Download Master of Science in Information Systems

School of Communication & Information
School of Computer Engineering
Master of Science in
Information Systems
Contents
Background
2
The MSc (Information Systems) Programme
3
Graduate Programmes at SCI & SCE
4
Key Features of the Programme
4
Admissions Requirements & Application Dates
5
Fees
5
The Programme Structure
6
Employment Opportunities
8
Computing Facilities at SCI and SCE
9
Views from the Industry
10
Course Descriptions
11
Further Information
17
Map of NTU
18
0306
Background
The Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) sector continues to be a significant
engine of growth and a key enabler to other
sectors of the economy. Recent trends however
indicate that simply being skilled in software
development is no longer sufficient to thrive in
this fast-paced industry. Consequently, while
there exist opportunities for ICT professionals, a
fundamental shift in required skill sets comprising
both advanced IT skills and soft skills focused
on management and user-centred design has
occurred. Thus, programming skills alone are no
longer sufficient. Instead, an ICT professional
requires a mix of technical know-how and
skills such as project management, information
architecture and human computer interaction.
The MSc (Information Systems) programme is
designed to address this training gap and educate
ICT professionals to play a significant role in the
new ICT environment in Singapore and abroad.
2
The Master of Science
(Information Systems) Programme
The MSc (Information Systems) programme
(MSIS) is a collaboration between the School
of Communication & Information (SCI) and the
School of Computer Engineering (SCE).
The programme blends theory and
practice and aims to equip students with
advanced knowledge necessary for the design,
development, maintenance and management of
information systems. Such training will include
exposure to the latest technologies used in the
development of information systems, as well
as core skills required to cope with the rapidly
changing nature of the field.
To this end, the MSIS programme is broadbased and covers a range of technical and soft
skills that an Information Systems professional
is expected to possess. Broadly, these are
categorised as:
1. Software Development and
Infrastructure
Provides students with a core of knowledge
required for the design, development and
maintenance of information systems.
2.
3
Human Computer Interaction
Provides students with the knowledge for
designing information systems that are
both useful and usable from an end-user
perspective.
3. Information Management
Provides students with skills needed to store,
organise, preserve and manage information
in a way that allows for their reliable, timely
and accurate retrieval and use.
4.
Management of Systems and Services
Provides students with the soft skills
required for managing information systems
projects, information systems personnel and
resources.
Graduate Programmes at SCI & SCE
Staff at SCI and SCE come from diverse
backgrounds that complement areas of education
of an ICT professional. With strengths in
information systems, information management,
software engineering, knowledge management,
and other computer-science related areas,
students of the MSIS programme will be equipped
with both technical and soft skills, meeting
the ICT industry’s need for a new breed of ICT
professionals.
In addition, both schools are well-established
in offering graduate-level education. SCI has
over 10 years of experience educating graduate
students. In addition to the MSIS programme, it
currently offers three other Master’s programmes
by coursework — MSc (Information Studies), MSc
(Knowledge Management) and Master of Mass
Communication. Together, these programmes
attract over 700 applicants each year. SCE has
been offering postgraduate research programmes
in the discipline of Computer Engineering that
lead to MEng and PhD degrees. It currently
also offers three Master’s programmes in
Bioinformatics, Embedded Systems, and Digital
Media Technology.
Key Features
of the Programme
•
•
•
•
A broad-based curriculum covering critical
aspects of information systems development
Emphasis on both technical and soft skills for
information systems professionals
Professional seminars that give students the
opportunity to learn from and interact with
industry professionals
Multi-disciplinary experienced staff from
two schools with established graduate-level
programmes
4
Admissions Requirements & Application Dates
The MSIS programme will primarily consider applicants with:
•
A Bachelor’s degree in areas such as Computer Science,
Information Systems, Information Technology, or,
A Bachelor’s degree with a strong information technologyrelated component such as those in Engineering or the
Sciences, or
A Bachelor’s degree plus relevant working experience
•
•
The programme has one intake in August of each year. The
application period starts in December for the August intake of the
following year. Interested applicants may submit an online
application via the NTU website at
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/GradStudies/Coursework+Programmes/
Fees
The current fees are listed at the NTU website at
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/GradStudies/Coursework+Programmes/
Fees+and+Financial+Assistance
The annual tuition fee for the Academic Year 2005-2006 is:
Tuition fee for Academic Year 2005-2006 Part-Time
Singaporeans/Singapore PRs
$2,730
Other Nationalities
$3,000
All fees listed are in Singapore dollars (S$) and are inclusive of Goods and
Services Tax (GST).
