Program completion requirements for the MSc IS are dependent on the student’s academic credentials and professional-level work experience: a recent graduate of a Computer Systems or Information Systems undergraduate program, or an IT professional with the right combination of academic credentials and work experience, may require as few as 30 credits. Others with less appropriate academic credentials and/or marginal professional-level work experience, may require the maximum of 39 credits.
The minimum and maximum credits for different routes are listed in the following table:
| Essay | Project | Thesis | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Min | Max | Min | Max | Min | Max | |
| Foundations | 3 | 12 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 12 |
| Core | 15 | 15 | 9 | |||
| Electives | 9 | 3 | 3 | |||
| Integration | 3 | 9 | 15 | |||
| Total (MSc IS) | 30 | 39 | 30 | 39 | 30 | 39 |
The MSc IS program consists of three components:
The IS foundations reflect a minimum level of prerequisite IS knowledge, and are required to prepare students for the IS core. For descriptions of these courses refer to the SCIS website.
| COMP 501 | System Development with Emerging Technology | (3) |
| COMP 503 | Information Technology Hardware and Software | (3) |
| COMP 504 | Object Structure and Programming | (3) |
| COMP 505 | Operations Management | (3) |
| COMP 506 | Organizational Behavior in Information Systems | (3) |
| COMP 601 | Survey of Computing and Information Systems (required for all students) | (3) |
The IS core is a consistent set of information systems core courses offered by all institutions granting similar credentials.
| COMP 602 | Enterprise Information Management | (3) |
| COMP 604 | Enterprise Computer Networks | (3) |
| COMP 605 | Project Management for Information Systems | (3) |
| COMP 607 | Ethical, Legal, Social Issues in Information Technology | (3) |
| COMP 610 | Selected Topics in Software Engineering | (3) |
| COMP 638 | Enterprise Modeling | (3) |
| COMP 648 | Advanced Topics in Human-Computer Interaction | (3) |
| COMP 657 | Artificial Intelligence: Principles and Techniques | (3) |
| COMP 682 | Data Mining | (3) |
| COMP 689 | Advanced Distributed Systems | (3) |
| COMP 695 | Research Methods in Information Systems (required for all students) |
(3) |
| COMP 617 | Designing Real-Time Software | (3) |
| COMP 635 | Green ICT Strategies | (3) |
| COMP 637 | Mobile Computing | (3) |
| COMP 638 | Enterprise Modeling | (3) |
| COMP 649 | Affective Computing | (3) |
| COMP 650 | Social Computing | (3) |
| COMP 656 | Cloud Computing | (3) |
| COMP 658 | Computational Intelligence | (3) |
| COMP 659 | Statistical Language Processing for Text Analytics | (3) |
| COMP 660 | Enterprise Information Security | (3) |
| COMP 667 | Multiagent Systems | (3) |
| COMP 674 | Theory of Computation | (3) |
| COMP 682 | Data Mining | (3) |
| COMP 683 | Introduction to Learning and Knowledge Analytics | (3) |
| COMP 684 | Business Intelligence | (3) |
| COMP 687 | Advanced Topics in Empirical Software Engineering (under development) | (3) |
| COMP 688 | Software Testing and Quality Assurance | (3) |
| COMP 692 | Independent Study I | (3) |
| COMP 693 | Independent Study II | (3) |
After students complete the core, they need to synthesize what they have learned. In the past neither synthesis nor integration was included in the curriculum. Furthermore, system integration is a pervasive aspect of IS practice. For this reason, the program includes an integrating capstone component. Current and emerging concepts and technologies are studied through "career tracks."
These tracks allow students (within the competency and resources of the faculty) to "major" in a specific subject area for which there is demand, or to achieve breadth within a topic area or across a wider scope.
Integration can be viewed from three perspectives. Enterprise integration and integration of the IS function are management perspectives, and will not be pursued in the MSc IS at this time. The integration of IS technologies will be the main approach for MSc IS students, integration courses, or projects. This view concerns the development of an integrated IS enterprise architecture including the evaluation and selection from architectural and platform choices, priorities, and policies, the assessment of the impact of emerging technologies, evaluation of the role of standards, and evaluation of the effect of vendor strategies.
The requirements for the Career Track component of the MSc IS may be met in one of three ways:
This requires completion of the IS foundations and core, a "career track/elective" course, and a project that is considered equivalent in effort to three, three-credit courses. A project supervisor and project sponsor are required, plus one additional reader. This additional reader may be a faculty member or an industry resource person approved by the faculty.
The project should deal with the development of technologies for intra- and inter-organizational systems in the form of an integrated technical architecture (hardware, software, networks, and data) to serve organizational needs in a rapidly changing competitive and technological environment. The project must also satisfy an acceptable combination of the following criteria:
Note: MSc IS students who elect the Project route are required to complete the following courses:
Project credits consist of three, three-credit elements, namely, COMP 697, COMP 698, and COMP 699. These elements are not conventional courses; however, they are treated similarly for administrative purposes.
For descriptions of these courses refer to the SCIS website.
Refer to the online Delivery Schedule for courses currently available.
The Master’s essay is a single three-credit requirement completed in addition to the foundations, core, and three career track/elective courses. The essay provides a generalist rather than a specialist view, and will be a comprehensive critical survey of aspects of integration (applications, IS organization, and technology). Topics should show how disparate computer platforms and networks can be integrated to provide a flexible and efficient infrastructure for the organization. This course addresses both the "What" and "How" of integration. The essay may identify significant open problems, but it is not expected to contribute significantly to their solution.
An essay supervisor is required, plus one additional reader. In addition to the essay, the student may be required to pass an oral exam on the contents of the Master’s essay, to be administered by the essay supervisor and reader.
