Information Systems, M.S.

Graduate Degree

A Master of Science in Information Systems degree is a specialized master’s degree designed to equip students with the technical expertise as well as the business savvy needed for analyzing, designing, deploying, maintaining and managing information systems in industrial, government and non-profit settings. Information systems integrate software, hardware and people power needed to create, collect, process, filter and distribute data. Our program at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, prepares our students for not only these challenges, but the challenges of the future.

Why earn a master’s degree in Information Systems from Marshall University?

The master’s degree program in Information Systems at Marshall University trains students for advanced IT and information management careers in the computer industry and to help working professionals in information technology fields advance their careers through graduate continuing education. Marshall’s Information Systems graduate degree program provides educational and research resources to serve communities and industries, and encourages students to conduct high quality and innovative research to advance the field of information technology and to bring economic opportunities to the state of West Virginia and the nation.

At Marshall University, students are not required to have a computer-related undergraduate major to study in the Information Systems master’s degree program.
Graduates will gain a solid foundation in the various business disciplines and gain an understanding of the effective use of information technology in business or organizational settings. Our graduates are effective users, designers and developers of computer information systems, adding value to processes and products in organizations.
Marshall University graduates from the College of Information Technology and Engineering have benefited from one-on-one instruction and extra effort from committed and experienced faculty members.

Top Facilities

The Computer Science Division at Marshall University is housed in the Weisberg Applied Engineering Complex, a 155,000-square-foot facility that contains multiple state-of-the-art labs for classes and research. The complex also has workstations located outside faculty offices to facilitate collaboration between students and professors. Three labs are specifically dedicated for Computer Science: The computer graphics lab, the cybersecurity and networking lab, and project studio. The computer graphics lab is a fully equipped iMac lab, used for graphics-related development along with Apple-specific development projects, including mobile apps for iOS. The cybersecurity and networking lab has dual network infrastructure. It is connected to the Marshall University network for access to the Internet, but also boasts an internal network system within the lab that allows containment of network traffic during testing and deployment of malicious payloads. In the project studio, students work with faculty to produce high-quality software products used in a variety of real-world projects needed by Marshall’s industry and government partners throughout West Virginia and the region.

Career Outlook for Information Systems Master’s Degree Graduates

Depending on students’ individual interests, a master’s degree in Information Systems can be good preparation for information technology jobs and IT management jobs. Management Information Systems jobs took 7th place, and Computer Information Systems took 13th place in Forbes’ list of Best Master’s Degrees for Jobs in 2017.

After graduation, students are capable of:

Analyzing and identifying requirements for rapidly changing computing problems and information technology environments
Designing and implementing solutions for those ever-changing computing problems and information technology environments
Good communication skills and working effectively in teams
Gazing the impact of computing on society, and applying knowledge of the ethical, social and professional implications and responsibilities of their work, and
Engaging in life-long learning to adapt to innovation and change, and finding success in their professional work.

Graduates with a master’s degree in Information Systems could also become computer network architects, designing data communication networks for private and public communications among businesses and their clients. Computer network architects earn an average salary of $101,210.

Some employers who hire Marshall University graduates with an Information Systems master’s degree are:

The West Virginia Department of Education, IT Manager
The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Database Administrator
Strictly Business, Software Engineer
New Vision Systems, Net programmer
National City Bank, System Analyst

Opportunities for Information Systems Master’s Degree Graduates

Students in Marshall’s Master of Science in Information Systems degree program acquire an abundance of hands-on experience through projects working with faculty and other partners on and off campus.

Our students and faculty have worked on:

Predicting chemical concentrations of chemical spills
An online reporting tool for the West Virginia Department of Education
A hospital daily census report and a hospital preventive maintenance system
A high school programming contest
Bridge inspections using drones
A 3D printing online management system
A suture training simulator
A game-embedded story book

Students in the program participate in various internships with:

The West Virginia Governor’s Office
A Faculty-Mentored Internship Program
Strictly Business
Verizon Wireless
Amazon
Cabell Huntington Hospital
Marshall University’s IT Department