Business Computer Information Systems Ph.D. Program

Business Computer Information Systems Ph.D. Program

Overview

Course work requirements for the Ph.D. in Business Administration with a concentration in Business Computer Information Systems consists of major and supporting fields of at least 33 hours and a research core of 12 hours. The specific requirements of the major and supporting fields are established by each individual student's Program Committee, although 9 to 12 of the 33 hours are typically used for the supporting field. The research and foundation core, required of all business Ph.D. students, provides a common foundation in research methodology. The final requirements for the Ph.D. consist of 12 hours of dissertation research.

Research Requirements

All Ph.D. programs in Business Administration require completion of 15 hours of approved formal course work in research methodology, 6 hours of methodological electives, and 12 hours of the dissertation research study. Information Systems Ph.D. students typically satisfy their research requirements with the following courses:

Research (15 hours)

• BUSI 6450 Business Research Methods
• BUSI 6220 Applied Regression Analysis
• BUSI 6480 Advanced Issues in Research Design
• BUSI 6240 Applied Multivariable Statistics
• BUSI 6280 Applications in Casual and Covariance Structural Modeling

Dissertation

• BCIS 6950 Dissertation Seminar

The research core is designed to provide the student with competencies in epistemology, logic, philosophy of science, research design, analytic tools, and business research methodology. Consequently, students should take the research core courses early in their program so that they can apply the concepts learned throughout their program.

Dissertation research is not started until the student has passed his/her qualifying examinations and has been admitted to candidacy. This research is supervised by the student's major professor (Dissertation Committee Chairperson).

Students are urged to consider their research goals very early in their program. Students should coordinate their career interests, research interests, and dissertation interests with their course work. Students that attempt to complete a dissertation without the appropriate supporting course work normally do not successfully finish their program.

Begin your dissertation preparation and research starting the very first day of your Ph.D. Program.

General Deficiency Requirements

If a student does not have an academic background equivalent to the background requirements for the MBA program, then the student will be required to complete those 5000-level background courses for the MBA that are appropriate to remove the deficiencies.

MBA in BCIS Background

Students that enter the Ph.D. Program with an M.B.A. in Business Computer Information Systems should have had previous course work equivalent to the following BCIS core courses:

• BCIS 5610: Executive and Decision Support Technologies
• BCIS 5620: Networking and Telecommunications
• BCIS 5630: Technology Security
• BCIS 5640: Object-Oriented Systems
• BCIS 5650: Emerging Information Technologies
• BCIS 5660: Database Administration and Project Management
• BCIS 5670: International Issues in Information Technologies

Although specific degree program requirements are established in advance by the student's Degree Program Committee, a typical 33 hour major and supporting field degree program for students having an M.B.A. in Business Computer Information Systems might consist of some of the following courses:

Business Computer Information Systems Major Courses

• BCIS 6010: Seminar in Business Administration
• BCIS 6650: Seminar in General Systems Theory
• BCIS 6660: Comparative Information Systems Theory
• BCIS 6670: Topics in Information Systems
• BCIS 5xxx: Any IS Core Course Not Satisfied by Previous Work
• Supporting Courses (12+ hours) from a supporting field approved by the Chair of the student's program committee.

MBA Background Not in BCIS

Students that enter the Ph.D. Program with an MBA not in Business Computer Information Systems typically have satisfied the general deficiency requirements (if not, see the General Deficiency Requirements). If the student has not had course work equivalent to the BCIS deficiency requirements courses (including a working knowledge of COBOL and JAVA), then the student will be required to take those courses necessary to satisfy his or her deficiencies before starting the major field course work.

Information Systems Deficiency Requirements

• BCIS 5110: Structure of Programming Language
• BCIS 5120: Information Systems Development
• BCIS 5420: Foundations of Data Base Management Systems

Although specific degree program requirements are established in advance by the student's Degree Program Committee, a typical 33 hour major and supporting field degree program for students not having an MBA in Business Computer Information Systems might consist of some of the following courses:

Business Computer Information Systems Major Courses

• BCIS 5610: Executive and Decision Support Technologies
• BCIS 5620: Networking and Telecommunications
• BCIS 5630: N-Tier Systems
• BCIS 5640: Object-Oriented Systems
• BCIS 5650: Emerging Information Technologies
• BCIS 5660: Database Administration and Project Management
• BCIS 5670: International Issues in Information Technologies
• BCIS 5680: Electronic Commerce Systems
• BCIS 5700: Strategic Use of Information Technology
• BCIS 6010: Seminar in Business Administration
• BCIS 6650: Seminar in General Systems Theory
• BCIS 6660: Comparative Information Systems Theory
• BCIS 6670: Topics in Information Systems
• Supporting Courses (12+ hours) from a supporting field approved by the Chair of the student's program committee.