Master of Science in Management Information Systems (MSMIS)

Our top-ranked Chapman Graduate School of Business in the College of Business Administration at Florida
International University delivers a unique Master of Science in Management Information Systems (MSMIS)
program, a graduate Information Systems and Technology program designed with guidance from the top IT
professionals and CIOs in South Florida. The courses are taught by world-renowned faculty. Students can
choose various career IT paths such as project manager, e-commerce developer, systems analyst and designer,
network and security administrator, business intelligence analyst, IT manager, CIO, and database architect.

Highlights
To better prepare you to become an outstanding IT professional, our twelve-month program, delivered on
Saturdays in West Miami, Florida, offers you an integrated curriculum that combines both technical and IT
management skills, including electronic commerce management and strategy, database management, systems
analysis and design, project management, knowledge management, and business intelligence. This combined
business-focused and technical approach enables you to understand the complexities of today’s most critical
business systems and to manage your organization’s IT resources to produce the best results.

Unique Features
We help facilitate your transition from the program to a great position in the field, one in which you can apply your
newly acquired IT and management knowledge, by providing an experiential learning environment with lots of
opportunities to interact with our world-renowned faculty, collaborate with other students, and get familiar with the
latest information technology applications in our state-of-the-art labs.

No other program has this unique combination of benefits. As a student in our program, you will:
• Complete the program in 12 months.
• Begin the program in August or January.
• Acquire a unique combination of technical and IT management skills.
• Learn high-demand information technologies such as .Net, Java, UML, XML and more.
• Improve your soft skills by taking Professional Development Seminars focused on leadership, team
building, career development, writing and presentation skills.
• Gain hands-on application experience in computer technology labs.
• Build a future network of highly qualified professionals and peers in the IT field. You will be in a cohort-
based, lock-step program that our students and alumni indicate is very supportive and helps them
improve their ability to work in teams.
• Learn from faculty with international reputations for research in business intelligence, databases, project
management, knowledge management, globalization and e-business who take great pride in their
teaching. Ninety-two percent of students we surveyed also are satisfied both with instructor accessibility
and responsiveness.

Additional benefits include:

• An up-to-date curriculum that we continually adjust to reflect changes in the IT field.
• A dual degree option for students interested in obtaining an Evening MBA or International MBA.
• The opportunity to pursue work-related projects as part of your coursework.
• Access to highly-rated Career Management Services.
• A high level of personal service and support.

The Alvah H. Chapman Jr., Graduate School of Business is accredited by the AACSB
International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
Courses
ISM 6222 – Telecommunication Networks* (3) ISM 6156 – Enterprise Information Systems (3)
ISM 6205 – Database Management* (3) ISM 6057 – Web Management (3)
ISM 6326 – Information Security* (3) ISM 6489 – E-Commerce Management (3)
ISM 6106 – Systems Analysis & Design* (3) ISM 6338 – Information Systems Policy & Strategy (3)
ISM 6316 – Project Management of IS* (3) ISM 6136 – Business Intelligence Applications (3)
ISM 6423 – Knowledge Management* (3)
ISM 6930 – Special Topics in IS (Health Care Information Management) (3)
Professional Development Seminars (mandatory)
* Required courses for the Graduate Certificate in MIS.

Program Starting Dates

We begin two tracks of this program each year: Typically one track begins in January, the other one in August.

Time / Location
Classes are held only at FIU University Park Campus (11200 SW 8 St) every Saturday from 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM
and 1:30 PM to 6:00 PM.

Application Deadlines
Fall term (August) – June 1 Spring term (January) - October 1

Prerequisites
Students should have minimum knowledge in the following: introductory level programming language, HTML,
introduction to databases, Microsoft Office, internet & web browsers. Students with no background in
programming are strongly encouraged to gain some familiarity with an object oriented programming language
(e.g., Java or Visual Basic) prior to the start of the program.

Completion Requirements
To earn your MSMIS degree, you’ll need to successfully complete all 12, three-credit hour courses for a total of
36 credit-hours, attend all Professional Development Seminars, maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA and a “C”
or higher in all 12 courses of the program and satisfy the appropriate Florida International University requirements
for graduation.

