Information Systems Minor

The Information Systems minor is the interdisciplinary study of the ways in which computer technology can foster organizational excellence.

Drawing from both Business Management and Computer Science, the Information Systems Minor builds on the foundations of an education in the liberal arts by stressing strong analytical skills, the facility to find imaginative solutions to difficult problems, and the application of ethical principles.

Students who complete the Information Systems Minor will understand and be able to write and orally communicate about technology to a body of professionals and non-professionals alike. The minor is especially suited to students majoring in Business Management who would like to acquire an in-depth understanding of technology, and to students majoring in Computer Science who wish to acquire business skills essential to a productive career. The minor is open to students from all majors offered at Washington College.

A minimum of eight courses (32 credits) are needed for the minor. Of these, the following seven are required:

BUS 201	Introduction to Financial Accounting
BUS 302	Organizational Behavior
BUS 304	Management Information Systems
MAT 111	Differential Calculus
CSI 111	Computer Science I
CSI 112	Computer Science II
CSI 310	Database Systems

The eighth course, an elective, may be chosen from the following:

BUS 202	Marketing
BUS 212	Introduction to Managerial Accounting
BUS 215	Quantitative Methods I
BUS 216	Quantitative Methods II
BUS 301	Financial Analysis
BUS 303	Legal Environment of Business
BUS 305	Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
CSI 100	Basics of Computing
CSI 250	Introduction to Computer Organization and Architecture
CSI 440	Computer Networks
CSI 460	Software Engineering

Additionally, special topics courses in Business Management or Computer Science or in other areas deemed suitable and approved by one of the Information Systems program co-directors may be taken as the elective. Students majoring in Computer Science are urged to take the elective from the courses offered in Business Management; students majoring in Business Management are similarly encouraged to take the elective from the courses offered in Computer Science.

Students may not count the courses for a minor in Information Systems again for a minor in Computer Science or Business Management. Students who wish to double-major in Computer Science and Business Management will be required to take an additional elective.