The Department of Information and Operations Management in Mays Business School offers a non-thesis program leading to a Master of Science degree in Management Information Systems (MS-MISY). This program produces graduates who are both business analysts (i.e., professionals who understand accounting, marketing, finance, etc.) and information system specialists (i.e., professionals who can implement information systems strategies). Graduates of this program possess the business, technical and leadership skills to meet the challenges presented by rapidly evolving information technology and the need to effectively incorporate this technology into business strategy and day-to-day operations.

The MS-MISY degree program provides two delivery methods. The traditional format is an on-campus option that takes four semesters (21 months) and includes a core curriculum of eight courses, in addition to four elective courses, which may include an optional summer internship. The Flex Online format is designed for working professionals and requires twelve courses, taken in eight-week terms over 24 months. Graduates of the program are qualified to pursue a variety of careers in IT, such as business, systems, or network analyst, database administrator, software developer, risk assurance specialist, systems developer, web developer, etc.

This program is also approved for delivery via asynchronous or synchronous distance education technology.

For additional information on the MS-MISY degree in Mays Business School, please visit https://mays.tamu.edu/ms-management-information-systems/, email INFOStudentServices@mays.tamu.edu, or call (979) 845-0811.

Steps to Fulfill a Masters Program 

Program Requirements

• Student's Advisory Committee
• Degree Plan
• Credit Requirements
• Limitations on Credits and Coursework
• Final Examination

Student’s Advisory Committee

On-Campus and Distance Education Degree Programs

After receiving admission to graduate studies, students will consult with the graduate program concerning selection of a chair and members (if applicable) for an advisory committee representative of the student’s field(s) of study and research.

The Master of Science degree in Management Information Systems (MS-MISY) is a non-thesis program. After receiving admission to graduate studies and enrolling for coursework, the student will be assigned a committee chair. The person assigned will be the faculty member who serves as the academic advisor for the MS-MISY program.

Only members of the Graduate Committee Faculty located on Texas A&M University campuses may serve as chair of a student’s advisory committee. Other members of the Graduate Committee Faculty – including those located outside the university or off-campus (if permitted by program, department, and college/school policy) – may serve as a co-chair or member.

The advisory committee as a group – and as individual members – are responsible for advising the student on academic matters. The duties include responsibility for approving the student’s proposed degree plan; research proposal (if applicable); thesis (if applicable); and conducting examinations (if required). The advisory committee members’ approval of a degree plan indicates their willingness to accept the responsibility for guiding and directing the entire academic program of the student and for initiating all academic actions concerning the student. Additionally, in the case of academic deficiency, the advisory committee is responsible for initiating recommendations to the Graduate and Professional School.

The chair of the advisory committee, who usually has immediate supervision of the student’s degree program, has the responsibility for calling meetings at any time considered desirable.

If the chair of the student’s advisory committee is unavailable for an extended period of time in any academic period during which the student is involved in activities relating to an internship, thesis or professional paper – and is registered for courses such as 684, 691, 692, or 693 – the Department Head or intercollegiate faculty Chair may appoint an alternate advisory committee chair during the interim period.

If the chair of a student’s advisory committee is on an approved leave of absence – and the student is near completion of the degree and wants the chair to continue to serve in this role – a written request must be submitted to the Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate and Professional School, by the Department Head or intercollegiate faculty Chair, that the faculty member who is on an approved leave of absence be allowed to continue to serve as chair of the advisory committee – without a co-chair – for up to one year. The request must confirm that the faculty member is able to engage in the required duties as chair during the leave of absence. Extensions beyond the one-year period (if necessary) may be granted with additional approval of the Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate and Professional School.

If the chair of a student’s advisory committee voluntarily separates from the university, and the student is nearing completion of the degree, the chair may continue to serve in this role – at the student’s request – for up to one year. Two options are available:

• The chair may continue, with a co-chair, without additional approval by the Graduate and Professional School. The student must select a current member of the Graduate Committee Faculty – from the student’s academic program and located near the Texas A&M University campus site – to serve as co-chair of the advisory committee.
• The chair may continue, without a co-chair, with approval by the Graduate and Professional School. A written request must be submitted to the Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate and Professional School by the Department Head or intercollegiate faculty Chair to allow the faculty member to continue as chair, without a co-chair, of the advisory committee.

