The management information systems emphasis at UMKC is part of a comprehensive M.B.A. degree, providing general knowledge of business functions (such as accounting, finance, production, and marketing) and stressing leadership and the social and public responsibilities of those in business. Designed in conjunction with our MIS Advisory Board, the emphasis serves people who plan information technology-related careers with courses that include hands-on use of client-based tools, that emphasize management options and contingencies, and that provide a managerial background for MIS functional processes. The emphasis differs from typical MIS degrees in that it focuses upon requirements determination, business processes, decision-making, and leadership within the MIS functional area. This emphasis provides less content on software design, coding, and testing that you may find at many other MIS degree programs.
The emphasis stresses managing information technology for business advantage. Click here for a website that explains the differences among various types of information technology degrees and discusses current career opportunities in the field.
Program RequirementsSince many of these courses are not being offered frequently due our current low enrollments, we are trying to offer other options for finishing an MIS emphasis. To promote scheduling flexibility for MIS students, we intend to routinely approve up to two of the following additional courses as part of an MIS emphasis upon request. If you want to take them, please ask for permission by sending an email stating your request to your Advisor or to Professor Pick.
If you are thinking about double-majoring, we recommend a second major in Operations Management. The Operations Management emphasis includes courses on ERP systems and project management that could be very useful to people planning careers in information systems.
Is MIS for me?Maybe not.
Our MIS curriculum is best suited for people who already possess entry-level computing skills. The curriculum was designed to build upon a solid foundation of skills or experience with information technology. If your undergraduate major was Computer Science or Computer Information Systems, our Management of Information Systems emphasis should help you move your career into management ranks. Similarly, if you have gained computer skills via on-the-job training or some other informal method, the Management of Information Systems emphasis will give you management skills to assist your move up your career track.
If you do not have extensive formal coursework involving computers nor commercial computer-related experience, you can still do well in our courses and learn a great deal from them, but you may have trouble being placed in a job. Most jobs in this field, especially at the entry level, require specific technical skills. The courses that include a significant hands-on computing component are MIS 5552 and MIS 5529. The remaining classes are more managerial and conceptual than technical.
This degree is an "M of IS" degree rather than an "MIS" degree.
That means that this degree is less technical than the typical MIS degree
and far less technical than most Computer Science or CIS degrees.
Click on this link
to go to a website that gives more details about the various types
of computer-related degrees and the differences among them.
See Professor Pick before
you take your first MIS course if you have any doubts about how the
MIS emphasis fits with your career path.
Return to ContentsCourse Scheduling
Plans will shift slightly from one year to the next as the Bloch School phases in its new MBA. The offerings shown below for 2015 should remain stable. .....at least for a while until something else happens to require a change!
(D represents courses
generally offered before 5:30 p.m., and
E represents courses generally offered at or after 5:30 p.m.
Sections of 203 and 402 are occasionally offered in the evening on an irregular basis.
All offerings, especially summer, are contingent upon sufficient enrollments.)
This table only shows courses we expect to offer regularly.
| Course Number | Course Title | Spring, 2013 | Summer, 2013 | Fall, 2013 | Spring, 2014 | Summer, 2014 | Fall, 2014 | Spring, 2015 and subsequent springs | Summer, 2015 and subsequent summers | Fall, 2015 and subsequent falls | Comments | MIS 415 | Management of Information Systems | D in even years; E in odd years | . | . | D in even years; E in odd years | . | . | D in even years; E in odd years | . | . | . |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIS 5503 | Management Information Technology | E | . | D, E | D, E | . | D, E | D, E | . | D, E | 8-week MBA core course; 1st half of semester. |
| MIS 5529 | Decision Support Systems | E | . | . | . | . | E | . | . | E | . |
| MIS 5552 | Data Base Management | . | E | . | . | E | . | . | E | . | . |
| MIS 5554 | Systems Analysis, Design, and Engineering | E | . | . | . | E | . | . | E | . | . |
| MIS 5558 | Management of Information Systems | . | . | . | E | . | . | E | . | . | . |
| AC 5565 | Advanced Accounting Systems | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | We believe the Accounting Department plans on offering this course annually in the spring, but it is not under our control. Ignore the official prerequisites; the professor of the course (Dr. Smedley) welcomes MIS students who have taken at least one financial accounting course. |
Schedule your courses carefully.
Most courses are only offered once per year.
Courses marked as irregular will only be offered once
every few years.
If you are interested
in a course that is offered irregularly and it happens
to be offered, chances are that semester will be your
only chance to take it during your career as a student
at UMKC.
Additionally, see the list of requirements above
where you can see some measures we are taking to give students more
flexibility since we are not able to offer MIS courses as often as
we wish we could.
Return to Contents Faculty
Pick earned his Ph.D. from the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University in 1984. His research interests are in computer economics and model management as well as web-based support of decision making. His writings on these subjects have appeared in Communications of the ACM, Management Science, Journal of MIS, and numerous other outlets. He teaches courses on computer applications, data management, and management and economics of computers.
Smedley earned her Ph.D. in business administration (accounting emphasis) from Oklahoma State University in 2001. Her research interests are in knowledge transfer from artificially intelligent software, decision support systems, and XBRL. She has published in the Journal of Emerging Technologies for Accounting, the Journal of Information Systems, the International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, and numerous other outlets. She teaches courses in accounting information systems.
Ward received a Ph.D. in Information Systems from UCLA and an M.B.A. and B.A. from the University of Oklahoma. Her research interests include decision support systems, multi-attribute decision making, coordination technology for geographically-dispersed groups, and information retrieval strategies. Her work on these subjects has appeared in Management Science and other outlets. She teaches courses on the management of information systems, decision support and expert systems, and data base management.
Return to
Contents Our Research ProgramAlthough each of our faculty has unique interests, the thread that is common among all members of our faculty is an interest in decision making in the context of using information technology. Pick has an interest in building decision support systems to support unique modeling needs. He is also interested in supporting the modeling process in order to better facilitate informed decisions in the corporate world. Ward is interested in decision-making behavior and in the impact of system design and information display upon how decisions are made. See faculty members' websites for more details.
Return to
Contents FacilitiesNamed for Henry W. Bloch, co-founder of H & R Block, the world's largest tax preparation firm, the school is housed in a renovated and expanded facility designed to serve the needs of a modern, urban school of management. In addition to classroom and office space, the building includes computer and research laboratories, a student lounge, and two executive education classrooms. The building is a blend of one of Kansas City's historic mansions and a modern addition completed in 1988. The UMKC campus is located just southeast of Kansas City's historic and vibrant Country Club Plaza.
The Bloch School has an open computer lab and two computer-equipped classrooms providing students with access to nearly 100 Intel/Windows workstations and several laser printers. Virtually all computers in the Bloch School are connected to the Internet. Besides the computer lab, the school provides Wi-Fi access, and provides a variety of software and databases including Compustat, CRSP, Eventus, Economagic, ABI/INFORM, Lexis Nexis, Academic Search Premier, EconLit, EDGAR, JSTOR, PAIS International, Sage Public Administration Abstracts, Sage Urban Studies Abstracts, MS Office, MS Visual Studio, MS Visio, MS Project, Palisade Decision Tools, and SIMUL8. Plus, Bloch students may use a number of other open computer labs on campus.
Return to Contents Financial Aid and
Scholarships Return to ContentsAdvisory Board Return to ContentsHow to Reach UsFor application forms and information about enrolling in the M.B.A. program, contact:
Office of Student Services Return to Contents
Last revised: 14 March 2013.
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