The Master of Science program in Information Systems is designed to prepare students for specialized roles in information systems. The MS program is offered in both the traditional semester format reviewd on this page, and an executive (alternate weekend) format.

The Fast Track Executive MS in IS focuses on Information Technology Management and is designed for students with six or more years professional experience.  Visit the executive program's website for details.

The traditional semester format MS in IS program (viewed below) is intended to prepare students for senior level positions, planning, organizing, managing, designing, configuring and implementing information systems, using state-of-the-art technologies, methods, techniques, and tools. This program provides a graduate level, technically-oriented curriculum that focuses on the design and development of information systems to solve real-world problems.

500 and 600 level courses are offered in the evening either one evening per week from 7-9:40pm or twice a week from 5:30-6:45pm.  All business courses are held in Snead Hall.  The flexibility of our program allows student to enroll full-time or part-time per semester depending on their preference.

Students applying to the Master's program must show evidence of competence in selected prerequisite areas of information systems including: application programming, systems analysis and design, database, telecommunications and hardware/software. Evidence of this may include formal coursework, comparable training within a work environment, or significant, relevant and recent work experience in the field. Students enrolled as majors in the program who do not have formal background or equivalent training must take the appropriate undergraduate courses to satisfy the prerequisite prior to taking Master's program courses.

Students who do not have a business degree must complete a minimum of four 500-level business foundation courses (12 credit hours). Foundation courses may be waived for students who present satisfactory, equivalent preparation at either the undergraduate or graduate level. Students who are required to take foundation courses may do so after admission. The foundation courses required will vary depending upon the student's background, career interests, and the chosen area of specialization.

The MS in Information Systems program consists of 30 graduate credit hours including: four core courses (12 credit hours), two courses in each of two concentration areas (12 credit hours), and two elective courses (6 credit hours).

To view the complete curriculum for this program including pre-requisites, please visit the Graduate Bulletin.
To view course descriptions and prerequisites, please visit the VCU Courses database.
Program Summary Sheet: MSIS [PDF]

To learn about information systems faculty and department activities visit the department website

- Link to the Masters Handbook
- To view course descriptions and prerequisites, please visit the VCU Courses database.

Course Scheduling

The course offering for the next two years are as follows and should be used for planning purpose only.
**Note: This is subject to change. Please confirm with your advisor.

Fall Semester

610 Database Systems
611 Data Re-Engineering
614 Data Mining
620 Data Communications
630 Information Engineering
640 Information Systems and Knowledge Management
658 Electronic Commerce
661 Information Systems for Managers
664 Emerging Issues in Information Technology

Spring Semester

616 Data Warehousing
622 Network Administration
632 Business Process Engineering
642 Decision Support and Intelligent Systems
643 IT Project Management
644 Information Systems Security
654 E-Business Interface Design
661 Information Systems for Managers
664 Emerging Issues in Information Technology

Summer

641 Strategic IS Planning
691 Topics