How is the MIS degree different from other IT (Information Technology) degrees?

The SLIS Master of Information Science degree focuses on information technologies and the people who work with them. Many times these technologies are used in the workplace; lately, technologies such as cell phones and web-based interactive games are becoming more important in people's social lives. For example, the technologies that support ebusiness have changed the way many people shop for goods and services. In most IT degree programs, you will learn how to use a range of key technologies. Unlike in other IT degree programs, however, SLIS MIS students are also learning about the social impacts of the technologies wih which they are working. They study the ways in which information technologies are designed, implemented, managed, and used in a wide range of organizational and social settings. They think about the ways that information technologies change the ways in which we work, communicate with each other, and play. We believe that this dual focus, on the information technologies and on the ways in which they become integrated into our work and social lives, provides our students with a competitive advantage when they graduate and begin their professional careers.

Another distinctive feature of the SLIS MIS degree is the richness and diversity of the course offerings and hands-on experiences in the program. MIS students can specialize in information architecture, human-computer interaction, information retrieval, and strategic information management and leadership. They can study the management and design or complex websites for business, government and non-profit organizations, interface design, systems analysis and evaluation, strategic intelligence, database design, information retrieval, information visualization, information organizations, the semantic web, information policy, usability, computer-mediated communication, digital libraries, and intellectual property (to name a few of the courses we teach). MIS students also have opportunities to put their skills into practice because many courses have projects that take students into the community. They may be helping a local business or service organization redesign their web site. They may be conducting a systems analysis of a large information system in a government agency. They may be designing a database for a local non-profit organization. They may interning at organizations from local business to large multi-national corporations.

The difference in our MIS degree makes a difference. . Our graduates are working in public and private sector and voluntary organizations as information architects, knowledge managers, information analysts, project managers, strategic intelligence professionals, IT consultants, website managers, usability engineers, database designers, and systems managers. SLIS alumni have held positions as information leaders at Lexis-Nexis, CIA, the Baseball Hall of Fame, IBM, universities (including Harvard University and the University of Chicago), Kyocera, Palm, the Chicago Symphony, pharmaceutical companies, MedLine (National Library of Medicine), Rolls Royce, the Library of Congress, and more.

We attract students from a wide variety academic backgrounds (history, sociology, art, languages, music, biology, chemistry, psychology, engineering, political science, philosophy, computer science, business, cultural studies). Every profession needs information professionals; and your subject knowledge can be valuable in your MIS career. We expect that SLIS MIS graduates will become leaders in their chosen professions developing innovative solutions to important real world problems.

Other Master's Level Information Technology Programs:

Information technology is a part of every field. You will find graduate degree programs with heavy emphases on IT in business, public affairs, informatics, education, telecommunications, journalism, and computer science. Even art and music departments now offer concentrations in technology specific to their fields. Each discipline offers a different focus or orientation to new opportunities provided by technology. Many of these orientations overlap. Few disciplines stand alone, and most are interdisciplinary. Information technology makes human efforts successful in many fields. Here brief descriptions of some related graduate IT programs at Indiana University, Bloomington campus to help you understand the differences between these programs and the SLIS MIS degree.

• Kelley School of Business
  MS in Information Systems - in the Systems and Accounting Department - focuses on information systems applied to business institutions
• Computer Science
  MS in Computer Science - theoretical emphasis in programming languages, architectures, networking, and algorithm analysis.
• School of Education
  MS in Education - IST (Instructional Systems Technology) - focuses on consulting and training careers in the area of instructional systems
• School of Informatics
  MS in Human Computer Interaction Design - focuses on design and development of humanly usable information technologies
• School of Public and Environmental Affairs
  MPA (Master of Public Affairs) with an Information Systems Concentration - focuses on the application of information technology to complex problems in organizational and environmental affairs.
• Telecommunications
  MIME (MA or MS in Immersive Mediated Environments) - focuses on graphics, games and entertainment