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Undergraduate Catalog 2021-2022

Business Administration B.S. – Computer Information Systems Emphasis

Kenneth W. Monfort College of Business

Contact: Lloyd "Pat" Seaton, Ph.D., C.P.A., Chair

Location: Kepner 2090

Telephone: 970.351.2855

Website: https://mcb.unco.edu/programs/business-administration/computer-information-systems.aspx

Advising Information:

All business majors must consult with their assigned advisor each semester prior to registering.

To find your advisor, log into ursa.unco.edu; go to 'Student' tab and click 'View Student Information' link. If no advisor is listed, contact the MCB Advising Office for advisor information, 970.351.1233.

The program consists of three parts:

  1. Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
  2. Required Major Credits
  3. University-Wide Credits

Program Description:

The primary objective of the Computer Information Systems Emphasis is to provide the applicable coursework and experiences to allow graduates to secure industry positions in the fields of programming, systems analysis, systems design, database design/administration and telecommunications/networking. The program is also designed to prepare students with a solid academic background suitable for graduate work in computer information systems.

Within the curriculum, particular attention is paid to the strategic nature of technology. In the CIS program, students acquire knowledge of computer programming, networking, systems analysis and design, database management systems, decision support systems and e-commerce.

Graduates of the CIS program usually enter the job market as programmers/analysts or networking personnel. Subsequent positions may include systems analysts, database administrators and network administration. For the most part, the graduate's activities will focus on creating and implementing software and procedures used to service large and small organizations including manufacturing, retail, wholesale, financial, insurance, communications and government groups.

Program Admission Requirements:

  • Incoming New First Time and Transfer students are admitted to the College of Business major and minors provided they meet the admission requirements set forth by UNC. 
  • Current UNC students who have completed at least 15 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 2.50 or above are guaranteed admission to any business major.
  • Current UNC students who have completed at least 15 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 2.00-2.49 qualify to apply for admission to a business major. Students may apply at the MCB Advising Center located in Kepner 1095.

Degree Requirement Notes:

Students are reminded that to graduate with a Business Administration degree, a student must attain a 2.0 or greater cumulative Business GPA, and at least a "C-" grade in each individual Business Administration Core Course, emphasis and business elective courses.

Business coursework may be transferred toward a Business degree according to the following limits:

  • A maximum of 12 credit hours may be transferred into the Business Core and
  • A maximum of 9 credit hours may be transferred into Required Emphasis and Elective Emphasis and
  • A maximum of 6 credit hours may be transferred into Business Electives.

Program Requirements:

  • All students in the program must complete a Professional Experience prior to graduation.  A for-credit internship, if completed satisfactorily, will fulfill the work experience component of the Professional Experience.  All students must complete the Professional Experience required workshops.  For more information please visit the Professional Experience website.
  • In addition to fulfilling the basic requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration students must attain at least a grade of "C-" or better in the Required Emphasis Credits, Elective Emphasis Credits, and Elective Major Credits in order to count towards graduation.
  • BACS 495 Special Topics in CIS may be repeated. A maximum of 6 credits may be applied to the student’s degree program. With the written approval of the CIS department chair, an Executive Professor Special Topics course may be substituted for BACS 495 Special Topics in CIS.

Coursework completed by a student within the preceding 10 years may apply as credit toward a bachelor's degree. Coursework taken before the 10-year limit may be reviewed by the school director and college dean to determine its appropriateness to the major requirements.

Degree Requirements — 120 Credits

1. Liberal Arts Curriculum — 31 credits

To complete the degree in 120 credits as outlined, the program recommends the below LAC courses that also count toward the required major credits.

Any additional LAC coursework completed outside of the recommended list below may extend the length of the program of study.

Written Communication — 6 credits

The program recommends that you choose one of the following courses for Intermediate Communication:

BA 205 Business Communication OR ENG 123 College Research Paper Writing.

Either course will fulfill both a major requirement and the Liberal Arts Curriculum requirement.

See Written Communication courses

Mathematics — 3 credits

The program recommends that you take the following courses:

MATH 124 College Algebra or STAT 150 Introduction to Statistical Analysis. 