Fees
Tuition for the MSMIS program for 2009-2010 academic year is $1,972.04 per course for Florida-residents and
$2,272.04 per course for non-Florida residents and international students. All fees are subject to change. Once a
candidate is accepted into the MSMIS program, he or she will be required to submit a $875 deposit, which will be
applied toward the fees for the first semester in the program. The cost of tuition for a Florida resident is
approximately $23,665; $27,265 for non-Florida residents and international students.

Admission Requirements
Each applicant has two options to choose from:
1. Apply for the MSMIS Degree Program and fulfill all its requirements for admission:
a. Four-year bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
b. Minimum 3.0 GPA (in upper-division undergraduate courses)
c. GMAT (500) or GRE (1000-combined verbal and quantitative)

2. Apply for the Graduate Certificate in MIS which requires:

a. Four-year bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university
b. Minimum 2.75 GPA (in upper-division undergraduate courses)
c. A minimum of 4 years of work experience in the IT field
d. No GMAT / GRE required
After you have completed the first 4 Certificate courses, if your cumulative Certificate GPA is 3.25 or
higher you may transfer into the MSMIS Degree Program provided that you have submitted your MSMIS
graduate application, application fee and all required materials. If you do not meet the 3.25 GPA
requirement in the first 12 credits, you cannot be considered for admission to the MSMIS Degree
Program. Instead, you will complete two more courses in the Certificate Program and will be awarded the
Graduate Certificate in Management Information Systems.

Contact Information
MSMIS Program Phone: (305) 348-6852
Chapman Graduate School of Business Fax: (305) 348-7204
Florida International University E-mail: msis@fiu.edu
College of Business Complex - CBC 214 Website: http://msis.fiu.edu
11200 SW 8th Street
Miami, Florida 33199
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

What kind of undergraduate degree must I have to qualify for this program?
FIU requires you to have a four-year bachelor degree from an accredited university.

Do I include my certified transcripts with the application?

FIU requires that official transcripts are sent in directly by the college(s) or university (ies) you attend(ed).
You cannot send in copies of these transcripts yourself.

If you are an alumnus (ae) of FIU, there is no need to have transcripts sent. If you attended a university
outside the U.S. and the transcripts are not in English, they must be translated by a certified translator. The
translation and an official copy of the transcripts must be submitted.

Who is required to submit TOEFL?

Applicants whose native language is not English or who did not obtain a degree in the U.S. need to take the
TOEFL test. They will need to score at least 550 on the paper-based, 213 on the computer-based, 80 on the
internet-based test, or an equivalent score on a comparable examination. Please visit http://www.toefl.org/ for
more information. List of TOEFL exempt countries can be found on the following website:
http://gradschool.fiu.edu/TOEFLExemptCountries.html.

For how many years are my test scores valid?

GMAT scores - 5 years
GRE scores - 5 years
TOEFL scores - 2 years
Institutional TOEFL scores (FIU) - 1 year

How many students are there in the classes?

The maximum number of students per class is 40.

Is a thesis required in the program?

No, there is no required thesis.

Can classes be waived if I took some MSMIS classes in another university?

Classes taken in another university program will not be waived since this is a 12-month, lock-step program.
Courses from other programs also are not transferable.

Can I pursue two graduate degrees at the same time?

No. Unfortunately, you cannot pursue two degrees at the same time at FIU. Please contact
the FIU Graduate Admissions Office at 305-348-7442 for further information.

Can I prolong the MSMIS program for more than 12 months?

No, you cannot prolong the MSMIS for more than 12 months. Since it is a lock-step program,
you must remain with your class throughout the entire sequence until the program is concluded.

Are Certificate students taking different courses than the MSMIS students?
No. Certificate students are taking the same courses as MSMIS students.

Can I apply for financial aid?

Yes. You can apply for financial aid online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ or pick up an application at any high
school, college or university. For specific information regarding financial aid or to find out the status of your
application please contact Melissa Hew, Chapman Financial Aid Coordinator at 305-348-4234 or
mhew001@fiu.edu. The FIU's Financial Aid Office web site is located at http://www.fiu.edu/orgs/finaid. It is
advisable that you begin the process as soon as possible.

Are there any scholarships available?

Information about scholarships can be obtained from the following sources:
• College of Business - http://business.fiu.edu/chapman/graduate_scholarships.cfm
• University Graduate School - http://gradschool.fiu.edu/FinancialAidFellowships.html

Does FIU offer on-campus housing?

