THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA
NOTIFICATION OF INTENT TO PLAN A NEW BACCALAUREATE, MASTER’S PROGRAM, OR
C.A.S. PROGRAM
THE PURPOSE OF ACADEMIC PROGRAM PLANNING: Planning a new academic degree program provides an opportunity for an institution to make the case for need and demand and for its ability to offer a quality program. This notification, and the planning activity to follow, does not guarantee that authorization to establish will be granted.
Date: November 1, 2002
Constituent Institution: University of North Carolina at Wilmington
CIP Discipline Specialty Title: Computer and Information Sciences, General
CIP Discipline Specialty Number: 11.0101 Level: B__ M X C.A.S ____
Exact Title of Proposed Program: Master of Science in Computer Science and Information Systems
Exact Degree Abbreviation (e.g. B.S., B.A., M.A., M.S., Ed.D., Ph.D.): M.S.
Does the proposed program constitute a substantive change as defined by SACS? Yes__ No X a) Is it at a more advanced level than those previously authorized: Yes No X b) Is the proposed program in a new discipline division: Yes____ No X
Approximate date for submitting the Request to Establish proposal (must be within one year of date of submission of notification of intent to plan): November 1, 2003
Proposed date of establishment : month August year 2005
1. Describe the proposed new degree program for which planning authorization is being sought. Include a statement of educational objectives. Describe the relationship of the proposed new program to the institutional mission, the relationship of the proposed new program to other existing programs at the institution, and special features or conditions that make the institution a desirable, unique, or appropriate place to initiate such a degree program.
Program Description: The proposed program will be a joint offering of the Department of Computer
Science in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Information Systems and Operations
Management in the Cameron School of Business. This interdisciplinary graduate program in Computer
Science and Information Systems (CSIS) will be targeted primarily at students who have an undergraduate degree in computer science or information systems and at computer professionals with equivalent academic preparation. A secondary audience for the CSIS program will be students in related areas such as business, mathematics, and electrical engineering, or working professionals seeking to migrate to the information technology arena.
The program will require 36 semester hours of graduate-level courses aimed at preparing the student to take on leadership roles in the development and implementation of computer and information systems.
The program will include four to six required core courses (12-18 hours) providing a mix of theoretical
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underpinning, technical skills, and information technology perspectives. Elective courses (12-18 hours) would provide the opportunity for additional study in various tracks – for example: o a technical track with advanced study in artificial intelligence, parallel computing, visualization, and computer graphics; o an e-business track with advanced study in Web-based application development and deployment, data communications, and network security; o a management track with emphasis on the management of information technologies, projects, and leveraging new technologies for strategic business applications.
An integrative project (3 hours), or a thesis (6 hours), would serve as a capstone experience.
Educational Objectives: The proposed Master of Science (MS) in Computer Science and Information
Systems (CSIS) has the following objectives:
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To enhance the career advancement potential for computer professionals by developing students' depth of understanding and skills in: o emerging computer and software technologies; o software project management; and o problem solving and analysis.
Students accomplishing this objective will be better prepared to assume leadership roles in software and systems development or project management.
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To prepare students for careers in research and development in computer science and information systems by providing a firm background in CSIS and in research methods. Students accomplishing this objective will be prepared to enter a terminal degree program or a research and development environment.
Relationship of the Proposed Program to the Institutional Mission and How the Program Fits into the Institution’s Strategic Plan: The proposed MS in CSIS program will contribute to the university’s mission by complementing the undergraduate curriculums of computer science and information systems with advanced course work in both disciplines. The MS program will further contribute to the mission by providing regional access to educational programs. Even though there are no other degree programs in
North Carolina that combine computer science and information systems into a single program, there are a few examples of this interdisciplinary mix around the country
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. For example, the University of Colorado at Denver has recently had a PhD program in CSIS approved. This is a joint program being offered by
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There are many undergraduate programs around the country that offer BS degrees in Computer Information
Systems and/or Information Technology (e.g., a few examples are Georgia Southern University, University of
Central Florida, and New Jersey Institute of Technology all offer a BS in IT and Illinois Institute of Technology,
Cleveland State University and Excelsior College offer a BS degrees in CIS).
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the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the College of Business
( http://isl4.cudenver.edu/UCDenver.html
). At Bentley College, the Department of Computer Information
Systems offers both BS and MS degrees in Computer Information Systems ( http://cis.bentley.edu
). These programs are being developed because computing professionals must often balance their technical knowledge with business management expertise to be successful in industry. Although the higher education system produces large numbers of highly educated people in both information systems (IS) and computer science (CS), skilled information technology people are still in short supply in industry. Even scarcer are talented people with advanced knowledge for architecting and managing computer information systems. It is the main objective of this MS program to fill this gap by providing the needed education. Through core courses that provide fundamental knowledge and hands-on practice leading to specialty concentrations offering the breadth and depth of a common core, this interdisciplinary MS in
CSIS program is designed for advanced students to develop additional expertise in an information technology area of their choosing.
Relationship of the Proposed Program to Other Existing Programs at the Institution:
Some graduate core courses may be cross-listed to allow access by computer science and information systems undergraduate students, especially those who may wish to complete this or some other graduatelevel program. Consequently, two undergraduate programs at UNCW would leverage the additional resources, and have access to the emerging technologies required for such an advanced program.