Note: COMP 696 Master's Essay is required for students who elect the Essay route.
The Master’s thesis is a five three-credit requirement completed in addition to the foundation, three core courses, and one elective course.
The thesis must represent the results of the student's independent work after admission to the program. The proposed topic for the thesis, together with a brief statement outlining the proposed method of treatment, and the arrangement made for faculty supervision must be identified at the beginning of the program study and be approved by the program director. The thesis will be evaluated by the student's supervisor(s), and at least two examiners appointed by the graduate program director, one of whom shall be external to Athabasca University. The additional thesis examiners may be faculty members or industry resource persons approved by the program director.
Note: MSc IS students who elect the Thesis route are required to complete the following courses:
Thesis credits consist of five, three-credit elements, namely, COMP 676, COMP 677, COMP 678, COMP 679, and COMP 680. These elements are not conventional courses; however, they are treated similarly for administrative purposes.
For descriptions of these courses refer to the SCIS website.
| a) | MSc IS students who elect the essay route are required to complete the following course: | |
| COMP 696 | Master's Essay | (3) |
| b) | MSc IS students who elect the project route are required to complete the following courses: | |
| COMP 697 | Project I (Proposal Writing) | (3) |
| COMP 698 | Project II (Implementation) | (3) |
| COMP 699 | Project III (Report Writing and Oral Defence) | (3) |
| c) | MSc IS students who elect to take the thesis route are required to complete the following courses: | |
| COMP 676 | Thesis I (Proposal Writing) | (3) |
| COMP 677 | Thesis II (Research Stage I) | (3) |
| COMP 678 | Thesis III (Research Stage II) | (3) |
| COMP 679 | Thesis IV (Research Stage III) | (3) |
| COMP 680 | Thesis V (Thesis Writing and Defence) | (3) |
Students may study in the program on a full- or part-time basis. All students must complete a minimum of six credits (two course equivalents) per academic year, i.e., September 1 to August 31.
To meet the residency requirements, students must complete at least the following through the Athabasca University MSc IS program:
COMP 601 (three credits).
Two core courses (six credits) = COMP 695 + one core course.
Students may be eligible for advanced standing through evaluation of coursework applicable to the MSc IS program completed at other post-secondary institutions. Advanced Standing is implemented primarily through exemptions from IS Foundations courses.
Flexible entrance requirements are designed to recognize the range of academic credentials held by IT professionals applying to the program.
Depending on the upcoming student's credentials, the IS Foundations of the MSc IS program may be completed in as few as 3 credits (one course) or may require a maximum of 12 credits (four courses). That is, to meet the MSc IS Foundation requirements, a student should complete or get exempted from three of the following courses in addition to the mandatory COMP 601:
COMP 501, COMP 503, COMP 504, COMP 505, and COMP 506.
Students can apply for transfer of credits on the basis of appropriate graduate-level coursework completed at other post-secondary institutions. These courses should have been completed before joining the program.
Transfer credit is limited by the MSc IS program residency requirements. The transferred credits cannot be applied towards foundation courses. The coursework should be less than 7 years old at the time of application to the transfer of credits.
Only graduate-level courses that were successfully completed with a final grade of B- (70 per cent) or higher, will be considered for transfer credit.
Requests for transfer credit should be made after the applicant is admitted to the program.
To apply for transfer credit, please complete the following steps:
Students who are admitted to the MSc IS after completing one of the post-baccalaureate certificates (PBC-ITM, PBC-DA, PBC-IS) will be able to transfer completed AU graduate COMP courses towards the MSc IS Program. Courses completed within the certificate will be considered for credit towards the MSc IS if they satisfy the following requirements:
Students enrolled in the MSc IS program may take one course from other post-secondary institutions in fulfillment of the three credit towards the career track program requirements, provided such course is applicable to Athabasca University’s MSc IS program.
Students wishing to take a course from other institutions must submit a written request, detailed course outline, and the appropriate Letter of Permission Fee to the Graduate Program Director for review. If approved, the School of Computing and Information Systems will email a Letter of Permission.
To allow mailing time, requests for a Letter of Permission should be made at least one month before the registration deadline at the institution where the student will be taking the course.
Upon completion of the course and in order to receive credit, the student must submit an official transcript to the MSc IS Graduate Program Coordinator.
To maintain program status, students must complete at least 6 credits of course or essay/project work during each academic year, September 1st to August 31st or January 1st to December 31st depending on when you were admitted to the program.
In foundation and core courses, the lowest acceptable grade is B- (70 per cent). Students who a) receive a grade lower than B-, or b) receive more than one grade of B- or lower, may be required to withdraw from the program.
In elective courses, the lowest acceptable grade is C+ (66 per cent). Students who a) receive a grade lower than C+, or b) receive more than one grade of C+ or lower, may be required to withdraw from the program.
The volatility of the subject matter requires that the degree of MSc IS must be completed within five academic years from the program admission date.
If a student is unable to complete the program within the expected maximum number of years for completion, a program extension may be considered. Requests for an extension will be considered only under compelling circumstances.
The maximum length of a program extension is one (1) year. In exceptional circumstances students may reapply if additional time is necessary.
For further information on Program Extension Requests please refer to the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Graduate Handbook.
A program extension (continuation) fee will be paid by the student upon approval of the program extension.
While enrolled in the program there may be situations in which students are temporarily unable to meet the program requirements at that time. One alternative for the student is to request a deferral in order to suspend the program requirements for a period of time. The maximum length of one deferral is one (1) year. In special circumstances, students may reapply for a second year of deferral during their time in their program. For further information on Program Deferral Requests please refer to the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Graduate Handbook.
Information effective September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2016.
Updated October 26 2015 by laurab
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