Course Structure

The MSISS programme has three main streams:

1. Business and Management

   This is covered by a variety of modules, most of which you will take in conjunction with Business Studies students. Subjects covered include economics, management, finance and organisational psychology.

2. Quantitative Methods

   It is a key objective of the course that students be numerate and at home with important mathematical and statistical tools. To this end, this part of the programme encompasses mathematics, statistics and management science/operations research methods.

3. Information Technology and Systems

   The emphasis here is on the practical application of IT, but the programme starts with the basics, including fundamentals of computing and use of end-user tools such as spreadsheets and word processing. In later years you will go on to study information systems, databases and state of the art application systems development techniques.

   While the above areas make up the core of the programme, there is also a firm emphasis on personal skills such as verbal communication, interviewing, teamwork and report writing. In some cases, these will be taught explicitly. In other modules, these skills are woven into the fabric of the teaching approach.

   MSISS subject skills are built up in layers. Each major subject area is presented in each year at an increasingly advanced level, with each year from second year onwards being linked into the material covered in the preceding year. Every component of the programme is there for a purpose. In some cases this linkage may be quite subtle.

   The School of Computer Science and Statistics is committed to keeping all areas of the MSISS programme up to date with current developments and nowhere is this more critical than in information systems, where the technology changes fast. In recent years we have invested heavily in our own IT systems and laboratories and we continue to do so.