting, and defending a master's thesis. Contact the school for detailed information one semester before beginning CS 690. The two-course sequence for this option takes the place of either the project or capstone course and one elective.

For courses, curriculum, other degree-related information, and faculty listings, please visit the Grand Valley State University Catalog online at www.gvsu.edu/catalog.

For More Information

School of Computing and Information Systems
Grand Valley State University
1 Campus Drive
Allendale, MI 49401-9403
Telephone: (616) 331-2060
Email: masters@cis.gvsu.edu
Web: www.cis.gvsu.edu
or
Admissions Office
Grand Valley State University
1 Campus Drive
Allendale, MI 49401-9403
Telephone: (616) 331-2025 or (800) 748-0246
Email: admissions@gvsu.edu
Web: www.gvsu.edu/admissions