Yes. For more information on on-campus housing options please visit http://www.fiu.edu/~housing/.
 Application Procedure and Checklist
To apply for admission to the Chapman Graduate School of Business, applicants should submit the following to:

Chapman Graduate School of Business

Florida International University
College of Business Complex - CBC 214
th
11200 SW 8 Street
Miami, Florida 33199

____ Graduate Application for Admission, along with nonrefundable application fee of $30.00 in US dollars.
Applications can be completed at http://gradschool.fiu.edu/admissions.html
Select either MSMIS program or Graduate Certificate in MIS.

____ Official transcript(s) from all previously attended colleges and/or universities. Transcripts must be sent directly
to the Chapman Graduate School Admissions by all formerly attended institution(s) in a sealed university
envelope.

____ Official proof of degree

A notarized copy of the original diploma is required if the degree is not posted on the official transcript(s).

____ Official GMAT (Minimum score is 500) or GRE score (Combined verbal & quantitative scores must equal
a minimum of 1000). The official score must be sent directly by Educational Testing Service (ETS).
FIU’s university code is: 5206
Certificate students do not require GMAT/GRE.

____ Resume

____ Statement of purpose

There is not a minimum or maximum word or page count. The document should outline your objectives in
pursuing this graduate degree.
____ Recommendation letters (Optional)

International applicants and applicants who did not obtain a degree in the U.S. should submit all of the documents
above and in addition, those listed below.

____ If official transcript(s) is not in English, a second copy of the transcript must be requested from previously
attended institution(s) for translation by an official translation agency. The official translation as well as the
requested official copy of the transcript(s) must be submitted.

____ Official TOEFL score (Minimum score is 550 on the paper-based, 213 on the computer-based, or 80 on
the internet based test) or official IELTS score (minimum score 6.5). The official score must be sent directly
by Educational Testing Service (ETS).
FIU’s university code is: 5206

____ Declaration of Finances

This form can be downloaded from http://gradschool.fiu.edu/downloads/Declaration_of_Finances.doc.
Declaration of Finances has to reflect $46,000.

____ Bank letter has to reflect $46,000.

____ Sponsor letter (if applicable).

****Only those applicants who have submitted complete application packets will be considered. Meeting the minimum
requirements is not a guarantee of admissions.
 Graduate Admissions Application

Welcome to Florida International University’s Graduate Online Application. Thank you for your interest and
desire to pursue a graduate degree here at FIU. We have a web-based application to make the application
process as easy and convenient as possible.

You may use the online application for graduate programs, graduate certificates, and graduate readmission
to the University.

This application is part of the ApplyYourself Application Network. You will receive a PIN and Password so
that you can return to work on your application over several sessions. Your information is transmitted
through a secured server and is kept confidential until you submit your application. Only after you submit
your application will it be available for review by our admissions staff.

To get started on your application, create an account to the right. If you already have an ApplyYourself PIN
from another school, you can use that same PIN to access our application. In the course of filling out this
application, you will not be required to use your FIU Panther ID (if you have one).

Please carefully read the instructions that appear throughout the application pages. You can only submit
your application once. If you have updates to any information you submitted, please notify the MSHRM
Program Office immediately (email: msis@fiu.edu or phone: 305-348-6852).

Payment:

You will be asked to pay the non-refundable application fee of $30.00 online using a major credit card (Visa,
Master Card, Discover or American Express) or you may pay the application fee by using a Personal Check
or Money Order in U.S. Dollars. Please be mindful that no application will be considered until the application
fee is paid.

Mail supporting documents and Check or Money Order payable to FIU to:

Florida International University

Chapman Graduate School of Business
MSMIS Program
College of Business Complex - CBC 214
11200 SW 8th Street
Miami, Florida 33199

Your completion and submission of the FIU graduate admissions application will be your electronic
signature, which is legally recognized by Florida Statutes.

***Please note that the entire graduate admission process takes 4-6 weeks to complete.
 Testing Information
For information about taking a test, test dates, etc.; refer to the table below.