Both courses are required for the major. Either one of them will fulfill the 3 credit hour math requirement in the Liberal Arts Curriculum. 

See Mathematics courses

Arts & Humanities, History, Social & Behavioral Sciences, U.S. Multicultural Studies, and International Studies — 15 credits

To complete the LAC in the minimum number of credits, be sure to choose at least one course with an IS designation and one course with an MS designation.

The program recommends the following courses in the Social & Behavioral Sciences category.

ECON 203 Principles of Macroeconomics AND ECON 205 Principles of Microeconomics 

PSY 120 Introduction to Psychology OR PSY 265 Social Psychology OR SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology

Both economics courses and one of the other three courses are required for the major. Any one of them can be used to fulfill the Liberal Arts Curriculum requirement of 3 credits in Social and Behavioral Sciences. A second one can be used to fulfill the requirement of an additional course (3 credits) in Arts & Humanities, History or Social and Behavioral Sciences.

See Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences courses

Natural & Physical Sciences — 7 credits

Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.

See Natural & Physical Sciences courses

See Liberal Arts Curriculum

2. Required Major — 91-92 credits

(Required Supporting Credits — 31-32 credits)

The following courses are required as part of the Business major, some of which will also count towards the Liberal Arts Curriculum. 

BA 205Business CommunicationsLAW2

3

or

ENG 123College Research PaperLAW2

3

BACS 101Business Computing

3

BAMG 125Taking Care of Business

3

COMM 100Basics of Public Speaking

3

ECON 203Principles of MacroeconomicsLAB1

3

ECON 205Principles of MicroeconomicsLAB1

3

MATH 124College AlgebraLAX1

4

MATH 176Topics in Calculus

3

or

MATH 131Calculus ILAX1

4

PSY 120Principles of PsychologyLAB3

3

or

PSY 265Social PsychologyLAB3

3

or

SOC 100Principles of SociologyLAB3

3

STAT 150Introduction to Statistical AnalysisLAX1

3

(Business Core Credits — 30 credits)

Take all of the following courses:

BAAC 220Principles of Accounting I

3

BAAC 221Principles of Accounting II

3

BAFN 231Legal Environment of Business

3

BAFN 240Introduction to Personal Financial Planning

3

BACS 300Information Systems

3

BAMG 350Management and Organizational Behavior

3

BAMK 360Marketing

3

BAFN 370Business Finance

3

BAMG 390Operations Management and Data Analytics

3

BAMG 456Strategic Management

3

BAMG 456 is the capstone course for Business majors and is designed to be taken in the student’s last semester. 

(CIS Emphasis Credits — 18 credits)

Take all of the following courses:

BACS 287Graphical Interface Programming

3

BACS 380Networking and Data Communications Systems

3

BACS 387Object Oriented Systems Development

3

BACS 485Database Management Systems

3

BACS 487Systems Analysis and Design

3

BACS 488Senior CIS Project

3

(Elective CIS Emphasis Credits — 6 credits)

Choose two of the following courses:

BACS 350Intermediate Web Development

3

BACS 371Introduction to Computer Forensics

3

BACS 382Information Security

3

BACS 383Designing User Experiences

3

BACS 385Fundamentals of Project Management

3

BACS 392Systems Platforms and Network Development

3

BACS 495Special Topics in CIS

1- 3

(Elective Major Credits — 6 credits)

Take six (6) semester credit hours from BA 251 or BACS 200 or any other 300/400 level business course not already counted in Business Core, Emphasis or Emphasis electives.  

(BAAC 301, BAFN 302 and BAMG 356 may not be used.)

Any 300 or 400-level business electives (BA prefix) except for BAAC 301, BAFN 302 and BAMG 356

or

BA 251International Business

3

or

BACS 200Web Design and Development for Small Business

3

3. University-Wide Credits — 0-10 credits*

*Note: Students must apply at least some of the recommended courses to both the liberal arts curriculum requirements and the major requirements to complete this degree program in 120 credit hours. Students who apply all of the recommended courses to the LAC will have up to 10 credits of university wide electives to apply to this degree depending on the number of credits applied to both the LAC and the major. See your advisor for details.