What is Management Information Systems? What do Information Systems Managers do? Management Information Systems is a subsection of management dedicated to understanding and maximizing the efficiency in relationships between people, technology, and organizations. Information Systems Managers generally aren’t hardcore computer scientists but have a passion for how technology impacts people. They work with equipment, protocols, and employees to improve returns on investments in technology and personnel. Some problems you might work on as an Information Systems Manager include:
- Using blockchain technology to protect new Internet services.
- Deploying machine learning on consumers to predict their behavior.
- Fighting the online drug trade.
- Building online bots that drive sales.
- Measuring social media’s impact on organizational goals.
- Increasing health care IT’s efficiency.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that there will be over 2 million vacant management positions by 2024. Recently, it found the median salary for Computer and Information Systems Managers was $139,220 in 2017. It projects a 12% growth for these positions between 2016-26, which means over 44,000 new positions (there were 367,600 of these positions in 2016). BLS also noted that a graduate degree was common for people in these roles. As information systems become more important for organizations across all sectors of the economy, people who can manage them are often promoted to executive positions, like working as a Chief Information Officer, commanding even higher salaries and greater control over:
- IT infrastructure
- IT operations
- Technical strategies
- Development Teams
In our ranking of the Best Online Management Information Systems MBAs we’ve found degrees that can be taken entirely online, on-campus or in a hybrid format. We’ve found nationally acclaimed programs, accelerated programs that let students earn their degree in under two years, programs that teach students about finance, technology, and emotional intelligence, and so much more. We ranked these Management Information Systems MBAs based on the following methodology:
- Affordability
- Flexibility
- National Rankings
- Special Features
Here are the schools that made the list:
1) University of Central Arkansas
UCA is a public, research university in Conway, Arkansas. It was founded in 1907. It was one of the first universities in the state and became the primary source of teachers in Arkansas. Today the school is known for distinguished programs in nursing, education, physical therapy, business, performing arts, and psychology. It offers over 150 majors through its six colleges (Education, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Fine Arts and Communication, Business, Health and Behavioral Sciences, and Liberal Arts). UCA is also known for its Honors College and study abroad programs. Over 11,300 students attend UCA, which has a 16:1 student-to-faculty ratio.
UCA offers an MBA that focuses/uses team building, communication, problem-solving, research, computer technology, case studies, and project-based instruction to give students what they need to reach upper-level positions in management. UCA’s MBA is offered in the following concentrations: Finance, Health Care Administration (HCA), Information Management, and International Business. Sample courses in Information Management include Organizational Behavior, Operations Management, Financial Decision Making and Marketing Strategies. Students also choose 9 credit hours of electives in Information Management. Choices include Project Management, Principles of Information Security, Critical Thinking and Experimental Design, among others.
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- Cost Per Credit Hour: 1st ($325)
2) Delta State University
DSU is a public university in Cleveland, Mississippi. It was founded in 1924. It’s one of eight publicly funded schools in the state. DSU offers 12 different types of Bachelor’s degrees in 42 majors, eight master’s degrees, an Education Specialist degree, and a Doctor of Education degree. Its degrees are conferred through colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, and Nursing. Nearly 3,800 students attend DSU, which has a 13:1 student-to-faculty ratio. DSU offers some rarer degree programs, including Commercial Aviation, the Delta Music Institute, and its nationally-recognized Geospatial Information Technology program. There are also no out-of-state feet at DSU, so you can enjoy its affordable tuition no matter where you live.
DSU offers an Integrated Master of Business Administration. Its core is based in three models Financial Strategy, Operational Strategy, and Strategic Planning. There are also the following emphasis areas: Human Resource Management, Health Care Administration, Information Systems Management or General Business. The Information Systems Management emphasis course include Enterprise Data Warehousing, Global Supply Chain Management, Business Intelligence, and Enterprise Resource Planning. It requires 30 credit hours in total.
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- Cost Per Credit Hour: 2nd ($336)
3) Concordia University Wisconsin
Concordia University Wisconsin is a private liberal arts university in Mequon, Wisconsin. The university was founded in 1881 at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Milwaukee. For 83 years it focused on theology education and only served male students. In 1964 the university became coed and expanded its curriculum drastically. Today it’s one of the nine-member Concordia University System, which is run by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). Nearly 7,300 students attend Concordia, which has an 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio. It’s known for its extremely strong School of Pharmacy, and its schools of Business and Legal Studies, Human Services, Arts and Sciences, and Adult and Continuing Education. In total, Concordia Wisconsin offers 78 undergraduate majors and minors, 17 graduate programs, eight accelerated adult education programs and three doctoral/professional programs.
