ISEDJ

Abstract: The use of Information Technology (IT) in organizations is broad and rapidly growing. With so many technology topics to cover, Information Systems (IS) educators are faced with the challenge of having to design and develop an IS curriculum that best serves both students and industry. Most IS curricula adopt a breadth-first and specialization-second approach in which students take a set of core courses in a fundamental body of knowledge followed by a number of electives in a specialization either by their own preference or by a track design offered by the program. The subject of track design has not been a traditional focus of information systems curriculum study, despite the IS Model Curricula 2010's effort to introduce a separation between core and track courses. The current study examines career track data from IS programs in business and management within the United States. The study performed a content analysis of the websites and university catalogs of 401 IS undergraduate programs and identified 241 career tracks in 82 programs. These tracks are analyzed to better understand their composition and anatomy. The results should help current information systems programs to better understand and structure their own curricula.

Keywords: IS Curriculum, Career Tracks, Specializations

Download this article: ISEDJ - V12 N3 Page 4.pdf

Recommended Citation: Hwang, D., Curl, S. (2014). The Market for Career Tracks in Undergraduate IS Curricula in the U.S.. Information Systems Education Journal, 12(3) pp 4-17. http://isedj.org/2014-12/ ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2013)