Computer Information Systems Major, B.S.

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All candidates for a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems must satisfy the General Studies requirements, the business core course requirements, the College of Business requirements, and the major requirements described in the following sections. The basic structure of the computer information systems program is:

Required Courses	Semester Hours
General Studies	34
Business Core	36
College of Business Requirements	6
Major in Computer Information Systems	30
Unrestricted Electives*	14
Total Hours (minimum)	120

* MSU Denver’s Multicultural and Global Diversity requirements may be satisfied by taking an approved Multicultural course in the General Studies or electives portion of the degree requirement.

NOTE: Unrestricted Elective credits may vary. Total unrestricted electives must be sufficient for student to meet MSU Denver’s minimum required 120 credit hours.

General Studies: 34 credits

The academic foundation for a successful business career or graduate work is a broad liberal arts education.

See the General Studies program requirements for a list of approved courses.

Arts and Humanities

PHI 1030 - Introduction to Ethics Credits: 3
OR
PHI 3360 - Business Ethics Credits: 3
AND
- Arts and Humanities elective

Historical

Historical elective

Natural and Physical Sciences

Natural and Physical Sciences electives

Social and Behavioral Sciences I

ECO 2010 - Principles of Macroeconomics Credits: 3

Social and Behavioral Sciences II

ECO 2020 - Principles of Microeconomics Credits: 3

Global Diversity

Students may satisfy the Global Diversity requirement by completing any course designated as Global Diversity within one of the following General Studies categories: Arts and Humanities; Historical; Natural and Physical Sciences; Social and Behavioral Sciences I; or Social and Behavioral Sciences II. Students may also use an unrestricted elective to satisfy this requirement.

See General Studies requirements .

Notes

*MTH 1110 or MTH 1400, with graphing calculator experience strongly recommended, is acceptable for transfer students or students changing their major. Consult with the Department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences on substitutions.

Business Core:

All business majors require foundation course work in all significant areas of business theory and practice. The following courses are required for all majors in accounting, computer information systems, finance, management and marketing. A grade of “C-” or better must be earned in each business core course to have that course count toward the Bachelor of Science degree in a business program. A student cannot register for a business core course until all General Studies requirements in Written Communication, Oral Communication, and Quantitative Literacy are complete. (Revised: October 16, 2015)

Required Courses:

BUS 1850 - Introduction to Business Credits: 3 *
ACC 2010 - Principles of Accounting I Credits: 3
ACC 2020 - Principles of Accounting II Credits: 3
CIS 2010 - Foundations of Information Systems Credits: 3
CIS 3300 - Business Analytics I (Descriptive and Predictive) Credits: 3
CIS 3320 - Business Analytics II (Prescriptive) Credits: 3
FIN 3300 - Managerial Finance Credits: 3
MGT 2210 - Legal Environment of Business I Credits: 3
MGT 3000 - Organizational Management Credits: 3
MGT 4950 - Strategic Management Credits: 3
MKT 2040 - Business Communication Credits: 3
MKT 3000 - Principles of Marketing Credits: 3
*Transfer students that transfer in 6 or more credits of business courses will not need to take BUS 1850 but may take any other College of Business 3-credit hour course that does not appear in their Major or Business Core requirements.

Total Hours for the Business Core: 36

College of Business Requirements:

Required Courses:

MTH 1320 - Calculus for the Management and Social Sciences Credits: 3
PSY 1001 - Introductory Psychology Credits: 3
OR
SOC 1010 - Introduction to Sociology Credits: 3
Total Hours for College of Business Requirements: 6

Computer Information Systems Major Requirements:

(30 credits, 21 required credits plus 9 credits from Option 1 or 9 credits from Option 2):

Required Courses: 21 credits

CIS 2110 - Structured Problem Solving in Information Systems Credits: 3
CIS 3050 - Fundamentals of Systems Analysis and Design Credits: 3
CIS 3060 - Database Management Systems Credits: 3
CIS 3230 - Telecommunication Systems and Networking Credits: 3
CIS 3145 - Business Application Development Credits: 3
CIS 3500 - Information Systems Security Credits: 3
CIS 4050 - Systems Analysis and Design Credits: 3

Option 1: CIS Degree (9 credits)

This option does not require students to declare an area of concentration and thus allows them maximum flexibility in choosing their two upper-division CIS Electives and their CIS Capstone Group course.

Computer Information Systems Capstone Group (any 4000-level CIS course excluding CIS 4050) (3 credits)
Upper-division CIS Electives (6 credits)

Option 2: CIS Degree with an Area of Concentration (9 credits)

This option requires students to declare one, and only one, area of concentration. The area of concentration chosen dictates the CIS electives the students take. In addition, students complete the same set of core CIS courses as in Option 1.

Areas of Concentration

Application Development

CIS 3030 - Business Web Page Development Credits: 3
CIS 4060 - Advanced Database Management Systems Credits: 3
CIS 4160 - Advanced Programming Seminar Credits: 3

Business Analytics Concentration

CIS 3350 - Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining Credits: 3
CIS 3460 - Data Warehousing and Mining Credits: 3
CIS 4370 - Data Science and Big Data Analytics Credits: 3

Database Development and Administration

CIS 3460 - Data Warehousing and Mining Credits: 3
CIS 4060 - Advanced Database Management Systems Credits: 3
CIS 4260 - Database Administration Credits: 3

Information Systems Security

CIS 4500 - Information Systems Security Tools and Techniques Credits: 3
CIS 4550 - Information Systems Security Management and Information Assurance Credits: 3
AND
CIS 4280 - Network Installation and Administration Credits: 3
OR
CIS 4281 - Network Installation and Administration with UNIX/Linux Credits: 3

Network Systems and Administration

CIS 3280 - LAN and WAN Systems for Business Credits: 3
and two of the following courses:
CIS 4280 - Network Installation and Administration Credits: 3
CIS 4281 - Network Installation and Administration with UNIX/Linux Credits: 3
CIS 4500 - Information Systems Security Tools and Techniques Credits: 3

Web Development and Administration

CIS 3030 - Business Web Page Development Credits: 3
CIS 4030 - Web Site Administration Credits: 3
CIS 4500 - Information Systems Security Tools and Techniques Credits: 3

Total Hours Required for Computer Information Systems Major: 30

Note:

To earn a Bachelor of Science degree in computer information systems, a student must successfully complete 30 or more credit hours of business coursework at MSU Denver. This 30-hour residency requirement can be met by completing any business courses with the prefix ACC, CIS, ECO, FIN, MGT and MKT and a course number of at least 2000, except FIN 2250. A student must complete at least twelve (12) upper-division semester hours in Computer Information Systems at MSU Denver, excluding CIS 3340, CIS 3300, and CIS 3320.