MSc Strategic Information Systems

Overview

SAP Alliance - giving you the competitive edge The MSc Strategic Information Systems degree offered in partnership by Norwich Business School with the School of Computing Sciences. A significant trend in modern management is the growing importance of information systems. Such systems now play critical roles in organisations, both operationally and strategically, becoming an essential ingredient of competitiveness.

The MSc provides a foundation for a career in SIS management and focuses on relevant theories, concepts and techniques. The University of East Anglia are part of the SAP University Alliance Programme - currently one of only a small number of universities offering this opportunity in the UK. An integral part of the course is the use of the SAP R/3 Enterprise Resource Planning package via a number of realistic case studies. These skills add real value in the workplace: the market for SAP skills is very strong and SAP consultants in London earn an average £60,000 per annum.

This degree is designed to meet the needs of graduates who have not previously specialised in management, or who have studied the subject in a non-UK context.

Special Features

The course has a number of value-adding features that distinguish it from other business or management-oriented information systems courses available:

A final cash prize of £1,000 to the best student on the MSc programme. There will also be opportunities for funded PhD studies in the School.

Guest speakers from industry through our MSc Business Forum, supported by the UEA Alumni Fund and other industry links of the School.

Experience in using the world's top Enterprise Resource Planning package, SAP.

Additional consultancy qualifications via e-learning available (TERP1e: SAP ERP - Integration of Business Processes).

Opening up recruitment opportunities through direct interaction with businesses.

A truly joint business and technical programme for the hybrid manager.

Chartered Institute of Marketing

Our MSc Strategic Information Systems is recognised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM). This means you should be able to progress straight to the Professional Certificate in Marketing after successfully completing your MSc Strategic information Systems at Norwich Business School (conditions apply). See www.cim.co.uk.

Course Organiser

Mr Ian Brodie

Why Choose Us?

The Postgraduate MSc degree programme offered by Norwich Business School adopts an approach to teaching and learning which is designed to promote academic achievement as well as developing the potential for future managerial excellence.

Norwich Business School - Postgraduate Opportunities

The strategy underpinning Norwich Business School's courses is:

To provide a framework for the acquisition and progressive development of knowledge throughout the learning experience
To enable the development of personal and professional business skills that will support fast career progression
To stimulate a positive attitude towards lifelong learning and a culture of creativity and innovation.

We are committed to instilling confidence in our students and will support you to:

Develop assertive and confident communication skills
Plan, monitor and review individual development
Understand the dynamics of effective team working
Make use of advanced problem-solving techniques
Develop and practice your leadership skills.

Teaching is provided by members of academic staff, often in a relatively informal learning environment, with programmes incorporating lectures, seminars, and practical work. Assessment is usually by essays and other written assignments, written or oral examinations, and projects. A continuous control process ensures that our teaching quality continues to develop, and students have access to a number of quality-control channels including student feedback forms, debriefing meetings, and the Student Liaison Committee to help us monitor, evaluate and develop current practice.

There are many external indicators of the quality of our teaching and research. In relation to our teaching, we have been consistently rated as a top University in the National Student Satisfaction survey. Our School also benefits from a constructive relationship with a number of professional bodies, including the Chartered Management Institute, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Chartered Institute of Marketing.

Career Opportunities

Norwich Business School students benefit from our highly valued insight into state-of-the-art thinking and practice in the fields of business and management. Many of our graduates have subsequently achieved varied and successful careers with high profile roles in regional, national and international organisations.

The University of East Anglia provides a professional Careers Centre and, together with the School's Academic Careers Adviser, we will help students to choose their career path and develop their employability skills.

Come and Visit Us

Our Open Days will give you the opportunity to experience the University of East Anglia's unique campus atmosphere.

You will have the chance to attend subject-specific talks and presentations about student life and finance. You will also be able to talk directly to academics, admissions staff and current students giving you a first-hand impression of life at the University of East Anglia - check out the accommodation, learning resources, student support, and our sport and entertainment facilities.

If you are not able to visit us in person, check out our Virtual Open Day experience which we hope will help to provide you with an insight into life and study at the University of East Anglia.

