Master of Science in Information Systems
The master’s program in Information Systems emphasizes the planning, investigation, design, development, application, assessment, and evaluation of Information Systems. It is intended to train individuals to be able to carry out the above process for small systems and to be a valuable contributing member of teams that carry out the development and implementation process for large scale efforts.
This program is designed to accommodate students interested in the application of Information Systems to any possible area: e.g. business, physical sciences, social sciences, biological sciences, the arts, humanities, engineering, etc. The program trains students to be integral members of application development teams. This program is designed as a subset of the Ph.D. program in IS. There are a number of NJIT certificate programs which offer a four course subset leading to this degree.
Admission Requirements
Applicants with degrees in Information Systems (or Management Information Systems), Computer Science, Computer Engineering and other degrees which develop a high degree of computer skills and knowledge are usually sufficiently prepared for entry into this program. The student is expected to have a working knowledge of the C programming as this is assumed for many technical courses in the department.
It is expected that students will have at least a year of calculus, a probability and statistics course requiring calculus as a prerequisite, and an additional advanced math course such as discrete analysis.
Students must submit the GRE, GMAT, or MCAT scores for admission and are expected to have a GPA of 3.0 or higher in their prior academic work.
Applicants having degrees in other fields will be considered on an individual basis. These students may make up deficiencies by completing appropriate courses from the following bridge program.
Applicants with work experience in the field of computer or information systems may have work experience applicable to satisfying part of the bridge program. Such applicants should submit with their application a description of their of work experience covering job responsibilities, required computer skills and knowledge, and typical computer based work projects.
Bridge Program
Computer and Information Systems Technology
Mathematics
Students who have high enough grade averages in prior academic work and have a sufficiently high GRE, GMAT, or NCAT scores (high enough that they would have been accepted in the Ph.D. program) can meet the less specific bridge requirements for the Ph.D. in IS program.
Final determination of bridge requirements can only be made from the examination of a completed formal application folder. Applicants with work experience in the above should include a statement of specific job experiences and computer technology skills acquired.
Degree Requirements
The student is required to take 36 credits. Eighteen are selected from the required courses below. The remainder of the credits are made up of electives in one or more specialty areas.
The required courses are:
All three of the following IS core courses:
One course from the following Computer Science Courses:
The student should choose a course from the above that does the most for expanding his or her current skills in computer technology.
The student must pick one of the following five areas of IS and choose two of the four courses listed in that area: For the Ph.D. degree all four courses are required in the chosen area.
The Interdisciplinary IS Track is recommended for those interested in the application of Information Systems in non commercial fields such as the physical or Social Sciences, Engineering, the Arts, Humanities, Public Administration, etc.
The Management IS Track is recommended for those interested in traditional business and commercial applications of Information Systems.
The Electronic Enterprise Architecture Design Track is recommended for those interested in the use of IS methodologies and methods for redesigning organizations based upon employing modern Information Technology and Concepts.
The Multimedia Communication Track is intended to provide students the understandings needed to deal with multimedia data as a part of information systems in the context of development, presentation, utilization and understanding by individuals and organizations.
The Biomedical Informatics Track allows the student to concentrate on the utilization of information systems in the biomedical and health areas. It capitalizes on courses offered by UMDNJ as part of a joint program in this area with NJIT.
The actual course alternatives in each area are:
Interdisciplinary IS Track
Management IS Track
Electronic Enterprise Architecture and Design Track
Multimedia Communications
Biomedical Informatics (Courses offered at UMDNJ)
The student does not have to commit to any one of the five areas until they reach the point of needing to actually take the courses. When multiple courses are listed as counterpart alternatives above, one may be more advanced than an another and more desirable for the students thinking of going on for a Ph.D. or for those already having a background in that area.
In any of the above courses students must check on the prerequisite knowledge assumed to determine if they need missing pre-requisites. They should, if uncertain, discuss this with the IS Program Director.
Specialty Areas and Electives
The remaining six courses are electives and they may be distributed over one or more specialty areas with no less than two courses in any single specialty area.
The student may decide to finish the two courses in the specialty area they choose above as one of these elective sets or take a second of the above the areas.
The following are some representative specialty areas available in the CIS department. The student may propose any specialty set of courses desired to the Information Systems Program Director, including up to two additional courses in other departments. Such proposals on the part of the student need to be approved by the Program Director.
The student in the Masters may take up to four of the twelve courses needed for the degree in other departments with approval of the Program Director.
The student should feel free to discuss a given specialty area they are interested in with any faculty working in that area and seek recommendations for a two, three, or four course sequence consistent with their interests and backgrounds.
Some typical example specialty areas students may draw courses from are:
Advanced IS Design: e.g. CIS 634 Information Retrieval, CIS 658 Multimedia Systems, CIS 732 Design of Interactive Systems, CIS 735 Computer Mediated Communications, etc.
IS Supporting Technology: Any of the courses in the above Computer Science list and others.
Communications and Networking: e.g. CIS 651 Data Communications, CIS 652 Networks Architectures, protocols and standards, CIS 654 Telecommunications Networks Performance Analysis, CIS 656 Internetworking and Higher Layer, etc.
AI, Expert Systems, and/or Knowledge Based Systems: e.g. CIS 670 Artificial Intelligence, CIS 671 Knowledge Based Systems, CIS 672 Expert System Methods and Design, CIS 674 Natural Language Processing, etc.
There are many other specialty areas possible.
Approval of Planned Program:
Students should fill in a planned program form that will be approved by the Program Director. This will be made part of their file and should be accomplished before the courses are taken. For remote students and regular students this may be done via electronic mail. The program form should be updated whenever changes are made to the planned program and sent to the program director for review.
Program Director:
Those interested in the Masters in Information Systems who have specific questions of an academic nature may contact the program director Murray Turoff (email: murray@vc.njit.edu, homepage: http://eies.njit.edu/~turoff/).
Application forms may be ordered by filling in the from on the web site of the NJIT OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS or by writing that office at: OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS, NJIT, University Heights, Newark NJ 07102. This office deals with all application forms and requests for other written materials.
The program director can not and will not evaluate any resumes and application material that is not part of a formal application to NJIT. It is impossible to express (before the complete application is reviewed) any specific opinions about admission, support, and or transfer credits. However, academic questions on the program are welcome. If you do wish to visit, please arrange via email first and/or check on office hours with the department secretaries (973 596 3366). There are no office hours during the summer.