Fees are reviewed and subject to revision every year. As and when
the fees are revised, the new fees will be applicable to all existing and
new students.
5
Programme Structure
Students of the MSc (Information Systems)
programme are allowed to choose from the
following two options of study:
A) by Coursework and Dissertation
B) by Coursework Only
A) Coursework and Dissertation
Students will take three core courses, two
Group A elective courses, four Group B
elective courses, and a project on which the
student must submit a dissertation.
B) Coursework Only
Students will take three core courses, two
Group A elective courses, five Group B
elective courses, and CI6199 Critical Inquiry in
Information Systems.
technology-oriented to management-oriented
ones. MSIS students select them based on their
individual learning goals and career objectives.
Subject to approval from the Dean, students can
also choose two additional Group A electives in
lieu of two Group B elective courses, or two
courses from graduate-level courses offered in
other programmes in the university including
those from the Masters programmes offered by
SCI and SCE.
Dissertation
The dissertation will involve a project that
provides MSIS students the opportunity to create
new knowledge, solve information systemsrelated research problems or develop new
information systems software by harnessing the
knowledge acquired in the courses taken.
Core Courses
These courses are compulsory for all MSIS
students and reflect a minimum level of
prerequisite information systems knowledge.
These courses are designed to provide a
common understanding in the field of
information systems.
Group A Elective Courses
These courses provide intermediate-level
competencies required for the development of
information systems above those found in the
core courses, and prepare students for
specialised courses found in the Group B
electives.
Group B Elective Courses
These courses cover a variety of areas in the field
of information systems and range from
6
Core Courses
Compulsory
CI6101
CI6102
CI6103
Information Architecture
Object-Oriented Information Systems
Professional Seminar
Group ‘A’ Elective Courses
Select any 2
CI6111
CI6112
CI6113
CI6114
Internet Programming
Human Computer Interaction
– Users, Tasks and Designs
Software Project Management
Database Systems
Group ‘B’ Elective Courses
Select any 4 for Coursework and Dissertation
students
Select any 6 for Coursework Only students
CI6199 Critical Inquiry in Information Systems
is compulsory for Coursework Only students
CI6121 Distributed Internet Applications
CI6122 Multimedia Systems Development
CI6123 Mobile Applications Development
CI6124 Data Mining and Machine Learning
CI6125 Enterprise Portals and Digital Libraries
CI6126 Information Retrieval Systems
CI6127 Distributed Database Systems
CI6128 Usability Engineering
CI6129 Information Visualisation
CI6130 Management of Information Systems
and Services
7
CI6131
CI6191
CI6192
CI6193
CI6194
CI6199
Software Performance Analysis
Special Topic 1
Special Topic 2
Special Topic 3
Special Topic 4
Critical Inquiry in Information Systems
For Course Descriptions, please turn to page 11.
Employment Opportunities
MSIS is a broad-based programme that will provide
graduates with a range of employment opportunities
in the ICT industry. These include information
systems development, e-commerce, Web/distributed
applications development, usability engineering and user
interface design, multimedia development, IT project
management, IT consulting, IT training, information
management, data mining, knowledge acquisition, and
management of information systems functions. With
many e-business and e-government initiatives being
launched, these positions are expected to become
available in the private as well as public sector.