Test Phone number(s)

GMAT Customer Service/ (800) 717-4628

http://www.mba.com/mba/thegmat Registration (952) 681-3680

GRE Customer Service/ (866) 473-4373

www.gre.org Registration (609) 771-7670

TOEFL Registration: (800) 468-6335

www.toefl.org

FIU Institutional TOEFL FIU – English (305) 348-2222

https://testing.fiu.edu/itoefl.htm Language Institute (ELI)

Educational Testing Service (ETS) Customer Service: (609) 921-9000

www.ets.org
To request for test ETS
scores: Rosedale Rd
Princeton, NJ 08541

Fax: (609) 734-5410

FIU GMAT Preparation Course Registration: Phone: (305) 348-7598

https://cbasys.fiu.edu/bofa/gmat/ Fax: (305) 348-2368
Email: GMATPrep@fiu.edu
 Master of Science in MIS
Course Descriptions

Database Management
The general objective of this course is to help the student understand how to conceptualize and implement
databases, and use query languages to manipulate databases to obtain information that can help a
manager make decisions. This course will take a data oriented, rather than processing view of systems.
The course emphasizes data modeling, database query languages, and physical database design, and
involves a number of problem-solving exercises and case discussions.

Learning Objectives:
1. Be able to design a conceptual data model using the entity relationship (ER) model
2. Understand the various notations used to represent an ER diagram
3. Learn the rules and heuristics to develop a good ER diagram
4. Be able to design a logical data model using the relational model
5. To learn data base query languages (DBQLs). In this course, two DBQLs will be taught - SQL (on
Teradata or Oracle) and Access Query Language (on Access)
6. To learn the basics of data warehousing

Information Security
Information and communication technologies are changing the way the world engages in business. With
this paradigm shift comes uncertainty about how e-commerce transactions are over an inherently secure
medium—the Internet. Businesses have learned the hard way that there is not a “silver bullet” solution—not
encryption, not firewalls, and not even secure protocols. Like a chain, the security of e-commerce is only as
strong as its weakest link. E-security and e-payments are complex topics that touch on many aspects of
traditional computer security, computer architectures, systems design, software engineering, Internet
technology, mathematics, and the law. The intent of this course is to highlight the weak links and provide
the best defenses for individuals and enterprises connected to the Internet.

Learning Objectives:
1. Expose the dangers of active content programs.
2. Provide a comparison of different security protocols for e-security and e-payment systems.
3. Present security considerations for servers, online databases, and server side applications.
4. Detail shortcomings in firewall technology and other host security measures.
5. Security considerations with wireless/mobile technology.

E-Commerce Management

As businesses and organizations seek to increase the efficiency of their computing systems and integrate
innovative technologies, application developers will be in demand to plan, build, test, deploy, and maintain
new software applications. Microsoft .NET technology is being used widely and being seriously considered
by enterprises as an alternative for rapid development of scalable, reliable, enterprise applications. The
purpose of this course is to give students an overview of this latest IT so they can consider it with other
laternatives (eg. JGEE) in other courses.The two most-used language to build web applications in Microsoft
are VB and C#. This course will rely on VB.NET language to cover different technologies in Microsoft’s NET
platform.
.
Specifically following topics will be covered in this course:
Desktop Application Development in Microsoft .NET 2.0
Database Application Development
Office Application Development (VSTO) in Excel and Word
Web Application Development in ASP.NET 2.0
Database application development in ADO.NET
Web Service development (Service Oriented Architecture).

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Write and understand simple web/desktop applications in Microsoft .NET platform
2. Design web applications in Microsoft .NET platform
3. Compare Microsoft .NET platform with other alternatives for developing an enterprise web application in
terms of cost
4. Judge and justify suitability of Microsoft .NET platform for developing a particular enterprise web
application

Information Systems Policy & Strategy

The focus of this course includes: 1) The top management's strategic perspective for aligning competitive
strategy, core competencies, and information systems; 2) The development and implementation of policies
and plans to achieve organizational goals; 3) Defining the systems that support the operational,
administrative, and strategic needs of the organization, its business units, and individual employees;
4) Approaches to managing the information systems' function in organizations, including examination of the
dual challenges of effectively controlling the use of well-established information technologies, while
experimenting with selected emerging technologies. Students develop an understanding of the strategic use
of IT from a business perspective at the enterprise level. They are expected to understand the internal
management of information systems services from the point of view of the CIO and to examine alternative
strategies and tactics available to management to achieve goals. Students will be able to examine the
current and potential impact of information and information technology on all aspects of their position, firm,
and industry.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the relationship between IT and the business
2. Learn how to align business, organizational, IT and e-business strategies.
3. Translate strategic and IT objectives into operating principles for IS strategic, tactical and operational
planning
4. Assess the impact of emerging technologies
5. Understand the role of supply chain and customer relationship management systems
6. Learn methods to measure control and report on the use IT
7. Understand governance alternatives

