Welcome to the home page for the Master's of Science in Computer
Information Systems (CIS) at Grand Valley State University. We are glad that
you have taken an interest in our program.
Outstanding Graduate Publication for Winter 2009
Kevin Holleran was awarded the Graduate Dean's Citation for
Outstanding Publication for 2009. Kevin worked with Dr. Robert Adams on a
paper entitled "Disciplined MVC: Using AJAX to Ensure Separation of View and Controller in Web Applications", which has been submitted to the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges (CCSC) Midwest Conference.
Outstanding Graduate Student for Winter 2009
Vinay Alofs was recently named the Outstanding Student in the
MS-CIS program. A graduate of both our undergraduate and graduate
programs, Vinay uses the knowledge he received from the
Object-Oriented Technology and Database Management tracks at his
currently employer, DornerWorks, Ltd. in Grand Rapids. Vinay is an
embedded systems engineering working on requirement-based tests for
the 787 Dreamliner aircraft. About the CIS program Vinay says "The
CIS program benefited me greatly in that I accomplished my goal of
increasing my knowledge and understanding of subjects that I wanted
to improve upon. There were a wide variety of classes to choose
from." When asked about the specific strengths of the CIS program,
Vinay pointed to the faculty "The CIS program has many strengths,
but probably the most important one was the quality of the teachers.
In CIS, I have always had great teachers... There are some things I
can learn on my own, but other things I won't learn unless explained
to me clearly by my teachers. I went to University of Michigan for
a large portion of my undergraduate [degree], and I can frankly say
that every topic that I had a difficulty in understanding there, I
understood clearly at Grand Valley." We are proud to call Vinay the
Outstanding Student in the MS-CIS program.
Thank you for being a part of the CIS program!
Certificates
How do I get a "certificate" stating that I completed a content area?
Upon completion of each of our emphasis areas students qualify for a graduate certificate.
A certificate is like a mini-diploma stating that a student has completed a specific
set of coursework. The Registar is the person who handles certificates.
Please visit http://www.gvsu.edu/registrar/index.cfm?id=26EA609A-F158-D819-51DC0CF8C1F56110
and complete the "Certification Application- Graduate Certificate" form.
General Course Information
What electives can I take?
For electives, you may take any CS course at the 500 or
600-level (disregarding the capstone, project, and
thesis courses). Naturally, you should have taken the
appropriate prerequisites first.
What is CS 699 Directed Readings in Computer Science?
CS 699
is meant as an avenue for students to explore topics outside of
what is offered in class. Typically, a student will approach a professor
and express interest in pursuing a given topic. The student and professor
will then develop a plan of study for the semester. Students contemplating
taking CS 699 should approach a professor several weeks before the semester
begins in order to allow time to start the discussion and paperwork
process. CS 699 is not meant for everyone, only those that have shown
outstanding ability in a course will be allowed to undertake CS 699.
What is the minimum grade requirement for courses?
According to the catalog (http://catalog.gvsu.edu)... "Graduate
credit will be awarded for grades of C (2.0) or better. This includes all
graduate coursework... Grades below C will figure in a student's GPA, but
the credits will not count toward the degree."
Projects and Theses:
What's the difference between a project and a thesis?
The differences are quite substantial and are described in a separate document.
How do I write a project report or the thesis document?
The GVSU Library has full information regarding the preparation
of both
theses and
projects. Please look at their pages first. In general, the guidelines
for the documents are quite loose. We provide a Microsoft Word template for the title page only.
The format of other pages is entirely up to you and your
advisor.
How do I submit my project or thesis to the library?
The Computer Information Systems program is a hybrid of
Computer Science (CS) and Information Systems (IS). It
incorporates topics from both disciplines to allow students
great flexibility in tailoring a graduate degree to suit their
needs.
The CIS Master's is not an "engineering" degree. The CIS program
deals primarily with software analysis, design, and development. That may mean
at the systems level (operating systems and networking), at the analysis and
design level, or somewhere in between. If your interests lie primarily in
hardware, then we encourage you to look into the Master's
of Science in Engineering.
Why GVSU's CIS Program is Right for You
1. Customizable Program of Study
With six emphases and over 30 courses, our CIS program allows you to
tailor your degree to your specific career goals. That's over
350,000 different emphasis/course combinations!
2. Top-Notch Faculty
All of us that teach in the CIS program take our teaching
seriously, and that's what sets us apart from the rest. But we are
also active scholars, publishing regularly both nationally and
internationally.
3. Nationally-Recognized Facilities
The School of Computing and Information Systems has five computer
labs dedicated solely for use by our students. We have two data
communications labs, a Linux lab, an architecture lab, and a
software/hardware lab.
4. Career Advancement Opportunities
With a highly flexible program of study, talented faculty, and
second-to-none hands-on opportunities, a Master's degree in CIS will
open many doors on your career pathway. After completing the CIS
program, our graduates have been promoted within their companies,
furthered their career in other companies, and have even completed
PhD programs.
5. Diverse Student Body
Courses in the CIS program are taken by students from diverse
backgrounds. This means class time is full of lively discussion
with students bring their own perspective to a topic. This means you
will hear not only the professor's viewpoint, but students' as well.
We have students from such differing backgrounds as GE Aviation,
Spectrum Health, Gordon Food Service, Amway/Quixtar, and Steelcase.
6. Affordable
The cost of graduate education at GVSU is in the bottom 50% compared
with the other fifteen public
universities in Michigan.
7. Location
All CIS courses are offered in the new Kennedy
Hall of Engineering. Kennedy Hall is located on our downtown
campus, so there's no need to drive to Allendale to take courses.
