Business Administration, Master of (M.B.A.)/Information Systems, Master of Science in (M.S.) with a concentration in information technology management[Executive] [combined]           1

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION,MASTER OF (M.B.A.)/INFORMATION SYSTEMS,MASTER OF SCIENCE IN (M.S.)WITH A CONCENTRATION ININFORMATION TECHNOLOGYMANAGEMENT [EXECUTIVE][COMBINED]Program accreditationAssociation to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (http://www.aacsb.edu)

Program goalMaster of Business AdministrationThe purpose of the Master of Business Administration program at VCUis to prepare individuals for the responsibilities of management. Asstudents at VCU, individuals will learn the functions and techniques ofeffective management. The student also will come to understand theenvironmental and economic factors that affect decision-making inorganizations. In short, the student will know what to do as future eventsunfold that affect his/her firm or organization.

An M.B.A. from VCU benefits students at various points in their careers.Individuals who have recently received their baccalaureate degrees maychoose to refine their business skills while their undergraduate trainingis fresh. Individuals with work experience often find that an M.B.A. is thekey to rapid promotion or a career change. Finally, an M.B.A. from VCUmeets the needs of students who recognize that the best preparation foran uncertain future is continuous learning.

Master of Science in Information SystemsThe Master of Science in Information Systems program is designedto prepare students for specialized roles in information systems. Theprogram is intended to provide a graduate-level, technically orientedcurriculum that focuses on the design and development of informationsystems to solve real-world problems. The department’s curriculum isfocused on the rapidly emerging area known as enterprise informationsystems. Students may choose a curriculum with no concentration or aconcentration in information risk, security and assurance. Graduates ofthe program are expected to be able to take significant roles in planning,organizing, managing, designing, configuring and implementing EISsystems using state-of-the-art technologies within organizations.

Student learning outcomesFor M.B.A. graduates1. Students should be able to demonstrate the capacity to apply

business knowledge in new and unfamiliar circumstances.2. Students should be able to demonstrate the ability to work in teams

and other groups.3. Students should understand and be able to develop the ethical and

social responsibilities of organizations.

4. Students should be able to describe the factors involved in keyoperation decisions and to apply appropriately techniques thatprovide insight and structure for management decision-making.

5. Students should be able to identify and understand major issuesfaced by organizations with evolving information technology andinvestigate issues and challenges faced by managers with changes ininformation technology.

6. Students should be able to describe the factors involved in keyoperation decisions and to apply appropriately techniques thatprovide insight and structure for management decision-making.

7. Graduates of the program should be able to critically evaluate anduse accounting and other information for managerial decision-making.

8. Graduates should be able to evaluate marketing programs.9. Students should be able to think critically and systematically about

financial issues in businesses to develop techniques to analyze theseissues numerically.

10. Graduates of the program should be able to develop an analyticalframework for identifying the objectives of the firm and to providesome tools for evaluating the firm’s performance.

For M.S. in Information Sciences graduates1. Graduates should be capable of communicating and networking

effectively within their profession and within their organizations,serving the profession by applying this knowledge broadly andmaintaining key technical expertise in order to sustain required levelsof competitiveness.

2. Graduates must have an understanding of information technology asit applies to business contexts and the skill to apply this technologyeffectively in specific circumstances.

3. Graduates must be able to develop efficient and effective ISsolutions using appropriate technologies that can deliver competitiveadvantages to organizations.

4. Graduates must be able to develop and incorporate changes in theplanning and management of IS resources based on an increasedunderstanding of the dynamic changes in the organization, IS andglobal environments.

VCU Graduate Bulletin, VCU Graduate Schooland general academic policies and regulationsfor all graduate students in all graduateprogramsThe VCU Graduate Bulletin website documents the official admission andacademic rules and regulations that govern graduate education for allgraduate programs at the university. These policies are established by thegraduate faculty of the university through their elected representatives tothe University Graduate Council.

It is the responsibility of all graduate students, both on- and off-campus,to be familiar with the VCU Graduate Bulletin as well as the GraduateSchool website and academic regulations in individual school anddepartment publications and on program websites. However, in all cases,the official policies and procedures of the University Graduate Council, aspublished on the VCU Graduate Bulletin and Graduate School websites,take precedence over individual program policies and guidelines.

Visit the academic regulations section for additional information onacademic regulations for graduate students.

2        Business Administration, Master of (M.B.A.)/Information Systems, Master of Science in (M.S.) with a concentration in information technologymanagement [Executive] [combined]

Degree candidacy requirementsA graduate student admitted to a program or concentration requiring afinal research project, work of art, thesis or dissertation, must qualify forcontinuing master’s or doctoral status according to the degree candidacyrequirements of the student’s graduate program. Admission to degreecandidacy, if applicable, is a formal statement by the graduate student’sfaculty regarding the student’s academic achievements and the student’sreadiness to proceed to the final research phase of the degree program.