Concordia Wisconsin offers an MBA in Management. It can be taken on campus or online over 8-week courses. The program can be finished in less than two years but is generally completed in 26 months. It requires 39 semester hours. There are a wealth of concentration areas, which include Nonprofit Management and Leadership, Sustainability Management and Analytics, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship, Accounting, Communications and Public Relations, Finance, Health Care Administration, Human Resource Management, International Business, Management, Strategic Marketing, Public Administration, Risk Assessment and Management, Sport and Entertainment Business, and Management Information Systems. The Management Information Systems major focuses on training students to manage IT departments and isn’t for students looking for a technical degree in computer science.
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- Cost Per Credit Hour: 8th ($699)
4) Fort Hays State University
FHSU is one of the largest public schools in Kansas. 15,100 students attend the school, which has an 18:1 student-to-faculty ratio. It was founded in 1902 on the grounds of a recently closed frontier military outpost. FHSU started as an agricultural school, then built out its academic offerings. FHSU now is made up of four colleges: Business and Entrepreneurship, Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Education and Technology, and Health and Life Sciences. These colleges offer 30 departments, 60 undergraduate majors and 19 graduate programs. Students at FHSU get significant flexibility as they plot their academic course, and can go from a certificate or Associates degree to a Bachelor’s or Master’s in a variety of programs. FHSU offers almost 30 degrees entirely online.
FHSU offers an online MBA, that comes in many concentration areas (the accounting concentration is on-campus only). It requires 34 credit hours and an extra 12 hours for students who didn’t take an undergraduate business degree. Some of the concentrations offered include Information Assurance, Marketing, Digital Marketing, and of course, Management Information Systems. Online classes are delivered through videos, discussion boards, and services like Skype, WebX, Blackboard, YouTube, and GoogleDocs. Students will learn a number of techniques that can be applied to organizational goals across the global business environment. FHSU’s alumni work in leadership positions at IBM, Wal-Mart, GE, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, and many more top organizations in a variety of business sectors.
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- Cost Per Credit Hour: 3rd ($400)
5) West Texas A&M University
West Texas is a public university in Canyon, Texas. It’s part of the Texas A&M University System and was founded in 1910. It offers 59 undergraduate degrees, 38 Master’s, and a Doctorate. The school has fought economic injustice, enrolled WWII veterans, and hired famous artist Georgia O’Keefe in its illustrious history. It joined the Texas A&M system in 1990. It’s known for its incredible online programming and its online MBA program has been ranked #36th in the nation among Best Online MBA Programs by USNR. Over 10,000 students attend West Texas A&M, which has a 30:1 student-to-faculty ratio.
WTAMU offers an online MBA program that can be taken completely online, or online and on-campus. It’s designed to be completed in two years, but can be completed quicker to meet individual student needs. Throughout the program, students choose courses that reflect their career interests in areas like Accounting, Quantitative Analysis, Computer Application & Technology, Corporate Finance, Marketing, Economic Theory, Management, Business Integration, and International Business. The program builds towards a Capstone projecT building an MBA portfolio. Students also choose an emphasis area from General Business, Computer Information Systems, Management, Marketing, and Healthcare Management. The Computer Application & Technology courses (which are the Management Information Systems courses in this program) are Information Technology Management, Social Network and Media Analysis, and Data and Information Management.
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- Cost Per Credit Hour: 4th ($419)
6) Florida State University
Florida State is a premier public school known for its sea-grant and space-grant research, and much more. It was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Tallahassee. The school is comprised of 16 colleges and over 360 programs of study at all levels of higher education. It’s known for its programs in law, business engineering, medicine, social policy, film, music, theater, dance, visual art, political science, psychology, and social work. In 2017 USNR ranked Florida State the 33rd best public university in the United States. Over 41,300 students attend FSU, which has a 22:1 student-to-faculty ratio. It also offers three undergraduate degrees and two Master’s degrees that can be taken entirely online.
Florida State offers an MBA program that comes in a number of different delivery formats. These include accelerated-full time (completed in one year on campus), evening-part time, and online-part time. Students can also take dual degree programs in Real Estate, Law and Social Work. MBA graduates have received leadership positions at Accenture, EY, Deutsche Bank, Gartner, CSX and Harris Corp. It also offers specializations like Accounting (on-campus only), Business Analytics (on-campus or online), Finance (on-campus only), Human Resources (on-campus only), Management Information Systems (online only), Risk Management and Insurance (online only), Real Estate (both), and Supply Chain Management (on-campus). It was ranked 16th in USNR’s Best Online MBA Programs in 2018.
