Online Information Systems and Spatial Informatics Graduate Programs
Online graduate programs offered by the Information Systems and Spatial Informatics faculty in UMaine’s School of Computing and Information Science include two all coursework Master’s degrees as well as three graduate certificates … with more coming soon. All required and elective courses offered by this faculty group are typically available simultaneously online as well as on campus, up to and through the PhD degree course requirements.
The core courses in these programs focus on content knowledge in coding, computer science, and data handling to enable lifelong learning on computing topics. The elective courses in the programs may be drawn from numerous domains. For example, see the electives for the MSIS or MSSI that may also be used to acquire a Graduate Certificate along the way to earning the MS. Because information processing permeates all aspects of modern society, these graduate programs provide foundational content and skills valued for professional advancement across wide ranging disciplines.
The online information systems, computing, and data science graduate programs described below have been designed to accommodate college graduates from wide-ranging academic backgrounds. The distance courses allow students to view lectures and complete assignments each week on their own schedule. The profiles of numerous working professionals already participating online from industry, business, government and education are posted along with our on-campus graduate students at https://umaine.edu/scis/graduate-students/. Incoming students are NOT required to have any previous computing background. However, students with such backgrounds have greater flexibility in choosing electives within their graduate programs.
The M.S. in Spatial Informatics (MSSI) is an all-course-work degree comprised of 30 credit hours of graduate-level course work that focus on the fundamentals of spatial informatics. This degree is available only to online students.
The M.S. in Information Systems (MSIS) is an all-course-work degree comprised of 30 credit hours of graduate-level course work broadly covering the domain of information systems. The MSIS may also be taken as a dual degree with the MBA of the Maine Business School, in which case, 15 of the required 60 credit hours may be double counted towards the two graduate degrees.
These master’s degrees may include in their course work requirements a 3-credit pre-approved internship course administered as SIE 590. The master’s degrees may also be taken by on-campus high performing undergraduate students through a Four Plus One Option, starting in the junior year, leading to a dual bachelor’s and master’s degree within 5 years.
Three entry-level graduate certificates provide options to acquire advanced knowledge through graduate-level course work. The Graduate Certificate in GIS is a 15-credit program, offering students a foundation in key aspects of geographic information systems. The Graduate Certificate in Information Systems is a 15-credit program, offering students foundational knowledge in information systems. The Graduate Certificate in Computing for Educators provides an ideal foundation for teaching computer coding and computer science problem solving in grades 9-12. One or more graduate certificates may be issued and identified on student transcripts upon meeting the course requirements for each certificate regardless of whether the courses count as well for other certificates, degrees. or credentials. A graduate certificate must be applied for during admission or prior to earning half of the required courses for the certificate.
For graduate SIE course descriptions and sample syllabi applicable for all of these programs, see https://spatial.umaine.edu/sie-graduate-info/courses/