Graduate students and program directors should refer to the followingdegree candidacy policy as published in the VCU Graduate Bulletin forcomplete information and instructions.

Visit the academic regulations section for additional information ondegree candidacy requirements.

Graduation requirementsAs graduate students approach the end of their academic programs andthe final semester of matriculation, they must make formal application tograduate. No degrees will be conferred until the application to graduatehas been finalized.

Graduate students and program directors should refer to the followinggraduation requirements as published in the Graduate Bulletin for acomplete list of instructions and a graduation checklist.

Visit the academic regulations section for additional information ongraduation requirements.

Other informationSchool of Business policies and procedures for graduate master’s degreestudents are available on the school’s website at business.vcu.edu/graduate-studies/current-graduate-students.

Apply online at graduate.admissions.vcu.edu (http://www.graduate.admissions.vcu.edu).

Admission requirementsDegree: Semester(s) of

entry:Deadline dates: Test

requirements:M.B.A. Fall Jul 1 GMAT or GRE

Spring Nov 1M.S. Spring only Feb 1

In addition to the general admission requirements of the VCU GraduateSchool (http://bulletin.vcu.edu/graduate/study/admission-graduate-study/admission-requirements), applicants to the combined Master ofBusiness Administration and Executive Master of Science in InformationSystems with a concentration in information technology managementprogram must submit an up-to-date resume.

Degree requirementsIn addition to the VCU Graduate School graduation requirements (http://bulletin.vcu.edu/academic-regs/grad/graduation-info), students can earnboth M.B.A. and M.S. in Information Systems degrees by having 12 credithours counted toward both degrees, thus requiring only 54 credit hourstotal of advanced course work (not counting foundation courses), ratherthan the 36 and 30 credit hours normally required for the two degrees.

To obtain both degrees, students will complete the entire 30 credit-hour information system master’s program plus six M.B.A. core courses

(ECON 610, FIRE 623, ACCT 608, MGMT 642, SCMA 675 and MKTG 671)plus two elective courses. Students must also complete any designatedrequired courses. The course ISTM 671 will substitute for MGMT 641;ISTM 672 will substitute for INFO 661; and ISTM 677 will substitute forINFO 664. ISTM 673 will count toward one of the three required M.B.A.elective courses.

Curriculum requirementsCourse Title HoursFoundation courses (Not included in 54 hours required forcombined degree program.)ACCT 507 Fundamentals of Accounting 3ECON 500 Concepts in Economics 3FIRE 520 Financial Concepts of Management 3MGMT 540 Management Theory and Practice 3MKTG 570 Concepts and Issues in Marketing 3SCMA 524 Statistical Fundamentals for Business

Management3

SCMA 530 Fundamentals of the Legal Environmentof Business

3

Total Hours 21

M.B.A. course workCourse Title HoursAdvanced core coursesACCT 608 Managerial Accounting Concepts 3ECON 610 Managerial Economics 3FIRE 623 Financial Management 3MGMT 642 Business Policy and Strategy 3MKTG 671 Marketing Management 3SCMA 675 Operations Management 3Electives (two) 6

Total Hours 24

M.S. in Information Systems course workCourse Title HoursISTM 671 Organizational Culture and Team

Building3

ISTM 672 Information Systems Management 3ISTM 673 Analysis and Decisions 3ISTM 674 Emerging Technologies 3ISTM 675 IS Planning and Project Management 3ISTM 676 Information Systems Assurance and

Security Management3

ISTM 677 Structuring Information for DecisionMaking

3

ISTM 678 IS in the Digital Economy 3ISTM 679 Enterprise Information Systems 3ISTM 691 Topics in IT Management 3

Total Hours 30

Business Administration, Master of (M.B.A.)/Information Systems, Master of Science in (M.S.) with a concentration in information technology management[Executive] [combined]           3

Total graduate credit hours required (minimum) 54Students in the combined program who wish to have an M.B.A.concentration other than information resources management would needto complete an additional three courses for the concentration area.

Graduate program directorAusten GouldmanDirector, graduate programsEmail: gouldmana@vcu.eduPhone: (804) 828-4622

Additional contactGraduate Studies in BusinessEmail: gsib@vcu.eduPhone: (804) 828-4622

Program website: business.vcu.edu/graduate-studies/combined-mbams-in-information-systems (http://business.vcu.edu/graduate-studies/combined-mbams-in-information-systems)