The educational objectives of the Information Systems (IS) concentration within the VCU School of Business PhD program are:

• To develop the abilities of students to contribute to the advancement of information systems knowledge through high quality basic research.
• To prepare students to teach subsequent generations of information systems students and business students in general.
• To place graduates in positions at institutions engaged in basic research in information systems, which optimally support their continued contributions to the knowledge needed for effective information systems research and teaching in the future.
• To prepare students to serve the extant information systems community.

Major

The major coursework consists of doctoral seminars in well-defined information systems areas. These seminars aim to offer breadth and depth of knowledge in significant areas of information systems, give each student the opportunity to develop an appropriate level of understanding of different areas of information systems research and approaches used to conduct such research, and give each student the opportunity to develop research skills.

Each student has to successfully complete six information systems doctoral seminars. The Department of Information Systems offers the following seminars over a two year period:

• INFO 710: Database Systems
• INFO 720: Analysis and Design of Systems
• INFO 730: Information Systems Strategy
• INFO 740: Decision Support & Intelligent Systems
• INFO 750: Information System Security
• INFO 760: Knowledge Management
• INFO 790: Special Topics in Information Systems Research

The topic for INFO 790 may vary each time this seminar is offered. The Department of Information Systems PhD Program Committee will decide the topic in the semester preceding the offering of this seminar.
One of the six major courses may be substituted with a guided study course. At least four of the six major courses must be taken from INFO 710, INFO 720, INFO 730, INFO 740, INFO 750, and INFO 760.

Minor

Three or four graduate courses in an approved minor area that will supplement the student's research interests must be completed. The number of courses (i.e. 3 or 4) that is required for a minor is determined by the department offering the minor.

Minor areas include: accounting, decision sciences, economics, finance, human resource management, international business, marketing, organizational behavior, or an approved field outside the School of Business in a school or department that offers a doctoral program.

Additional information can be found in the Graduate Bulletin.

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