The Management Information Systems (MIS) Department, one of four departments in the College of Business, is home to around 550 students and 21 faculty focused on a single program–the MIS Concentration. MIS is one of the 9 concentrations, like Accounting, Marketing or Finance, that add an area of specialization to the undergraduate business degree, the BSBA (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration) that all business majors earn. While all business students take a common core curriculum of business fundamentals (Intro to Marketing, Intro to Accounting, Intro to Management, etc.), each concentration builds an in-depth knowledge and skill set focused on the student’s career goals and in MIS that means adding the business technology proficiency to become an MIS professional in Silicon Valley and beyond. 

MIS professionals draw on their knowledge of both business and technology to serve their organizations by getting people the information they need to do their jobs better/faster/smarter. Information is the lifeblood of all organizations, now more than ever and they need someone who understands both business (programmers/computer scientists don't) and technology (other kinds of managers don't). As the managers of information and technology within the organization, MIS professionals bring technology and business together to deliver information solutions that help organizations meet their goals. It is the goal of the MIS concentration to prepare students to excel professionally and contribute meaningfully to the knowledge/information economy of the 21^st century.

Like most other undergraduate MIS programs, our curriculum reflects the best practice recommendations of the Association for Information Systems (AIS), building on the core fundamentals of the business degree to provide a grounding in business technology. The MIS core is comprised of coursework in systems analysis & design, database management, networks and programming fundamentals, along with a hands-on practicum on project management with a real-world sponsor and a capstone course in MIS strategy. In addition, two MIS electives allow students to go into depth with advanced study in these areas or specialized subjects such as web applications, e-business, service systems management, etc. The MIS program at SJSU is differentiated in a number of ways:

• Our practicum courses are staffed by instructors with real-world professional experience as project managers
• There is an emphasis on community service in our project portfolio and we have been recognized for this formally
• Our honors program is a 2-semester sequence enabling teams to tackle full-scale projects
• We infuse our curriculum with hands-on use of state-of-the-art tools from IBM, Oracle, etc.
• Our tenured and tenure-track faculty are active in research (100% ‘academically qualified’ with respect to the foremost business school accreditation board, AACSB) and are well-connected to the local Silicon Valley business community
• We leverage technology to support learning in and out of the classroom
• We nurture a thriving student club and a vibrant alumni network
• We hold an annual graduation convocation just for MIS students to provide individual recognition

Reflecting the value of combining business and technology, particularly here in Silicon Valley, MIS graduates typically rank at or near the top among the nine College of Business concentrations in terms of starting salaries as reported in the SJSU Career Center’s Annual Salary Survey. MIS jobs range from traditional Information Technology (IT) Management to Technical Sales & Marketing, from the high-tech industry to transportation, government or financial services, from small family businesses & startups to industry behemoths. A quick scan of MIS alumni job titles on LinkedIn highlights the diversity of possibilities:

• Business Systems Analyst at Xilinx
• Online Program Specialist at Symantec
• Senior Project Manager at Alaska Airlines
• Internal Tools Developer at Google
• Sr. Sales Engineer at Nuance
• Systems Analyst at Countrywide Financial
• Program Manager at iTradeNetwork
• Associate Project Manager at eBay
• Software QA Engineer at Apple
• Data Analyst at Yahoo!
• Business Analyst at Novellus Systems
• IT Support Specialist at Intel
• Project/ Program Manager, Global Services at Brocade
• Director of Global Services at WildPackets
• IT Auditor at SalesForce.com
• Solution Architect at Applied Materials
• Consultant at Accenture
• ERP Business Analyst at Lockheed Martin Information Technology
• Services Channel Manager at Cisco Systems

MIS jobs are communication and teamwork-intensive and are managerially oriented, thus they are not subject to outsourcing/off-shoring. As the shift toward a knowledge/information economy continues into the 21^st century, demand for MIS professionals is expected to grow and with the continual rapid evolution and innovation in technology, MIS is a dynamic and attractive career choice. If you’re a student considering MIS, feel free to further explore the resources at this site, including a podcast from the department chair, or to visit us in the Business Tower, off the elevator lobby, in BT 250 to find out more.

Note: If your interest spans both accounting and information systems, be sure to explore the Accounting Information Systems program housed in the Accounting and Finance Department here in the College of Business. This is a unique program that focuses on important accounting and internal control issues (e.g., Sarbanes Oxley, etc.), while at the same time infusing information technology issues into the curriculum.  AIS students take courses in database design, networking and data communications, systems analysis and design, and IT audit, all with an accounting emphasis. The AIS curriculum qualifies students to take the CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) exam which is a globally accepted standard of achievement among information systems (IS) audit, control and security professionals.