Entry Requirements

Applicants should normally have a good first degree from a recognised higher education institution in the UK or overseas in disciplines other than business or management. Applicants from overseas may hold a non-UK degree in any discipline.

It is normal for undergraduate students to apply for entry to postgraduate programmes in their final year of study. Applicants who have not yet been awarded a degree may be offered a place conditional on their attaining a particular class of degree.

Undergraduate Degree Subject: All subjects excluding Business (unless studied in a non-UK context)
Undergraduate Degree Classification: Good 2.2 or equivalent

Students for whom English is a foreign language

We welcome applications from students whose first language is not English or those whose degree was not taught in English. To ensure such students benefit fully from postgraduate study, we require evidence of proficiency in English. We also will require a certain standard to be achieved on the written element of the test. Our usual entry requirements are as follows:

IELTS: 6.5 overall (minimum 6.0 in all components)
TOEFL: Internet-based score of 92 overall (minimum 21 in the listening and writing components; 22 in the reading component; and 23 in the speaking component)
PTE: 62 overall (minimum 55 in all components)

In certain circumstances we may require you to complete a Pre-Sessional English for Academic Purposes course prior to beginning your programme. This course may be taken at our INTO Language Learning Centre.

Course Profile

Disclaimer

Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules and regular (five-yearly) review of course programmes. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, there will normally be prior consultation of students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff or sabbatical leave. Where this is the case, the University will endeavour to inform students.

Year 1

Compulsory Study (120 credits)

Students will select 120 credits from the following module(s).

Name	Code	Credits	Semester
Information Systems and Operations The module aims to provide a foundation in two key areas of business management, Operations and Information Systems such that, on completion of the unit, the student will be in a position to undertake more advanced study of these important topics. The module aims to provide the student with an understanding of the management of the creation of goods and services and their delivery to the customer. No activities such as these can be undertaken without information and so the unit also aims to provide an understanding of what modern information systems can and cannot do and how managers can use them to accomplish their work. This module also explores basic Information Systems development and considers the stages and tools used in the traditional lifecycle approach. Although much time will be spent on using the various methods used in contemporary development, time will also be spent looking at wider topics vital to the successful completion and implementation of Information Systems, such as stakeholder participation, prototyping and evaluation.Find out more >>	NBS-MC07-A-SEM1	20	Semester 1
Integrated Business Decisions The module is "delivered" as a "game" played in teams. The military has used such a game to teach strategy and tactics. It has been updated to the international business environment, so that one team (business) in each game emerges as the winner. Each team needs to use something of what has been learnt from all modules covered so far in the MSc course.Find out more >>	NBS-MC28-C-SEM3	20
Internet & Multimedia Techniques This module surveys the current and emerging technologies of the Internet and its impact on society, particularly e-commerce. The practical part of the module concentrates on the design and integration of web sites, using a range of tools and techniques in current use.Find out more >>	CMPSMB13-A-SEM1	20	Semester 1
Management Skills and Personal Development This module is designed to give students a solid set of study skills, personal skills, and management skills through which their learning from across all modules develops into a coherent whole. The focus will be on developing the skills recognised as important for securing meaningful employment in the global marketplace appropriate to the Masters level of qualification. The format of the module will be of workshops, and the underlying pedagogic approach will be of experiential learning and action research.Find out more >>	NBS-MC1Y-A-YEAR	20	Semesters 1 & 2
Marketing and Strategy: Markets, Competitors and Customers We live or die by the decisions of the market. If we are good we thrive, if not'.well, we don't want to go there. The two connected disciplines that we use to determine our fate are strategy and marketing. Strategy for it is about creating the future and managing our future development and marketing for whatever we do it must be grounded in the reality of our chosen markets. Further is it not the best products or services that usually win, but it is the best marketed products or services. Drawing on theories, models, case studies and experience this module develops strategists and marketeers to lead firms in their future development.Find out more >>	NBS-MC03-A-SEM1	20	Semester 1
Strategic Information Systems The aim of this module is to provide the knowledge from which students should be able to make appropriate use of information systems (IS) and information technology (IT) in forthcoming management careers. This necessitates some technical understanding of computing, but not at an advanced level. Topics include IS strategy, IS and organisations, IT-induced business transformation, e-commerce and e-business, assessing IT investments, enterprise IS applications, knowledge management systems and managing international IS. From 2008/9, an integral part of the unit is the use of the SAP R/3 Enterprise Resource Planning package. The course integrates realistic hands-on case studies using the world's most popular Enterprise Resource Planning software..Find out more >>	NBS-MC50-C-SEM3	20

Option A Study (60 credits)

Students will select 60 credits from the following module(s).

