B.S. in Computer Information Systems

Bachelor of Science Degree

The Bachelor of Science program in computer information systems places an emphasis on business applications of computing. Students acquire basic skills in computer systems areas, including programming, database management, and other business-oriented areas. The program is designed to follow the curricular guidelines of the ACM, which are endorsed by the Association for Information Technology Professionals (AITP). Many graduates who pursue advanced study enter graduate programs in management or business administration. Also, with appropriate course selection, a student in computer information systems may be prepared to continue on into the M.S. program in computer and information science.

Typical job titles in computer information systems:

  • Systems Analyst
  • Data or Database Administrator
  • Business Information Systems Analyst
  • Network Administrator
  • Enterprise Resource Planning Specialist
  • Project Manager
  • Computer Operations Manager
  • Chief Technical Officer (CTO) / Chief Information Officer (CIO)

B.S. in Computer Information Systems (IS) — 124 total credits

Students shall satisfy the requirements listed below.

I. SUNY General Education Requirements (30 credits)

All SUNY students must satisfy the following requirements.

No fewer than 30 credits must be attained from the SUNY approved General Education Course List with the following provisions:

  • Mathematics (met by IS program requirements)
  • Basic Communication (ENG 101 or equivalent)

At least five (5) out of the following eight (8) SUNY General Education categories:

  • Natural Science (met by program requirements)
  • Social Science
  • American History
  • Western Civilization
  • Other World Civilization
  • Humanities
  • The Arts
  • Foreign Language

NOTE: You may take more than one course in a given category to complete this 30 credit hour requirement, but you must also satisfy the appropriate number of categories.

II. Liberal Arts/Sciences Requirements (30 credits)

The New York State Education Department (SED) requires a student earning a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree to attain no fewer than 60 credits of combined SUNY General Education and Liberal Arts/Sciences courses. There may be overlap between courses meeting both the SUNY General Education Requirements and Liberal Arts/Sciences Requirements, but a student may receive course credits only once even if multiple requirements are satisfied by a single course. The total number of combined credit hours must be no fewer than 60 credits.

SUNY Poly degree requirements:

Natural Sciences

  • One General Education Natural Science course (met by program requirements).

Upper-Division Writing Course

  • See the Catalog descriptions of COM and ENG courses to find specific courses that satisfy this requirement.

Specific requirements for IS majors include:

Mathematics

  • Minimum of two courses: one course shall be Finite Mathematics (MAT 115)  with a grade of C or better, and one course selected from Calculus (not precalculus), Linear Algebra, or Statistics. IS Majors are encouraged to take additional mathematics courses.

Natural Sciences

  • Two courses: one course shall be a General Education Natural Science course; a second Natural Science course shall incorporate a lab.

III. IS Program Requirements

IS Core and Intermediate Coursework
All IS majors must complete the following courses:

  • CS 108 Computing Fundamentals (Minimum grade of “C” required for this course or its transfer equivalent.)
  • CS 240 Data Structures & Algorithms (Minimum grade of “C” required for this course or its transfer equivalent.)
  • IS 310 Hardware and Network Infrastructure
  • NCS 315 Networking of Information Systems
  • IS 320 Systems Analysis & Design
  • IS 325 Database Management Systems
  • IS 330 Decision Support and Intelligent Systems

Business and Management Courses

  • Any two courses, one of which must be 300 level or higher, chosen from courses with the following prefixes: ACC, BUS, ECO, FIN, MGT, MKT.

IS Advanced Electives

Three courses to be selected from electives listed below or from graduate courses. Courses must be taken at SUNY Poly.

  • IS 305 Application Programming with COBOL
  • IS 340 E-Commerce
  • IS 469 Information Technology Project Management
  • IS 470 Database Programming
  • IS 490 Special Topics in Information Systems*
  • IS 491 Independent Study
  • CS 307 The Unix Programming Environment
  • CS 330 Operating Systems and Networking
  • CS 350 Information and Knowledge Management
  • CS 351 Web Development and Internet Programming
  • CS 370 Software Engineering
  • CS 407 Unix System Administration
  • CS 409 Software Project Management
  • CS 431 Principles of Programming Languages
  • CS 489 Cooperative Work Study in Computer Science
  • CS 490 Special Topics in Computer Science
  • CS 5xx Graduate Computer Science Courses**

This list is not all inclusive; consult with your advisor and submit petitions for other courses.

*May be repeated with different topics.

**Up to two graduate CS courses (other than bridge courses) may be used to fulfill this requirement. Enrollment in graduate courses is restricted by grade point average. See the graduate catalog for descriptions of graduate courses.

IS Capstone

  • IS 495 Computer Information Systems Practicum

IV. Open Electives

Additional coursework as required to total 124 credits.