Nov 23, 2024

Graduate Catalog 2012-2013 ARCHIVED

Graduate Catalog 2012-2013 ARCHIVED [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Information Systems, D.Sc.

Program Description

The Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) in Information Systems is designed to prepare individuals for careers in research, teaching and corporate employment. This program emphasizes applied scholarship, focusing on multi-disciplinary research projects with a strong emphasis on the productive application of information systems and information technology to organizations and their management. The program supports a thriving and sustained applied research program that meets the research needs of the State of South Dakota, the university, and its graduate students. The degree program is intended to produce graduates with a commanding knowledge of information systems and of applications and research in information systems. Graduates of the program will be qualified to pursue careers in:

teaching and research within an academic setting.
applied research within a corporate setting or government agency.
industry, particularly in data-intensive industries such as the banking and finance industry in the state, or within other data-intensive corporations.

Program Delivery

Courses in the D.Sc. in Information Systems program are offered using a variety of instructional delivery methods:

Face-to-face on site in Madison, SD in a traditional classroom setting.
Interactive video-conferencing via the Dakota Digital Network, offered at multiple sites in South Dakota (sites arranged to meet student need).
At a distance via Internet, using a combination of both live and/or encoded streaming videos of classes, interactive course web boards, course web sites, and e-mail. All courses are web-enhanced.

Instruction includes lectures, seminars, computer lab work, and guided research in the student’s specialization. This doctoral program uses a combination of on-campus and distance delivery methods.

Program Completion

The program can be completed on a full-time or part-time basis, with classes offered in three academic terms: fall, spring, and summer. Full-time students with a master’s degree in information systems should be able to complete this program in 3 years. The program must be completed within 7 years of the semester of their admission. Students who do not meet the academic requirements for admission may be required to complete up to 15 additional hours of foundational coursework.

Admission Requirements Specific to the D.Sc. in Information Systems

Dakota State University seeks highly motivated individuals with education and professional credentials that will enable them to be successful doctoral students. Students who do not meet the academic requirements for admission may be required to take up to 15 additional hours of foundational coursework.

D.Sc. Admission Requirements

Baccalaureate degree from an institution of higher education with full regional accreditation for that degree. International students must have an undergraduate (bachelor’s) degree that is the equivalent to a four-year undergraduate degree in the U.S. Students who enter the program with graduate coursework in disciplines related to information systems may have to complete some master-level information requirements. Students who enter the program without a master’s degree in information systems or related field and without an undergraduate background in information systems will be required to complete a series of foundational courses.
Minimum undergraduate grade point average of 2.70 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent on an alternative grading system).
Satisfactory scores on the GRE. The test must have been taken within the last five years. The test can be waived if one of the following conditions is met:
- A cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale for a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the U.S.;
- Official admission into and demonstrated success in a regionally accredited graduate program in the U.S. Demonstrated success is defined as grades of A or B in at least 9 hours of graduate work;
  OR
- Graduation from a regionally accredited college/university in the U.S. at least 15 years ago or more.
Essential knowledge in both business fundamentals and information systems. This knowledge includes the following:
- that they can analyze organizational systems and take appropriate action with particular business structures, particularly overcoming resistance to change;
- organizations, and the role of IT professionals in developing, acquiring and managing IS;
- systems including, setting a direction for information resources, managing technology resources, and managing the information systems function; (Windows and UNIX);
- ability to use spreadsheets for computations and analysis;
- understanding of the principles of programming and the ability to program.

The knowledge requirement can be met in a variety of ways, including: an undergraduate degree in MIS; specific undergraduate or graduate coursework that covers required knowledge; appropriate, verifiable IS/IT or management experience. Students using experience to meet the knowledge requirements may be required to demonstrate competency in the subject. Students who have not had appropriate coursework or acceptable experience to meet the knowledge requirements will be admitted to the program if they meet the other minimum requirements. However, these students will be required to meet the knowledge requirement by satisfactory completion of specified knowledge support courses as part of their program of study.