For both options, extensions beyond the one-year period (if necessary) may be granted with approval of the Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate and Professional School.

Although individual advisory committee members may be replaced by petition for valid reasons, all members of a student committee cannot resign en masse.

Degree Plan

On-Campus and Distance Education Degree Programs

Students, in consultation with the advisory committee, will develop a proposed degree plan. The degree plan must be created, submitted, and approved through the online Document Processing Submission System (DPSS). The degree plan must be submitted prior to the deadline imposed by the student’s college or school and approved by the Graduate and Professional School no later than 90 days prior to the date of the final oral examination or thesis defense. Students must select the appropriate program option when submitting a proposed degree plan.

Additional coursework may be added to the approved degree plan by petition through DPSS, if deemed necessary by the advisory committee, to correct deficiencies in the student’s academic preparation. No changes can be made to the degree plan once the student’s Final Examination Request or Final Examination Exemption Request is approved by the Graduate and Professional School.

Coursework included on the degree plan is subject to the requirements and restrictions detailed in the Credit Requirements and Limitations on Credits and Coursework sections in each degree program page.

Degree program time limits apply to courses listed on a degree plan. Details are available on the Time Limits section in each degree program page.

Credit Requirement

On-Campus Degree Program

A minimum of 36 semester credit hours of approved courses is required for the Master of Science degree in Management Information Systems.

This program does not offer a thesis option.

Ordinarily, students will devote the major portion of their time on work in one or two closely related fields. Other work will be in supporting fields of interest.

Distance Education Degree Program

A minimum of 36 semester credit hours of approved courses is required for the Master of Science degree in Management Information Systems.

Ordinarily, students will devote the major portion of their time on work in one or two closely related fields. Other work will be in supporting fields of interest. The student will complete a predetermined set of twelve courses.

Limitations on Credits and Coursework

On-Campus and Distance Education Degree Programs

Credit-hour requirements are subject to the following limitations:

1. To receive a graduate degree from Texas A&M University, students must earn one-third or more of the credits through the institution’s own direct instruction. These limitations also apply to joint degree programs.
2. Transfer credits may not be used toward meeting the credit hour requirements.
3. The maximum number of credit hours taken in post-baccalaureate non-degree (G6) classification at Texas A&M University which may be considered for application to the degree plan is 12.
4. Only grades of A, B, C, and S are acceptable for graduate credit.
5. Graduate courses on a degree plan may not be taken on an S/U basis except for 681 (Seminar), 684 (Professional Internship), 690 (Theory of Research), 691 (Research), 692 (Professional Study), 693 (Professional Study), 695 (Frontiers in Research), 697 (Methods), 791 (Doctoral Capstone), or SOPH 680 (Public Health Capstone).
6. A student pursuing a non-thesis option Master’s degree may not enroll in 691 (Research) courses for any reason. Under special circumstances, however, students in a non-thesis Master of Arts or Master of Science degree program may request use of 691 hours on the degree plan under the following conditions:
   • The Department Head or intercollegiate faculty Chair (if applicable) for the program may approve an exception for a student who changes to a non-thesis option MA or MS degree program from a PhD (after at least one year of studies) or a thesis option MA or MS degree.
   • If approved, a maximum of 8 credit hours in combination of 685 (Directed Studies) and 691 may be used.
   • Colleges/schools, departments, and interdisciplinary degree programs may establish additional requirements.
7. A maximum of 12 credit hours may be used, in any combination, of the following:
   • No more than 8 credit hours in a combination of 684, 691 (if permitted), or SOPH 680.
     • No more than 8 credit hours of 684 for thesis option Master’s degrees.
     • No more than 3 credit hours of 684 for non-thesis option Master’s degrees.
   • No more than 8 credit hours of 685 (Directed Studies).
   • No more than 3 credit hours of 690 (Theory of Research).
   • No more than 3 credit hours of 695 (Frontiers in Research).
8. A maximum of 3 credit hours may be used toward the non-thesis option Master’s degree, in any combination, of the following:
   • No more than 2 credit hours of 681 (Seminar).
   • No more than 3 credit hours of 684 (Professional Internship).
   • No more than 3 credit hours of 685 (Directed Studies).
9. Certain zero-credit courses may be allowed for Master’s degree programs:
   • A zero-credit 684 (Professional Internship) or 685 (Directed Studies) course is only allowed for non-thesis option Master’s programs.
   • A zero-credit 681 (Seminar) course may be used for either thesis or non-thesis option Master’s programs.
   • Other courses, including 691 (Research) hours, are not eligible for zero credit.
10. No more than 25 percent of the total credit-hours required on the student’s degree plan may be in any combination of 684, 685, 690, 691 (if permitted), and 695.
11. A maximum of 9 hours of advanced undergraduate courses (300- or 400-level) may be considered for application to the degree plan.
12. No more than 50 percent of the non-research coursework required for an in-person degree program may be completed through distance education courses.
13. Continuing education or extension courses may not be used for graduate credit.