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- Cost Per Credit Hour: 10th ($810)
7) Park University
Park University is a private university that was founded in 1875. It’s based in Parkville, Missouri, and its motto is “faith and work.” Initially, its students got free tuition and board in exchange for working on the college’s farm, electrical shop, or printing plant. Today it has a system of 40 campuses in 21 states, and the Internet. Over 11,400 students attend Park, which has a 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio. It was an early purveyor of online education, first providing it in 1996. It ranked 2nd in the country with a 9.5 percent annual return on investment in the 2015 PayScale College ROI Report and was also ranked in the 126-165 best Midwest colleges in 2018 by USNR.
Park offers an MBA program that can be taken entirely online, on-campus, or in a hybrid format. It comes in accelerated eight-week course formats that allow graduation in as little as 15 months. Students choose a concentration from Disaster and Emergency Management, Finance, Global Business, Global Executive, Homeland Security, Human Resource Management, Management Accounting, Management Information Systems, Project Management, and Quality and Innovation Management. The program is consistently ranked in the top 150 in the nation among online MBA programs by USNR. The coursework in this program prioritizes entrepreneurship and practical skills by utilizing case studies and real-world opportunities, including networking with top employers. It requires 33 credit hours.
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- Cost Per Credit Hour: 5th ($560)
8) University of Arizona
U of A is a mammoth public research university. It was chartered in 1885. Over 43,700 students attend Arizona, which has a very low 15:1 student-to-faculty ratio. USNR ranks it 124th in National Universities for 2018, and 102 among Best Value Schools. Its Eller College of Management grew out of its business programs which began in 1913. What was once just a bachelor’s program became its own school in 1944, and is now one of the largest colleges in the University of Arizona system. Eller offers programming in Accounting, Economics, Finance, Marketing, Management Information Systems (MIS), Operations Management, Business Administration, and Management and Organizations, and Entrepreneurship. Its Management Information Systems program is currently ranked 3rd in 2018.
Eller offers an online MBA. It has six starts per year, and 24/7 asynchronous delivery. You choose how many courses to take at a time, and when to do your coursework. Students have the option to complete the program in as little as 14 months or as long as four years. It comes in six concentrations: Entrepreneurship, Health Care, Finance, Management and Organizations, Marketing, and Management Information Systems. It requires 45 units, broken into 28 core units and 17 elective units. Sample courses include Strategic Management of Information Systems, Market-Based Management, Marketing of Innovations, Information Security in Public and Private Sectors, among many others.
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- Cost Per Credit Hour: 12th ($1,200)
9) University of Alabama, Birmingham
UAB is a public university that was founded in 1969. Over 20,900 students attend the school, which has a 19:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Its student body is made up of people from over 110 countries. UAB offers 140 programs broken into 12 academic divisions leading to bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees. Top areas of study include social and behavioral sciences, the liberal arts, business, education, engineering, and health-related fields like medicine, dentistry, optometry, nursing, and public health. It’s very well funded, receiving more funding than all other Alabama universities combined. In 2017, USNR ranked it 159th among Best National Universities.
UAB’s Collat School of Business offers an online, asynchronous MBA. It gives students an advanced education in finance and economics but also builds their emotional intelligence, behavioral management, and their impact on organizational success. It can be completed in two years. Students choose from tracks that include General, Finance, Marketing, Management Information Systems and Health Services. Specific topics covered include web analytics, real estate decision analysis, operations and supply chain management, and organizational management. The program requires 36-39 credit hours and builds towards a Capstone in Strategic Management.
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- Cost Per Credit Hour: 11th ($1,088)
10) Gardner-Webb University
GWU is a private, four-year Baptist university in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. It was founded in 1905. Through its five professional schools, two academic schools, and 11 academic departments it offers almost 60 fields of study. Its online programming has been consistently touted for excellence, with its online MBA program receiving praise from USNR and Business MBA. The school serves over 3,800 students, and has an 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio. The school notes that 97% of its graduate students would recommend GWU to a friend, 98% are employed six months after graduation, and 30% of students are enrolled in online courses exclusively.
Garden-Webb offers an MBA with some online options. Students are helped by an academic advisor to find the best option for them. In the program, you’ll choose an area of emphasis from accounting, banking and finance, economics, forensic accounting, healthcare management, human resource management, international business, marketing, management information systems, sport management, and tax accounting. There are 36 credit hours: 30 hours in core courses and six hours of electives in your emphasis area. It concludes with a capstone course in strategic management.
- Cost Per Credit Hour: 6th ($567)