Computer Science: A master’s program in CSIS will offer further opportunities for undergraduate students to extend their technical skills and scientific knowledge in areas such as software development, computer networks, intelligent decision systems, computer graphics and data visualization. Furthermore, courses in the analysis and design of business processes employing information technology will prepare students to assume software project management roles.
Information Systems: A master’s program in CSIS will offer additional opportunities for undergraduate students to further develop and extend their technical skills in areas such as data management, software analysis, modeling, and design, project and change management, information systems policy and strategy, and integrating enterprise functions and technologies.
Coursework available to students in the proposed program will also support existing and proposed graduate programs:
Graduate Programs at UNCW : Students in the Master of Business Administration and Master of
Science in Accountancy programs who wish to strengthen their skills and understanding of business information systems might take courses in the proposed program. Furthermore, students in graduate programs such as Mathematics and Statistics, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Marine Science, and
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Biological Science, and in specialized areas such as bioinformatics, will also be likely to take courses in the areas of databases, simulation, modeling, visualization, and computer graphics. Students in the
Master of Science in Instructional Technology program in the Watson School of Education are likely to be interested in courses dealing with advanced computing technology and management of technology resources.
Special Features or Conditions That Make the Institution a Desirable, Unique, or Appropriate
Place to Initiate Such a Degree Program:
Supply of Students : There are many local and regional companies such as IBM, Corning, Global Nuclear
Fuel, Vision Software, Applied Technology Solutions, Motion Media, Corps of Engineers, and PPD that employ hundreds of technology professionals in the UNCW service region. These companies and organizations have expressed strong interest in supporting an advanced computer and information systems degree program at UNCW. Also, since the Computer Science and Information Systems and Operations
Management departments currently graduate around 75 students per year, many of whom would like to get an advanced degree, there is an existing pool of qualified students eager to enroll in this kind of degree program.
Interdisciplinary Nature : The proposed program combines the strengths of two undergraduate departments across colleges/schools. The Department of Computer Science from the College of Arts and
Sciences and the Department of Information Systems and Operations Management from the Cameron
School of Business will offer this joint master’s degree program in computer science and information systems. As noted in item #2 below, no other UNC institution offers this unique blend of computer science and information systems in a single program. By collaboratively developing and offering this joint program, UNCW will join a handful of institutions nationwide where courses and facilities are tightly interwoven and shared among the faculties from a business school and a traditional college of arts and sciences.
Ability to Deliver : UNCW has strong faculty in both in the Department of Computer Science and in the
Department of Information Systems and Operations Management. The combined credentials and inherent strengths of both departments indicate a high probability of success in providing a quality program. All existing UNCW classrooms, la bs, and offices have excellent wired computer network connections and many have wireless LAN connectivity as well. With the completion of the new Computer Science and
Information Systems building anticipated in Fall 2005, the proposed MS degree program will enjoy excellent support facilities. Computer science and information systems faculty have developed working
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relationships in the business community. These relationships already provide ample opportunity for practical experiences for both faculty and students. In addition, these relationships provide valuable input for keeping the curriculum tuned to changes in information technology and the business uses of information technology.
Adequacy of Resources : With a new technology building coming online in Fall 2005, UNCW will be well positioned to offer this new degree program. Library resources already exist to support this program as the most important sources of technical literature in the computing arena have their resources available online (i.e., UNCW already subscribes to both the ACM Digital Library and the IEEE Computer Society
Digital Library and thereby faculty and students have access to hundreds of thousands of technical reports and journal articles). We do anticipate the need for three additional faculty positions, twelve graduate student stipends, and startup funds to purchase additional computer hardware and software. A thorough discussion of what additional resources will be needed to build a high quality program will be included in the permission to establish document.
2. List all other public and private institutions of higher education in North Carolina currently operating programs similar to the proposed new degree program.
There are no public or private institutions of higher education in North Carolina currently offering a joint program in computer science and information systems.
The following is a list of institutions offering programs in computer science or information systems/technology, which are independent of one another.
Degree Area Institution
MS Computer Science ASU
MS Computer Science ECU
MS Computer Science NCA&T
MS Computer Science NCSU
MS Computer Science UNC-CH
MS Computer Science UNCC
MS Computer Science UNC-G
MS Computer Science Duke
MS Information Technology UNCC
MIS Information Sciences NCCU
MSIS Information Science UNC-CH
MS Computer Networking NCSU
MS Information Technology and Management UNC-G
3. Estimate the number of students that would be enrolled in the program during the first year of operation: Full-Time 20 Part-Time 10
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4. If there are plans to offer the program away from campus during the first year of operation: a) Briefly describe these plans, including potential sites and possible method(s) of delivering instruction.
b) Indicate any similar programs being offered off-campus in North Carolina by other institutions (public or private) c) Estimate the numbe r of students that would be enrolled in the program during the first year of operation:
There are currently no plans to offer the program away from the UNCW campus.
5. List the names, titles, e -mail addresses and telephone number of the person(s) responsible for planning the proposed program.
Dr. Ron Vetter, Professor and Chair of Computer Science
Email: vetterr@uncw.edu
Telephone: (910) 962-7192
Dr. Ravija Badarinathi, Professor and Chair of Information Systems and Operations Management
Email: ravij@uncw.edu
Telephone: (910) 962-3518
This intent to plan a new program has been reviewed and approved by the appropriate campus committees and authorities.
Chancellor: _________________________________ Date: ______________________
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