Other factors (such as student maturity, references, or special expertise) also may be used to determine admission to the program.

Entry-Level Knowledge Requirements

Students who enter the program with graduate coursework in disciplines related to information systems may have to complete some foundational and masters-level information systems requirements. Students who enter the program without a master’s degree in information systems or related field and without an undergraduate background in information systems will be required to complete a series of foundational courses prior to being admitted to the program in addition to the 27 credits in information systems at the master’s degree level. Foundational courses include:

INFS 601 - Information Systems 3 credits
INFS 605 - Foundations of Programming 3 credits
INFS 608 - Applied Statistics 3 credits
INFS 612 - Management and Evaluation of Information Systems 3 credits
INFS 614 - Introduction to Research 3 credits

Specific Application Information:

Application deadline: All application materials must be received by May 15th.
Entry Semesters: Students enter the program in the Fall semester only.

Program Faculty:

Richard Christoph, Amit Deokar, Omar El-Gayar, William Figg, Steve Graham, Tom Halverson, Stephen Krebsbach, Josh Pauli, Wayne Pauli, Surendra Sarnikar, Ronghua Shan, Kevin Streff, Daniel Talley, Dianxiang Xu

Program Requirements

The program can be completed on a full-time or part-time basis, with classes offered in three academic terms: fall, spring, and summer. Overall, the program requirements for the D.Sc. in Information Systems include a total of 88 semester credit hours:

63 credit hours of graduate coursework:
- 27 credit hours of masters-level Information Systems (MSIS) which may be waived for students with an MSIS degree
- 9 credit hours of research methods
- 27 credit hours of research specialization including research seminars, and core and electives courses
Comprehensive examination
Qualifying portfolio
25 credit hours of dissertation

Courses supporting the D.Sc. Program:

The doctoral curriculum assumes that a student enters the program with a master’s degree in information systems or a related field. Students who enter the program without a master’s degree in information systems (MSIS) or a related field will be required to complete up to 27 credits at the master’s degree level: 18 credits in information systems core courses and 9 credits of elective coursework in one of the four specializations currently offered by DSU. Students who enter the program with graduate coursework in related disciplines may have to complete some of these requirements.

Research Seminar Topics Course

The objective of the research seminar topics course (INFS 890 ) is to allow students in the D.Sc. (IS) program to report, present and discuss research articles on specific topics in their areas of specialization as well as their own research, and thus provide a solid foundation for their dissertation. This seminar will be open for all interested faculty and students who wish to attend and participate in the discussions.

Prerequisites: None

Structure

Each research seminar topics course will be of 1 credit hour with S (satisfactory)/U (unsatisfactory) grade, counting towards the D.Sc. (IS) program requirements. Students will be required to complete 6 research seminar topic courses with an S (satisfactory) grade in each of these courses in order to meet the D.Sc. (IS) program requirements.

Students must have completed at least 3 credit hours of research seminar topics courses before attempting the D.Sc. comprehensive examination. Also, students must have completed the requirement of 6 credit hours of research seminar topics courses before scheduling their final dissertation defense.

The procedural details of the research seminar would be as follows. Each section of INFS 890 would have a faculty supervisor assigned for each semester. The supervisor would be responsible for the logistics of the course, such as providing a potential reading list, coordinating student presentations, managing discussion forums, and grading. Each section of the course would consist of students’ presentations on different, but possibly related topics. The nature of the presentations in each section may differ and will be decided by the faculty supervisor. Students may be asked to present their own research (either work-in progress or based on a recent conference or journal publication) or a comprehensive literature review on a topic of their interest highlighting contemporary research issues. Alternatively, a list of key articles in a particular area may be provided and students will be asked to present articles from this reading list. Other articles may be included for presentation upon discussion with the faculty supervisor. These research seminars will provide an excellent opportunity for students to get feedback from their peers and faculty.