Project Management of Information Systems

Although IT projects are similar in some ways to other types of projects, they pose unique challenges for the
managers and organizations that undertake them. IT project management is particularly challenging
because of several factors, including: (1) the rapid pace of technological changes occurring in the IT field,
(2) the invisible nature of software, (3) the ever-present pressure to add new features and functionality to
systems, and (4) the difficulty of managing the organizational changes that accompany most IT
implementations.

1. Articulate similarities and differences between IT projects and other types of projects.
2. Justify an IT project by establishing a business case
3. Evaluate alternatives for acquiring information systems and select a course of action
4. Develop a project charter
5. Develop a work breakdown structure for an IT project
6. Estimate task durations and assign resources
7. Establish task interdependencies
8. Draw and analyze a network diagram
9. Identify IT project risks and develop risk mitigation strategies
Knowledge Management
This course is designed to serve as a complete introduction to the subject of knowledge management (KM)
from the point of view of business management, including an in-depth treatise of the technologies used to
facilitate the processes of discovering, creating, sharing, and applying knowledge in large and small
organizations. To truly learn KM as it applies to today's information technology-intensive business
environments, it is imperative that you be able to visualize actual examples of the KM techniques being
studied. Furthermore, you also must be able to experiment with knowledge management systems (KMS)
that embody concepts covered in the class lecture. The course will focus on covering the principles of KM.
Finally, practical applications are discussed, from how to perform an organizational KM assessment to how
to implement KM applications effectively.

Learning Objectives:
Upon the completion of this course students should be able to:
1. Understand the basic concepts related to the field of knowledge management (KM), including
the underpinning theoretical descriptions of what is knowledge and what is KM.
2. Understand what are KM systems, and the organizational impacts that those systems are
having. Furthermore, factors influencing the success of KM solutions are presented, including
how these systems should be aligned to the organization’s business strategy.
3. Understand the significance of a KM assessment, and how to effectively carry an
organizational KM audit.
4. Understand the intelligent technologies that are the foundation of many KM systems.
5. Understand the different types of KM systems: knowledge discovery, knowledge capture,
knowledge sharing, and knowledge application systems.

Systems Analysis and Design

This course will introduce students to the field of Systems Analysis and Design in general, and focus in
depth on object-oriented concepts, methodologies, models and skills, along with associated information
technologies. In this course, we will consider the case where custom software is required to solve a
business problem or automate a business process. To this end, we will consider the major object-oriented
methodologies at a high level, and follow a lightweight version of the Rational Unified Process in case study
form. All of these methodologies require a consistent means of describing various dimensions of a software
design. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) provides an industry-accepted standard graphical language
for describing different aspects of a software system. We will cover the most frequently encountered UML
elements in detail in this class. Since the ultimate goal of software design is an implementation, this course
will include a brief introduction to object-oriented programming with Java.

Learning Objectives:
1. Survey the general field of Systems Analysis and Design, covering all major methods
2. Understand O-O concepts and methods in detail
3. Apply O-O concepts and methods to the process of designing software/hardware/network systems
4. Use standard tools and methodologies to facilitate the analysis and design process
5. Begin to apply O-O concepts to software implementation, using the Java programming language

Enterprise Information Systems

This course introduces you to the processes which organizations use to accomplish their goals and
objectives. Working in groups, you will use real-world examples of organizational processes to derive
process maps from transaction interviews. Groups will then attempt to integrate their individual process
maps into one organizational process which spans multiple organizational entities. Also included are the
concepts of incremental change, business process redesign, and re-engineering. The second part of the
course discusses and provides insights to two major aspects of enterprise system configuration. The first,
top-down approach is the configuration of the enterprise system to match the organization’s structure and
the company’s physical layout. The second or bottom-up approach examines the physical configuration of
the system itself. This course will focus on the first method and additionally uses several examples to
illustrate the second approach.
Learning Objectives:
1. Explain and analyze the strategic fit between organization structure and information system design.
2. Understand the process through which organizational processes are derived and mapped.
3. Map an organizational process from interview transcript.
4. Comprehend the elements, modules, and integration of the SAP R/3 package.
5. Translate the process design elements through exercises using the SAP software.