8
Computing Facilities at SCI and SCE
Among its many computer laboratories, SCI
maintains an Information Studies Laboratory
catering primarily to students in information
studies, information systems and knowledge
management. The laboratory has over 94
Pentium PCs that are local area networked to
Windows-based servers, a CD-ROM server
and printer servers. The laboratory also provides
Internet access to several online information
services and has its own range of CD-ROM
databases, multimedia products, software
packages and authoring tools. The resources in
the laboratory are focused on the following areas:
•
•
•
•
•
•
9
Information Retrieval and
Database Management
Applications Development
Knowledge Management
Content Management
Information Organisation and
Collection Development
Web and Multimedia Authoring
and Presentation
At SCE, MSIS students will have access to the
Centre for Advanced Information Systems (CAIS)
which has a strong research focus in advanced
information systems. The Centre aims to
promote the University’s involvement in industrial
projects by conducting basic research relevant
to the industries. It also strives to establish an
international reputation by publishing its research
in top international conferences and journals,
and by establishing research collaborations with
other renowned research institutions abroad.
The research focuses of the Centre are Internet/
Web Computing, Database Systems, Web Data
Management, Bioinformatics, Data Mining,
Electronic Commerce, Algorithms, Computer
Security, and System Modeling and Simulation.
The Centre also houses state-of-the-art
equipment including 2 SUN servers, 6 SUN
workstations, 5 PowerEdge servers, and over 40
Windows workstations running software such as
Informix, ILOG, AutoMod and Tamino.
Views from the Industry
“Highly skilled Infocomm professionals and project managers
are in great demand today. We are happy that the MSc
(Information Systems) programme will not only groom more
Infocomm professionals but will also equip them with hot skills
like Distributed Internet Applications, Multimedia Systems
Development and Mobile Applications Development.”
“A bold programme incorporating a multi-disciplinary
approach that is both pragmatic and robust. Indeed,
a programme that will position the graduate for a
good start for a career in the IT industry.”
Khoong Hock Yun
Assistant CEO (Industry)
Infocomm Development
Authority of Singapore
Alex Siow
Chairman
National Infocomm
Competency Centre
“The Singapore Computer Society is very pleased
that 2 different Schools in NTU are collaborating to
offer a Masters Degree programme in Information
Systems.
This
inter-disciplinary
program
would
produce professionals with advanced and balanced
mix of hard and soft skills. The industry needs more of
such programmes.”
“Over the coming decade more business value will
be created through application of information
technology than from the technology itself. A
blend of technical skills and soft skills will be critical
to create this new value. The MSc (Information
Systems) programme, as designed, has the necessary
ingredients to equip candidates with the mix of skills
required to be successful in the emerging global
knowledge-based economy.”
Lee Kwok Cheong
President
Singapore Computer Society
Piyush Singh
Managing Director
IDC Asia/Pacific
10
Course Descriptions
Core Subjects
CI6101
Information Architecture
CI6103
Professional Seminar
Key concepts related to information discovery
and methods of navigation and searching on
Web sites; Information architecture as an
approach for site development and organisation
(involving knowledge from multiplicity of fields).
Tools, techniques and processes needed to
build and maintain the architecture. Issues
related to site design and interface, contents
and context, and users and usability. Forms
of discourse and text structure suitable to the
Web environment. Information organisation:
metadata, controlled vocabularies, classification
schemes, knowledge maps, and taxonomies.
Description and indexing of WWW resources.
Series of seminars conducted to provide an
overview of the areas related to the field of
information systems. Speakers will be drawn
from academia, industry and professional
organisations. Methods and approaches to
research and development suitable in the area
of information systems will be covered and case
studies of implementation of information systems
from industry and academia will be shared.
CI6102
Object-Oriented Information Systems
Overview of the software development life cycle;
software process models; traditional software
engineering methods. Requirements analysis
and systems specification; Fundamentals of
object-oriented programming: encapsulation,
inheritance, polymorphism. Object-oriented
analysis and design concepts and techniques
including use of the Unified Modeling Language
(UML); Design patterns and object-oriented
frameworks; Software testing.
11
Electives - Group ‘A’
CI6111
Internet Programming
Internet communication protocols such as TCP/IP,
FTP, SMTP and HTTP; Basic networking concepts;
Advanced Web page development with Dynamic
HTML, JavaScript, and Cascading Style Sheets;
Server-side development technologies such
as Perl, PHP, ASP, Java servlets and JSP; Socket
programming; Security issues including threat
identification, security strategies, encryption
and authentication.