8. Schedule
Because the vast majority of our students work full-time, all of
the courses in the CIS program are offered 6:00pm-9:00pm Monday-Thursday.
This means courses dovetail nicely with most work schedules.
The CIS program also serves an increasing number of full-time and
international students.
9. Financial Aid, Scholarships and Assistantships
A plethora of financial aid opportunities are available. The CIS
program also has scholarships and assistantships available.
10. Small class size
One of the hallmarks of the CIS program (and GVSU as a whole) is
small class size. Most CIS courses have less than 20 students. This
means the instructor will know your name, and you will get
individualized attention.
More Information
For more information, check out the Frequently Asked Questions tab
at the top of this file. Also, you can submit your name and email via
the form at the right.
Want to Know More?
Simply enter your contact information, and the graduate program chair
will contact you to answer all of your questions.
Quick Links
Table of Contents:
Admissions:
Program and Courses:
Frequently Asked Questions:
Admissions:
Can I apply to the CIS Master's Program if I do not have a
background in computing?
If you do not have a background in
computing and would like to apply to the CIS Master's Program, there are
some background courses that must be successfully completed:
If admission requirements have been met, performance in
these background courses will determine final admissibility to the program.
For more information, you should contact the School of CIS to discuss this
further.
Do I need to take the GRE, and what are the mimimum scores?
GRE scores are required for domestic students whose undergraduate
GPA is less than 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale), and for all international students.
In order to be considered for admission, you must have a mimimum GRE verbal
score of 400, or a combined verbal+quantitative score of 1100.
What if I have a background in computing, but it's been a while since
I was in school?
In that case, we would recommend that you
take
CS 500
Fundamentals of Computer Science as a refresher course. Please
note, CS 500 is not meant for those without a background in computing. If
you don't have a computing background, then please contact the School of CIS
to discuss options for taking undergraduate courses to provide a foundation
for graduate study.
Do I need to apply to the CIS Master's Program if I only want to take
a course or two?
As long as you have an appropriate background,
you may take a course(s) as a Non-Degree Seeking status. However,
you should contact the School of CIS beforehand to make sure you have the
background to be able to handle the subject matter.
What if I only want to take courses in a certain content area?
As long as you have an appropriate background, you may take the
three courses in one of six content areas and receive
a certificate for that particular content area. However, you should contact
the School of CIS before hand to make sure you have the background to be able
to handle the subject matter.
When can I start?
You may enter the CIS program at the beginning of either the Fall
or Winter semesters of the academic year (late August and early
January). However, you should pay careful attention to the
course offering schedule (see below) to ensure you take the courses you
want in a timely manner.
Program and Courses:
Can you tell me more about the emphasis areas?
We offer six "tracks" which, when completed, provide you with a
certificate in that particular speciality. The tracks consist of three
courses that develop a given topic. For a full description of the courses
in each track, see the current
catalog.
More informally, the content areas are...
Databases: The database track teaches students about
databases from the low-level details needed by application developers
through modeling and query languages. The track continues with an
exploration of how databases are implemented, and finishes by examining new
trends in database management systems.
Distributed Systems: The distributed systems track
exposes students to the issues of designing and building distributed
systems through intensive hands-on programming projects. This content area
has three main content areas: networking fundamentals, distributed
operating systems, and web architectures.
Information Systems Management: The information
systems management track focuses on models and techniques for managing
software development in general, and software projects more specifically.
Students learn about planning, monitoring, and assessing the software
development process. The track concludes with a look at the operational and
strategic issues facing software managers.
Object-Oriented: The object-oriented track helps
students develop their object-oriented design skills. The track begins with
an introduction to the area, and continues with advanced design issues like
software patterns. Students use their design experience in the third course
of the track while examining the problems of building graphical user
interfaces.
Software Engineering: Software engineering involves
looking at the challenges of designing, building, testing, and maintaining
large pieces of software. The track begins with an introduction to the
topic, and concludes with specific courses on requirements gathering
(design) and testing.
Biomedical Informatics: The Biomedical Informatics track builds upon
prior medical or biological knowledge to expose students to this growing
field. The track begins with an introduction to Bioinformatics and allows
two electives after that.
How many classes do you need to take to get a master's degree in
CIS?
The CIS Master's Program consists of 11 classes, 3
credits each, for a total of 33 credits.
In what terms are the courses taught?
Fall
Winter
Summer
CS 500 Fundamentals of Computer Science
CS 612 Requirements Specification
CS 621 Object-Oriented Programming
CS 623 Graphical User Interface Design
CS 641 Management of Software Development
CS 643 Information Systems Policy
CS 656 Distributed Systems
CS 673 Principles of Database Design
CS 679 Advances in Database Management Systems
CS 690 Master's Thesis Research - Two Course Sequence
CS 692 Master's Capstone
CS 693 Master's Project
CS 695 Master's Thesis
CS 500 Fundamentals of Computer Science
CS 611 Introduction to Software Engineering
CS 613 Software Testing
CS 622 Software Design Methodologies
CS 642 Software Project Management
CS 654 Computer Networking
CS 658 Web Architectures
CS 676 Database Management Systems
CS 690 Master's Thesis Research - Two Course Sequence
CS 692 Master's Capstone
CS 693 Master's Project
CS 695 Master's Thesis
CS 672 Computer Systems Architecture
CS 674 Modeling and Decision Systems
CS 675 Compiler Construction
CS 680 Seminar in Computer Information Systems
CS 699 Directed Readings in Computer Science
This page was last modified October 15 2009.
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