Special Topics in Information Systems: Health Care Information Management

Managing health information is a central function of health care organizations. This information is used to
manage population health, profile providers, and measure quality. Medical informatics is an exciting area for
IT professionals, and an excellent context to study IT techniques used to facilitate fact-based decision
making in today’s competitive business environment. This course benefits students of all backgrounds since
we investigate techniques that are applicable in all business contexts.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand:
a. Interoperability and standards in IT.
b. The repercussions of poor data quality and methods to improve it.
c. Probabilistic reasoning and hypothesis testing.
d. Cognitive biases in human decision making and how they affect information systems design.
e. Ethical and Moral Issues in IS.

2. Gain hands-on experience of:

a. Advanced information visualization techniques, especially graphical information systems (GIS).
b. Tools that facilitate extracting information from unstructured data, in particular text mining and
natural language processing (NLP)
c. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation techniques.

Web Management
In the current business environment, every organization needs a professional presence on the
Web. Whether the site provides services (e.g., e-tailing), or simply information, an organization is not
considered credible without an easy to use, and informative Web site. This class will introduce students to
the IT technologies and concepts underlying production-quality Web infrastructures. During the course,
students will use professional-quality infrastructure software and tools to gain experience with the
technologies. At the end of the course, students will have a solid understanding of what goes into building
and deploying a production-quality Web site.

As a part of this course, we will be using the Java programming language to develop business logic for web
sites. While we will briefly cover Java concepts to facilitate classroom learning, students with no
background in programming are strongly encouraged to gain some familiarity with an object oriented
programming language (e.g., Java or Visual Basic) prior to the start of this course. Numerous books and
online sources are available to support beginner programmers (e.g., the Sun Java tutorial, available at
http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/).

Learning Objectives:
1. Survey web architectures and how web requests are served
2. Consider the Web user interface, both in terms of technology and user-interface design principles
3. Study the back-end components of a Web site, covering J2EE technology in detail and considering
.NET technology in high-level overview
4. Implement a simplified e-commerce site
5. Identify important administration and monitoring tasks
6. Survey value-added components, e.g., personalization engines and content management systems
7. Analyze expected load, desired QoS levels, and infrastructure capabilities to appropriately size a Web
site infrastructure
Business Intelligence Applications

The discipline of making decisions based on relevant, timely and accurate information is now a standard
business practice. The information technology that we enjoy today supports this discipline while
competitive, economic and regulatory factors are forcing individuals to embrace it. As the amount of data
continues to accumulate at a rapid pace, organizing it in a meaningful manner is critical to realizing and
sustaining any value. Business Intelligence tools help analyze data by providing methods to aggregate and
summarize, interpret and even predict factors affecting business, such as performance measurements on
sales, production, and internal operations.

Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the scope and application of business intelligence tools
2. Design and build a simple business intelligence solutions utilizing data warehousing, multidimensional
modeling and OLAP technology, data visualization and data mining
3. Analyze and understand current use of business intelligence tools in industry (successes and failures)
through the use of case studies and invited speakers.

Telecommunication Networks
Individuals need data communication, telecommunication, networking, and Internet competencies to
succeed in today's environment. This course is designed to assist you in understanding the infrastructure of
today's data communication, telecommunication, networking, and Internet technologies for business
implications. During the course, you will experience appropriate case studies from the industry as well as
practice exercises.

Learning Objectives:
1. A fundamental understanding of the principles of data communication, telecommunication, and
networking
2. Infrastructure for business implications an overview of today's data communication, telecommunication,
and networking technologies
3. Installations and implications of modern data communication, telecommunication, and networking in the
design of information systems
4. Appreciate the competitive advantage of using data communications, telecommunications, and
networking to businesses

Professional Development Seminars (PDSs)

Seminars will focus on soft skills such as leadership, team building, oral presentation, writing skills and
career exploration. There will be team-building activities which include classroom exercises in group
decision-making and problem-solving. Challenging outdoor exercises will be included to help participants
build the skills they will need to work together in the program and to succeed in today's team-based
organizations. Students will also work with a presentation and writing skills coach to improve the
communication and writing skills that are critical to managerial success. All Professional Development
Seminars are mandatory.