Name	Code	Credits	Semester
Buyer Behaviour and Interactive Marketing To develop a knowledge and understanding of the main theories of buyer behaviour, and the application of these theories in the development of marketing strategies. The module aims to demonstrate that the key to a successful marketing strategy is the development of a customer focus within the organisation which relies upon a thorough understanding of buyer behaviour. Following, to develop a knowledge and understanding of the main theories relating to the use of new interactive marketing media (database driven marketing, CRM, and the Internet) and the application of these theories in the development of marketing relationships. The module aims to demonstrate the unique nature of interactive marketing and the dynamics inherent in the new IT driven information intensive business environment.Find out more >>	NBS-MC12-B-SEM2	20	Semester 2
Data Mining This module is designed for postgraduate students studying on MSc courses. The module explores the methodologies of Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD). It aims to cover each stage of the KDD process, including preliminary data exploration, data cleansing, pre-processing and the various data analysis tasks that fall under the heading of data mining. Through this module, students should gain knowledge of algorithms and methods for data analysis, as well as practical experience using leading KDD software packages.Find out more >>	CMPSMC24-B-SEM2	20	Semester 2
E-Business Management The module develops a knowledge and understanding of the nature of e-Business and e-Commerce as well as of the Internet infrastructure and the variety of firms competing in e-Business markets. It also aims to demonstrate the current successes and failures of e-Business ventures in different industries and markets. Current developments in Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) e-Commerce will be explored. Lectures will be supplemented by case studies of e-business practice, group exercises and exploration of relevant Internet sites.Find out more >>	NBS-MC10-B-SEM2	20	Semester 2
Supply Chain Strategy and Processes The module introduces students to some of the latest ideas and concepts relating to the strategic management of Operations and the Supply Networks of which they are a part. Thus, the focus is on both the medium to long term planning and design of Operations and Supply Chains and also on their immediate day-to-day management i.e. the focus is both strategic and tactical. The module explores key strategic and tactical decisions faced by Operations and Supply Chain Managers, for example, decisions about processes, capacity, location, technology etc.Find out more >>	NBS-MC32-B-SEM2	20	Semester 2
Systems Engineering Issues This module draws together a wide range of material and considers it in the context of developing modern large-scale computer systems. It will introduce, and put into context, topics crucial to the discipline of computer-based systems engineering (CBSE). Topics include: outsourcing; process improvement; the nature of systems; computer-based systems (CBS); systems failure; managing both systems and computer-based systems projects; total quality management; quality assurance and quality control; the maintenance of CBS; metrification, and risk management in CBS. This module is supported by a series of industrial case studies and includes speakers from industry (as available).Find out more >>	CMPSMB20-B-SEM2	20	Semester 2

Fees And Funding

Scholarships and Funding Fees for the academic year 2012/2013 will be

UK/EU Students: £7,250
International Students: £13,900

International applicants from outside the EU may need to pay a deposit.

Living Expenses

Approximately £7,500 living expenses will be needed to adequately support yourself.

Scholarships and Funding

Scholarships may be offered to UK/EU and International students. Scholarships are normally awarded to students on the basis of academic merit and are usually for the duration of the period of study.

Funding for postgraduate study is also available both from the university and from a number of external schemes.

Find out more about scholarships, funding and bursaries.

Apply

Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.

You can apply online, or by downloading the hard copy application form, or by using the application form in the University's Postgraduate Prospectus.

Further Information

To request further information & to be kept up to date with news & events please use our online enquiry form.

If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying please do contact us:

Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk

International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students section of our website.