<p>I think the title is pretty self-explanatory... Is IS a social science? Or engineering? What does it deal with? What do you study? </p>
<p>The information given on the college website is just too obscure for me to get a lot out of. Hope someone can enlighten me.</p>
<p>I have a degree in MIS (basically the same thing), but not from CMU. I suspect it's changed over the years, but not so much I wouldn't recognize it.</p>
<p>IS involves solving larger scale business or oganizational problems through computerized systems, where a system is a set of people-performed processes and computer programs developed to work together. Just about everything a business, goverment agency or not-for-profit does these days is performed through a system. An example might be an order management system that takes orders from customers over the internet, processes them (checks inventory, collects payments, etc.), and ships them from a warehouse. It automates lots of activites to make an important event, selling something to a customer, happen.</p>
<p>IS basically teaches you to define system requirements, design the system, and at least to some degree to program it. Contrast it with Computer Science where requirements and design are discussed, but programming is more important. </p>
<p>I also tend to think of CS as being "deep", interested in programs and algorihms that address specific, focused functions, while IS is "wide", using a series of computer programs and processes to accomplish a business or organization objective. Compare an operating system that runs a computer to an accounting system that collects finanical active from all across a business and translates it into accounting entries and financial reports. Both are quite complex, but the skills needed to create them are different. </p>
<p>One other thing might make the contrast more important. At CMU, CS graduates tend to go to work for companies like Microsoft and Google and IS grads go to work for investment banks that need complex business systems or consultants that build systems for businesses. IS grads tend to make a bit more these days, too, though that goes back and forth over the years.</p>
<p>Hope the long winded answer helps.</p>
<p>Hey strick, could you comment on the potential benefit of getting a masters in IS vs. a bachelors? CMU has a 5yr masters program in MSIT and I was curious what benefits would exist. I assume higher salary and more options...</p>
<p>My degree is a MS in MIS, but it was from a galaxy long ago and far away, so I might not be the best person to answer the question. I do hire people, so I'll try to answer from that perspective.</p>
<p>By and large, the Masters tends to give you two advantages: one, companies tend to see you as more mature (graduate school is enough harder than undergraduate schoool that you have to be more serious and hardworking to survive it) and, two, you often get more practical, hands on experience through internships and real world class projects. </p>
<p>One course I took had us working with consultants to define requirements for a major system a company was implementing. Still a limited environment, but close enough to what I went on to be hired to do (with a different consulting firm it turns out, but I did eventually go to work for the first guys), that it was a big help in the real world.</p>
<p>You can do those sorts of things as an undergraduate, but I don't expect the experiences to be as intense.</p>
<p>Short term, in the initial hiring, firms vary on whether this is important to them. The firms that have a lot of initial training think it's less important, and the sink or swim guys think it's more. I'd say that someone with a Masters will be paid more, and will be given more challenging opportunities sooner. More will certainly be expected of them, and they'll tend to advance faster starting out.</p>
<p>Longer term, say 10 years out, it's how well you perform that matters, not what degrees you have. The Masters just opens more doors a bit earlier, and that can be an advantage if you work hard. </p>
<p>I do have to say that most of the senior people I work with have Masters degrees, but some went back for them. Those that went back often have MBAs, though, since that's a better compliment to an IS degree than yet another IS degree for most purposes. Likewise, my undergraduate is in business. That leaves me a bit uncertain of the value of the 5 year program, but I will admit most of the value comes from the second degree, not what it's in.</p>
<p>Hope that helps.</p>
<p>Is it better to double major in Business and CS.. or Business major with CS minor than IS? since you will have more indepth knowledge in CS and Business</p>
<p>I'm not an IS person, but I would say that it depends on what you want to do. If you want to make some crazy startup that's techically complex, such that the focus is on the product but you want business knowledge to market it, you'd want a stronger CS background; if your goal is to manage programmers, then the in-depth knowledge you would gain from a CS major might not be worth the effort. Remeber that you can go back and get an MBA no matter what your undergrad major was; you're probably not going to be in a CS masters program unless your undergrad degree was math, computer science, or something engineering-y, although you may be able to teach yourself what it is you want to know about CS. What are your goals?</p>
<p>TMontana</p>
<p>Actually the MS program I believe you'd be interested in is MISM. There is an MSIT program but according to the website it's a part-time program.</p>
<p>My son graduated in '05 with IS and MISM degrees (also doubled majored in CS), which he did in 5 years, but it does include a mandatory summer too.. One advantage to this joint 5 year program---> if you're on financial aid, you will be for all 5 years while you are technically a graduate (and undergraduate simultaneously) student. You work it so you finish both undergrad and grad degrees at the same time, namely your last semester at CMU. </p>
<p>Another advantage...they'll place you out of a graduate course more readily if you're a CMU student since they know the content of the undergrad courses. I know my son was allowed to place out of several when his schedule got tight, so he could get out in 5 years. The advisors couldn't have been more helpful.</p>
<p>Besides completing a MISM application you have to take the GRE and get 3 faculty recommendations plus write a couple page statement.</p>
<p>I have no idea which degree landed son his job (at a well-known NY investment bank) but my hunch is it was probably the combination, plus lots of other variables, most importantly how well you interview. </p>
<p>I agree a business degree complements IS or CS. There's a lot of "business" education in a broad sense in the MISM program. MBA may be in son's future.</p>
<p>2331clk, I don't doubt you son had a good interview, but his degree programs would have been extremely attractive to a lot of businesses. Sounds challenging.</p>