MSc Information Management and Systems
Intakes: January, October
Duration: 12 months full time / 36 months part time
Overview
There are many information intensive organisations that require strategic deployment of technologies and methods to support their operations and decision making. Analysing, designing and evaluating information services, which are delivered by information systems, are key success drivers for these information intensive organisations. This programme is designed to address an increasing demand from the industry and academia for professionals with interdisciplinary knowledge and skills in information systems. Students learn to combine theory, methods and techniques for the creation, management and utilisation of information in their specific domain, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to pursue a career in an information intensive environment.
Learning Experience
Students are able to apply and evaluate their domain knowledge and skills within the scope of a practical project. The student dissertations are normally relevant to a practical problem identified by the research community. Considerable effort is given to identifying commercial projects that will provide students with relevant work experience to support their future career. Projects are either proposed by departmental staff, students or collaborating commercial partners, allowing students to contribute to cutting-edge academic and commercial projects.
Structure:
This course is delivered in a flexible and modular framework. A student is required to complete six taught modules, including common and specialist modules, followed by a dissertation project in the chosen specialisation. The dissertation is normally relevant to a practical problem and the student is encouraged to conduct the applied research relevant to practical problems in industry.
Core modules include; Applied informatics, Business domain and requirements analysis, Research methods, Systems analysis and design and the dissertation.
Optional modules include; Business communication and negotiation, Business intelligence and data mining, Concepts strategy and management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems, Design management and breifing and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.
Dissertation:
The dissertation is a piece of research work in this course. It enables the participant to conduct research and apply the knowledge into practice through an independent project. The student should show a detailed understanding of informatics concepts and methods in their chosen field of specialisation. Supervision for the dissertation project will be jointly provided by IRC and associated Schools with their special collaborative expertise.
Qualification exit points:
This course allows participants to achieve their qualifications at three exit points: a Postgraduate Certificate (PGC) (when 60 CATs are accumulated) or a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) (when 120 CATs are accumulated) or an MSc (180 CATs). For the PGC and PGDip, there will be no dissertation project required.
Mode of study:
In addition to the full-time mode, this course also provides the opportunity for part-time study. No constraint is placed on the sequence of the optional modules undertaken.
Career prospects:
Graduates will be able to pursue multidisciplinary careers. They will be qualified for a variety of positions such as:
- information specialist / advisor
- business application consultant / architect
- information resource manager / consultant
- project manager
- knowledge management specialist
- IT operations manager
- systems analyst / developer
- business analyst in various specialist areas (e.g. biodiversity, business process modelling,
construction management, enterprise modelling) - software engineer
- quantitative analyzer
- researcher / educator / trainer
This course is also recommended as a preparation for students aiming to pursue a PhD degree in information management.
For more information, please read Brochure MSc Information Management and Systems