Information Systems (Certificate) 

Technology is transforming today’s organizations and information has become the lifeblood of modern enterprises. Information systems are vastly increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of organizations and allowing industry and commerce to provide innovative new services and products. As the need for information and its supply expands, the demand for knowledgeable analysts, integrators, designers, developers and administrators of such systems will continue to grow.

 

The Graduate Certificate in Information Systems requires completion of the following five courses:

SIE 507 Information Systems Programming (3 credits)

SIE 515 Human Computer Interaction (3 credits)

SIE 525 Information Systems Law (3 credits)

SIE 550 Design of Information Systems (3 credits)

SIE 505 Formal Foundations for Information Science (3 credits)

All of these required courses are available in either the fall or spring semester simultaneously on-campus and online. Typically, distance students view class sessions over the internet that have been recorded with the on-campus students although some sessions may be pre-recorded. Students in both class sections accomplish the same assignments and exams. Online students may, at their option, participate in most classes live over the internet. Work sessions and/or office hours are typically offered at times convenient for online students.

If one or more courses are waived due to previous course work or acquired skills, the graduate coordinator in consultation with the student selects appropriate replacement courses.

 

Course Descriptions

Descriptions for courses in the program as well as alternative more advanced courses if core courses are waived may be found through the school’s MS Information Systems Curriculum website. For more detailed descriptions and sample syllabi see the Spatial Computing Courses.
 

Student Eligibility and Admission Criteria

Students desiring to acquire the Graduate Certificate in Information Systems should apply by completing the Graduate Certificate Application. The entire application packet including transcripts, essay, and a current resume that includes contact information for three references must be received before a formal acceptance will be issued typically. Admissions are rolling. The time limit for completion of the Graduate Certificate is the same as that set by the Graduate School for completion of a master’s degree.

Note 1: Combining the Graduate Certificate in IS with a Master’s Degree - Upon or near the completion of the Graduate Certificate, students may choose to extend their coursework to earn a full Master’s degree. For model curriculum examples that combine the Graduate Certificate in Information Systems with various sample online Master’s degrees, see Graduate Certificates (Section III).

Note 2: Combining the Graduate Certificate in IS with the MBA - This combination is for the student most interested in a graduate business degree but who wants further information systems skills and knowledge. Thus, in addition to the MS degrees noted above, pursuing the Graduate Certificate in Information Systems in combination with the MBA is another popular option.

 

 

 

Spatial and Information Systems Graduate Faculty
 

M. Kate Beard-Tisdale, Ph.D. (Wisconsin, 1988), Professor. Geographic information systems, map generalization, data quality and its visualization, geographic information retrieval, spatio-temporal phenomena and information integration.

Max J. Egenhofer, Ph.D. (Maine, 1989), Professor. Spatio-temporal reasoning, user interfaces for geographic information systems, design of spatial database systems, and mobile spatial information appliances.

Nicholas A. Giudice, Ph.D. (Minnesota, 2004), Professor and Director of the VEMI Lab. Human computer interaction in real and virtual reality environments, indoor navigation, multimodal spatial cognition, information-access technology and human-vehicle collaboration for autonomous vehicles.

Torsten  Hahmann, PhD (Toronto, 2013), Associate Professor. Spatial informatics, spatial ontologies as test bed for research about formal ontologies and their development, knowledge representation, artificial intelligence, and logic.

Silvia Nittel, Ph.D. (Zurich, 1994), Associate Professor and Director of Geosensor Networks Lab. Stationary and mobile sensor networks, decentralized in-network data collection algorithms for geosensor networks, management of distributed sensor data streams in real-time.

Harlan J. Onsrud, J.D. (Wisconsin, 1982), Professor and Graduate Coordinator. Legal, ethical, and institutional issues affecting creation and use of databases, ethics driven information systems design, assessment of social and societal impacts of spatial technologies.

Nimesha Ranasinghe, Ph.D. (Singapore, 2013), Assistant Professor. Research interests include multi-sensory interactive media, augmented reality, and human-computer interaction.