Earning a master’s in management information systems could be a great way for professionals to boost their careers or pursue work in a lucrative field.
Even students and professionals who previously concentrated on other majors or worked in other fields may find benefit in pursuing an MS MIS degree. Many business practices are rooted in technology, and the average consumer today utilizes technology on a daily basis. As such, IS professionals are in high demand.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham strives to provide relevant business degree programs to prospective students, and has worked to ensure its MS MIS online curriculum is tailored to the needs of students who are working to grow their careers in this area.
One way the University of Alabama at Birmingham ensures that students who enroll in the MS MIS program are learning the information and skills they’ll need to find success in the world of management information systems is by creating the bridge program.
What is the MS MIS bridge program?
The MS MIS bridge program is comprised of six courses that teach incoming students some of the basics of networking, computer programming, systems analysis, and databases. The classes are:
IS 204: Business Programming
This course will focus on event-driven programming languages and how they can be used to develop and implement business strategy. Further, students will learn about general problem-solving strategies and how to apply solutions using algorithms.
IS 301: Database Management
In this class, students will gain the knowledge and skills needed to create, enforce, and utilize a physical database in application development. Additionally, they’ll learn about data needs in businesses today, and learn about logical data models.
IS 302: Enterprise Systems
This course focuses on data communications technologies that modern businesses use, including local and wide area networks. In addition, students will study systems security and learn principles of network management.
IS 303: Information Systems
Students will learn concepts of knowledge-based systems, the World Wide Web and the internet in this course. Then, they’ll take that information one step further and learn how to plan, design, develop, and implement information systems.
IS 321: Systems Analysis
This course gives students the knowledge and skills needed to analyze information systems. They’ll also learn about how to plan out these systems and how to approach decision-making tasks.
BUS 350: Business Communications
Understanding principles of communication is applicable to nearly every field of work. This course explores the various formats of written business communication as well as grammar, organization, and styles of communication. This is a writing-intensive course that includes individual assignments as well as group work, research, and analysis.
These six courses are also part of the Collat School of Business’s Bachelor of Science in management information systems degree program, giving students who studied a different major during their undergraduate studies a look into the most applicable content of the BS IS coursework. After completing the bridge program, students will be better positioned to grasp the information taught in their management information systems degree program.
Who should complete the MS MIS bridge program?
Prospective students who want to be admitted into the MS MIS online degree program should already have completed a Bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field from a regionally accredited college or university. They should also have maintained a GPA of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Applicants who don’t meet these criteria may still be accepted in the program in some situations. All applicants should have a completed Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university or have completed a graduate degree. If either of these degrees isn’t associated with IS or IT, they should complete the bridge program. This will ensure they’re ready to take in the information taught throughout the rest of the curriculum for this degree program.
In some cases, prospective students may be able to waive the bridge program requirement, even if they don’t have a bachelor’s degree in IS or IT. If the applicant can show that he or she has work experience in IS, IT, computer programming, enterprise systems, databases or system design and analysis, they may be able to skip the bridge program and go straight into the core curriculum.
Additionally, applying students who have completed any certifications in these areas may be able to waive some of the bridge program courses.
How to sign up for the MS MIS bridge program
To enroll in the MS MIS bridge program, prospective students should apply to the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The application process will be largely the same. The only major difference will be that students who want to take the bridge program will answer question 10, “Are you pursuing the Bachelors to Masters Bridge Program?,” with “yes” instead of “no.”
The University of Alabama at Birmingham prepares students for careers in IS
The University of Alabama at Birmingham strives to prepare students for their chosen career paths and takes a number of measures to ensure they are able to provide a high-quality education to students pursuing their MS MIS degree.
Each course is reviewed by a dedicated IS advisory council, which ensures the information taught is valuable in the working world. Additionally, the faculty is comprised of knowledgeable experts – more than 90 percent of Collat School of Business faculty hold PhDs. Accreditation through The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges is another measure of the standard of quality met by the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s online degree programs.
Similar to these methods to ensure the MS MIS online degree program provides a comprehensive education to students, the bridge program is designed to ensure all students have access to high quality MIS training and instruction. To learn more about the MS MIS curriculum or the bridge program, contact an enrollment advisor today.
Recommended Readings:
Career path: How to become an IT director
Curriculum overview: Online MS MIS at UAB
Sources:
University of Alabama at Birmingham Online Master of Science in Management Information Systems
University of Alabama at Birmingham Admission Requirements
University of Alabama at Birmingham Collat School of Business
University of Alabama at Birmingham Collat School of Business Accreditation
University of Alabama at Birmingham Collat School of Business BSIS Course Descriptions
University of Alabama at Birmingham Collat School of Business MS MIS Course Descriptions