CI6112
Human Computer Interaction
- Users, Tasks and Designs
Introduction to general design and usability
issues; Psychology of design of everyday things;
Key cognitive and physical human capabilities
and their relations to design of usable and
useful systems; Users: personas, human factors
and human diversity; Tasks: goals, scenarios;
Design: general established design heuristics
and guidelines; International design heuristics
and guidelines from three perspectives:
cultural, ethical and legal; Relate design
and usability methods to the wider systems
development process.
roles, responsibility and authority; Performance
evaluation; Organisational behavioural skills for
project management; Best practices; Case studies
in project management.
CI6114
Database Systems
Overview of database models: relational and
object-oriented database models; Relational
database design: data modelling using the
Entity-Relationship diagram and normalisation
of relational tables; Database definition and
manipulation: SQL and Query By Example;
Managing database environments: database
administration,
transaction
processing,
concurrency control, client-server processing,
and security. Web-based database applications
developments using Web development tools.
CI6113
Software Project Management
Project
management
concepts;
Project
definition; Project planning: quality, time and
cost dimensions; Project communication and
documentation; Project implementation and
control; Project completion; Project management
information systems; Software tools; Project team:
12
Electives - Group ‘B’
CI6121
Distributed Internet Applications
Issues related to the design and implementation
of large-scale Web-based information systems;
XML processing with XSL, Document Object
Model, and related APIs and technologies;
Enterprise component technologies such as
EJB, CORBA and Microsoft .NET; Web services:
architecture, protocols, tools and languages; Web
server administration: installation, maintenance,
performance tuning, and log analysis.
CI6122
Multimedia Systems Development
Introduction
to
multimedia,
hypertext,
hypermedia and their applications; Multimedia
basics: text, graphics, animation, audio, video and
file formats; Compression techniques in images,
audio and video content; Multimedia standards;
Multimedia development tools, technologies and
languages; Development for standalone and Webbased multimedia information systems; Media
rights management; Distributed multimedia;
Technologies and techniques for multimedia
content management.
13
CI6123
Mobile Applications Development
Data communications and networking concepts:
network topologies, LANs, WANs, switching
techniques, OSI model, and TCP/IP protocols;
Wireless networking: cellular wireless networks,
mobile IP, IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN and Bluetooth;
Mobile device applications development: J2ME,
mobile information device profile (MIDP) and
connected limited device configuration (CLDC);
WAP, WML and WMLScript; Location-based
wireless applications: GPS and network-based
positioning techniques.
CI6124
Data Mining and Machine Learning
The knowledge discovery process; data
preparation; Supervised and unsupervised
learning. Machine learning: decision tree
induction, rule induction, nearest neighbour
categorisation, cluster analysis, Bayesian
learning and neural networks; Web mining:
content, structure and usage mining; Information
mining software and tools; Recommender
systems and intelligent information retrieval;
spiders; semantic Web; information agents
and brokers.
CI6125
Enterprise Portals and Digital Libraries
CI6127
Distributed Database Systems
Introduction to information and knowledge
portals: types and examples; Introduction
to digital libraries: theoretical and historical
foundations, Infrastructure for digital libraries;
Information retrieval and distributed information
discovery; Access management and security;
Application development models; Users and
usability: human information behaviour, research
models, user interfaces; Digital preservation and
digitisation; Social, economic, policy, cultural and
ethical issues and challenges and trends.
Overview of distributed database systems: the
relational database model, computer networks,
and distributed DBMS architecture. Distributed
database design and manipulation: distributed
data modeling, normalisation, physical database
design, database definition, and query processing.
Managing distributed database environments:
multiple database administration, transaction
processing, concurrency control, security, backup,
failure recovery, and high-availability solutions.
Data warehouses, object-based databases, and
XML databases. Distributed database application
development using software development tools.
CI6126
Information Retrieval Systems
The study of the representation, storage, and
access to very large digital document collections;
Data structures and algorithms for compressing,
indexing, and querying large digital collections:
Huffman coding, inverted file indexing, Boolean
query processing, ranked query processing, and
document similarity measures; Techniques for
the evaluation of information retrieval systems;
Development of multimedia information
retrieval applications.