Some departments may have additional or more restrictive requirements. Exceptions will be permitted only in unusual cases and when petitioned by the student’s advisory committee and approved by the Graduate and Professional School.

Final Examination

On-Campus and Distance Education Degree Programs

A final examination is not required for the non-thesis Master of Science in Management Information Systems program.

Additional Requirements

• Residence
• Continuous Registration
• Time Limit
• Foreign Languages
• Application for Degree

Residence

On-Campus Degree Program

In partial fulfillment of the residence requirement for the degree of Master of Science, the student must complete 9 resident credit hours during one regular semester or one 10-week summer semester in resident study at Texas A&M University. A minimum of 1 credit hour must be in a non-distance education delivery mode. Semesters during which the student is enrolled in all distance education coursework will not count toward fulfillment of the residence requirement. Upon recommendation of the student’s advisory committee, department head or Chair of the Interdisciplinary Program, if appropriate, and with approval of the Graduate and Professional School, a student may be granted exemption from this requirement. Such a petition, however, must be approved prior to the student’s registration for the final 9 credit hours of required coursework.

Students who are employed full-time while completing their degree may fulfill total residence requirements by completion of less-than-full time course loads each semester. In order to be considered for this, students are required to submit a Petition for Waivers and Exceptions along with verification of their employment to the Graduate and Professional School.

See Residence Requirements.

Distance Education Degree Program

Distance Education students will be required to attend two three-day sessions on campus at the beginning of the first and second years. The first session will include program orientation, training for course technologies and procedures, and faculty/staff introductions.  The second session will provide preparations for the second year and the capstone course, as well as career-management strategies.

Continuous Registration

On-Campus and Distance Education Degree Programs

A student in the thesis option of the Master of Science program who has completed all coursework on an approved degree plan other than 691 (Research) is required to be in continuous registration until all requirements for the degree have been completed.

See Continuous Registration Requirements.

Time Limit

On-Campus and Distance Education Degree Programs

All degree requirements must be completed within a period of seven consecutive years for the degree to be granted. A course will be considered valid until seven years after the end of the semester in which it is taken. Graduate credit for coursework which is more than seven calendar years old at the time of the final examination (oral or written) may not be used to satisfy degree requirements.

A student who has chosen the thesis option must have the final corrected copies of the thesis cleared by the Graduate and Professional School within one year of the semester in which the final exam is taken, or a final exam exemption petition was approved. Exams taken in between terms will expire at the end of the term that ended prior to the exam. For example, a final exam taken and passed during the Fall 2022 semester will expire at the end of the Fall 2023 semester. A final exam taken in the time between the Summer and Fall 2022 semesters will expire at the end of the Summer 2023 semester.

Foreign Languages

On-Campus and Distance Education Degree Programs

No specific language requirement exists for the Master of Science degree.

Application for Degree

On-Campus and Distance Education Degree Programs

For information on applying for your degree, please visit the Graduation section.