Pre-and Corequisites to an Information Systems Degree Program

From IS Curriculum

There are general academic requirements that should be met prior to formal Information Systems courses (prerequisites) or concurrent with IS courses (corequisites). Students are expected, as a prerequisite, to have a basic proficiency in the fundamental tools of personal computing such as email, Web browsing, spreadsheets, word processing, desktop database management systems, presentation graphics, and external database retrieval tools.

All Information Systems students should be able to communicate effectively both orally and in writing. They should be able to apply both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques. IS graduates should have acquired strong interpersonal skills. They should have a basic understanding of the main functional areas of an organization and should have been exposed to concepts of international business. Some of the topics should be prerequisites but others may be interleaved with Information Systems courses.

Prerequisite or interleaved topics directly applicable to the IS curriculum therefore include:

• Communication. This should cover general and technical writing, oral communications, presentations, and listening skills.
• Quantitative and qualitative analysis. This includes such topics as discrete mathematics, introduction to calculus, introductory statistics, and archival document analysis.
• Functional areas of an organization or other domain knowledge. For example, students studying information systems in the context of business should be exposed to the principles of economics and functional areas of the organization such as accounting, finance, human resources, marketing, logistics, and operations. They should also be introduced to special issues in international business.

Finally, as a basis for lifetime learning, students should also have a solid foundation in behavioral, social, and natural sciences.