CI6128
Usability Engineering
Introduction to a range of user-centred tools,
methods and techniques for building usable and
useful systems complementing other software
development approaches; Creative design aids:
requirements analysis, scenario-based design,
claims analysis, statecharts; Usability evaluation
aids: usability inspection methods – heuristic
evaluation, cognitive walkthrough; analytic
evaluation methods – GOMS and keystroke
level analysis; experimental evaluation methods:
qualitative and quantitative methods.
14
CI6129
Information Visualisation
CI6131
Software Performance Analysis
The study of concepts, models and examples
for
improved
information
visualisation;
Rearrangement and interaction: affordances,
table lens, mosaic displays, network data,
algorithms; Representation and interpretation
data: quantitative, ordinal and categorical data;
Dynamic exploration: dynamic queries, attribute
explorer, neighbourhood explorer, model maker;
Connectivity: graph theory, general networks,
tree
structures;
Document
visualisation:
TileBars, galaxies, themescapes, galaxy of news,
Kohonen maps.
Software test process and principles: planning,
specification, execution, checking, recording
and completion; Test techniques: Functional,
structural and non-functional testing techniques,
static and dynamic analysis, non-systematic
testing
techniques;
Software
Reviews;
Computer-aided software testing tools; Test
management; Risk management; Disaster
recovery; Best practices; Case studies in
software performance analysis and evaluation.
CI6130
Management of Information Systems
and Services
Principles,
theories,
and
practices
of management in relation to information
enterprises;
Defining
mission,
goals,
and objectives; Organisational structure
and authority; directing, controlling, decision
making; delegation, motivation and leadership;
Role of IS personnel; Measuring and evaluating;
Critical thinking and problem-solving; Project
management; Entrepreneurship.
15
CI6191-4
Special Topic 1-4
Subjects in special areas of the Information
Systems field not covered in the above list may
be offered occasionally according to the special
interests of staff members and visiting staff.
CI6199
Critical Inquiry in Information Systems
Overview of how to design and conduct research
projects in the area of information systems.
Research study design, preparation of proposals
and manuscripts, intellectual property and ethics.
Introduction to the main types of research
methods, with a more in-depth examination of
a few useful methods, to address information
systems problems.
Dissertation
Information Systems Research Project
Harnessing the knowledge, skills and attitudes
acquired in the programme and applying them
to solve information systems-related research
problems, create new knowledge or develop
new information system products or services is an
essential part of the programme. In this respect,
each student is mentored by a staff member in an
information systems research project leading to a
dissertation of up to 15,000 words. The project
can be in any information systems area.
16
Further Information
Further information on the Information Systems Programme
may be obtained from:
Dr. Dion Goh
Programme Director,
MSc (Information Systems)
Tel:
(+65) 6790−6290
Fax: (+65) 6791−5214
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Tan Ah Hwee
Deputy Programme Director,
MSc (Information Systems)
Tel:
(+65) 6790-4326
Fax: (+65) 6792-6559
Email: [email protected]
Enquiries about the Divisions may be sent to:
Dr. Abdus Sattar Chaudhry
Head,
Division of Information Studies
School of Communication & Information
Tel:
(+65) 6790−4608
Fax: (+65) 6791−5214
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Lim Ee Peng
Head,
Divison of Information Systems
School of Computer Engineering
Tel:
(+65) 6790-4802
Fax: (+65) 6792-6559
Email: [email protected]
Applicants can also consult the SCI’s and SCE’s web sites for further information
about coursework programmes, research programmes, faculty and research areas:
SCI
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sci
17
SCE
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/sce
Map of NTU
18
School of Communication & Information
Nanyang Technological University
31 Nanyang Link
Singapore 637718
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel:
(+65) 6790-4608
Fax:
(+65) 6792-5214
School of Computer Engineering
Nanyang Technological University
Blk N4 Nanyang Avenue
Singapore 639798
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel:
(+65) 6790-4802
Fax:
(+65) 6792-6559