Computer Science and Information Systems (Master of Science)

Director: Dr. Michael E. Farmer
Program Faculty: Associate Professors Michael E. Farmer, Stephen W. Turner, Suleyman Uludag; Assistant Professors Judith P. Carlisle, Murali Mani, Biswajit Panja, Charlotte Tang; Emeritus Associate Professor R. Shantaram

Program Mission and Assessment

The mission of the Computer Science and Information Systems (MS) program is to provide a solid understanding of the principles of computers and computing, not only in the context of problem solving, but also in technical support, education and training, and software/hardware management. Given a real world problem, the student should be able to understand the problem, analyze it, design a solution, and implement it on a computer with the tools available. The program has two concentrations; (i) Computer Science and (ii) Information Systems. The Information Systems concentration has two tracks; (i) Business Information Systems and (ii) Health Information Systems. The goal of the Computer Science concentration is to provide students with a thorough understanding of the theory and applications of traditional computer science. The goal of the Information Systems concentration is to provide students with a blend of computer science theory and business theory and applications. The program participates in the University-wide effort to assess its academic programs. Information on Assessment plans, including goals, methods and outcomes is available at http://www.umflint.edu/assessment.

Admission to the Program

The program has a rolling admissions policy, meaning you can apply at any time and be notified of admission within 2-4 weeks. The application deadline is August 15 for the following Fall term and December 1 for the following Winter term. Conditional admission may be granted. Application forms may be obtained from the Office of Graduate Programs.

Admission Criteria

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems or Computer Engineering from an accredited institution. Candidates with undergraduate degrees in these fields will be required to complete courses from the prerequisite list if they have not taken the equivalent courses in their undergraduate programs. Candidates with other undergraduate degrees are referred to the Fast Track description.
Three letters of recommendation.
Minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4-point scale.
Written statement indicating personal goals for graduate study.

Prerequisites. Completion of the following courses or their equivalents:

CSC 335 , Computer Networks I, or CIS 335 , Telecommunication and Computer Networks.
CSC 365 , Computer Architecture, or CIS 365 , Information Technology Hardware and Software.
CSC 375 , Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis (only required for Computer Science concentration).
CSC 382 , Software Engineering I, or CIS 410 , System Design and Analysis.
CSC 384 / CIS 384 , Database Design.

Fast Track

For students with bachelor’s degrees in non-computer science disciplines, the department offers an accelerated “Fast Track” program consisting of the pre-requisite courses listed above, assuming prior programming experience. It consists of typically five courses, allowing students from any background to prepare themselves for success in the MS CAIS program coursework. Students who do not possess a BS in a technical field, but rather a liberal arts or business field may be required to take some additional math and programming courses to prepare them for the rigors of the masters-level courses. Students must earn a grade of C (2.0) or better in each Fast Track course and must maintain a B (3.0) or better cumulative grade point average in all Fast Track courses.

Cyber-classroom

Our program offers a truly unique and exciting educational experience through our newly developed multi-media cyber-classroom, which captures the entire classroom experience. Coupled with our Blackboard® on-line content management software, it allows each student in our computer science and information systems classes to tailor their education from a completely virtual, on-line learning experience to a completely in-class, on-campus experience.

The Computer Science concentration of the Computer Science and Information Systems program can be completed entirely on-line. Students will be limited to a maximum of 9 credit hours each semester.

Some courses in the Information Systems concentration are taken through the School of Management, which offers courses completely on-campus or in a “mixed-mode” format, which are on-line courses with on-campus residencies at UM-Flint on a Friday and Saturday every 6 weeks throughout the semester. Additionally, distance learners have the option to take the minimum required 6 credit hours of Information Systems courses through another university and transfer those credits into the program with departmental approval to facilitate fully on-line learning. Students will be limited to a maximum of 9 credit hours each semester amongst all of these course designations.