MSIS 2000: Model Curriculum and Guidelines for Graduate Degree Programs in Information Systems

Editor's Note: This article contains the official text of the MSIS 2000 model curriculum as approved by both the Association for Computing Machinery and the Association for Information Systems. It is presented here in its original form. This copyrighted material may not be reproduced, transmitted, translated, nor stored, in whole or in part, by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, digital scan, or multimedia recording, for any purpose, including storage and retrieval, without the express written permission of the authors, or their assigns as specified below, except as provided herein for published review or comment. Assignment of all rights for publication in any form, printed or electronic, is granted fully and equally to the sponsoring organizations including the Association for Computing Machinery and the Association for Information Systems.INTENDED USERS The Master of Science in Information Systems (MSIS) model curriculum report has several intended classes of users who have a stake in the achievement of quality IS degree programs: • academic executives to whom the MSIS systems program report • academic heads of units where MSIS programs are housed • MSIS faculty • other faculty in the school or college where the MSIS program resides • information systems practitioners • MSIS students The MISIS curriculum was developed based on graduate programs in the United States and Canada and is intended primarily to fit that model. Programs in other countries may choose to adapt the model to fit their needs.-iii-FOREWORD MSIS 2000: Model Curriculum and Guidelines for Graduate Degree Programs in Information Systems is the latest report from model curriculum work in the information systems field. The work of IS curricula task groups began in the early 1970s and has continued for almost 30 years. The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) has been a major organizer for these task groups including the first efforts in the 1970s. Other organizations, including AITP (formerly DPMA) and IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing), have aided model curriculum development. MSIS 2000 is the second collaborative effort between ACM and the Association for Information Systems (AIS). Both organizations have a worldwide membership. ACM has both professional and academic members in the broad field of computing. Through its Education Board, it supports a wide range of curriculum development including computer science, information systems, and software engineering. AIS, organized in 1994, is composed of faculty members in information systems. The partnership of ACM and AIS, therefore, combines the …