To successfully complete each research seminar course, each student would be required to submit a written report based on the presentations conducted in that section of the course. Other related details such as focus/format of presentations, length of presentations, format/length of written report, will be provided by the faculty supervisor in each section of the course.

Presentations would be conducted synchronously for both on-campus and off-campus students through use of appropriate distance learning technologies. Presentations may be recorded and made publicly available for later reference. Asynchronous discussions on presentation topics may be enabled using discussion forums or wikis or related technologies.

Timeline

Students are encouraged to enroll in INFS 890 sections immediately at the beginning of the program and continue enrolling for one seminar course in the subsequent semesters (including summer) until all the six seminar course requirements are completed. This will enable them to get a broader perspective on different research topics, while also improving their presentation abilities and completing the requirements of the D.Sc. program in a timely manner.

Evaluation

Each student would be evaluated by the faculty supervisor and provided an S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory) grade at the end of the semester. Sections with a U (unsatisfactory) grade will not count for completion of the D.Sc. (IS) program requirements. Key criteria for grading would include student presentation abilities (key points coverage, research perspectives on the topic, presentation skills), and student participation through in class discussions and/or discussion forums, in addition to any other criteria set by the individual faculty in charge.

Research Methods Component:

The research methods courses are designed to provide students with a basic background in information systems research as well as a strong foundation in information systems research methodology, including quantitative, qualitative and design research methods.

INFS 805 - Design Research Methods 3 credits
INFS 810 - Qualitative Research Methods 3 credits
INFS 815 - Quantitative Research Methods 3 credits

Total: 9 Credit Hours

Research Specializations:

The curriculum includes three research specializations. The specializations each include 27 credit hours:

3 required courses (9 credits)
6 seminar courses (1 credit each, taken each semester in which the student is enrolled)
4 elective courses (12 credits)

The required and elective courses within each specialization are intended to provide a coherent body of knowledge in support of the student’s research agenda/career plans. The research seminars are intended to acquaint students with contemporary information systems research issues.

Specialization 1: Decision Support, Knowledge and Data Management

INFS 830 - Decision Support Systems 3 credits
INFS 834 - Knowledge Management 3 credits
INFS 838 - Decision Support/Knowledge Management Research 3 credits
INFS 890 - Seminar 1-3 credits (6 credits required)
Specialization electives 12 credits

Total: 27 Credit Hours

Specialization 2: Information Assurance and Computer Security

INFA 701 - Principles of Information Assurance 3 credits
INFA 713 - Managing Security Risks 3 credits
INFS 848 - Information Assurance/Computer Security Research 3 credits
INFS 890 - Seminar 1-3 credits (6 credits required)
Specialization electives 12 credits

Total: 27 Credit Hours

Specialization 3: Healthcare Information Systems

HIMS 748 - IS Tools and Applications for Healthcare Research 3 credits
INFS 820 - Current Issues Health Informatics 3 credits
INFS 868 - Health Informatics Research 3 credits
INFS 890 - Seminar 1-3 credits (6 credits required)
Specialization electives 12 credits

Total: 27 Credit Hours

Specialization Electives: Select four (12 cr.) courses from the list below

Course Grades

Course Grades are used as an indirect measure of student attainment of specific program goals and objectives. DSU Policy requires students to maintain a 3.0 GPA in the program, receive no grades below a C, and have no more than 2 grades of a C. If you do not maintain the required “B” average you will be placed on academic probation and given the opportunity to raise your GPA to 3.0 within the next nine credit hours. If you do not raise your GPA to 3.0 you will be suspended from the program. If you receive more than 6 credits of “C” or any grade lower than a “C” you will be suspended from the program. You may appeal the suspension. If students have questions regarding grading, they should review the Satisfactory Progression Policy (DSU Policy 05-34-00) or speak with their advisor.

Assessment/Evaluation Activities

The D.Sc. program committee and a student’s research advisory committee will evaluate the student’s progress using these three evaluation methods: comprehensive examination, qualifying portfolio, original research and dissertation defense.