Summer Quarter
Building Effective Teams & Presentation Skills
Develop the skills to build, lead, and inspire high-performance teams. Grounded in research and applied practice, this course teaches you how to assemble diverse teams, foster collaboration, manage conflict, and drive accountability toward ambitious goals. You will also strengthen executive-level presentation skills and learn how to communicate ideas clearly, persuasively, and with impact. These capabilities are essential for leadership roles across industries.
Business Data Analysis
Build a strong foundation in data-driven problem solving. This course teaches you how to frame business questions, design analytical approaches, perform statistical analysis, and translate results into actionable insights.
Students gain hands-on experience using Python and leading data science tools including NumPy, pandas, matplotlib, and scikit-learn to analyze real-world business problems. The course also introduces generative AI concepts and explores how AI-powered tools can enhance programming workflows and business analytics.
Business Decision Models
Strengthen your analytical decision-making skills using quantitative modeling tools widely used in industry. This course introduces management science techniques such as linear programming, integer optimization, decision analysis, sensitivity analysis, and Monte Carlo simulation.
Using Excel-based tools including Solver, TreePlan, and Crystal Ball, you will build decision models that address complex business challenges under uncertainty. The course is particularly valuable for careers in consulting, operations, finance, and strategy.
Info Tech & Organizational Strategy
Examine how information technology shapes competitive advantage and drives organizational performance. Through a case-based discussion format, you will evaluate how IT investments influence strategic positioning, operational excellence, innovation, and long-term growth.
The frameworks and strategic thinking skills developed in this course are directly applicable to roles in product management, operations, consulting, and technology leadership.
Operations & Business Process Management
Learn how to analyze, improve, and redesign the processes that power organizations. This course provides practical tools to measure performance, identify automation opportunities, and implement technology-enabled improvements.
You will gain hands-on experience with process modeling software, workflow automation, forecasting, simulation known as digital twins, and LLM-based optimization analytics. Applications span traditional industries such as retail, healthcare, and supply chains, as well as modern digital platforms and data-driven enterprises.
Autumn Quarter
Advanced Database Systems and Data Warehouses
Gain advanced expertise in modern data infrastructure and analytics. This course explores the what, why, and how of data warehousing, including cloud-based platforms such as Snowflake and techniques for analyzing structured and semi-structured data using advanced SQL.
You will learn how to model business data for warehousing, implement and query data warehouses, and evaluate indexing, storage, and query optimization strategies that support high-performance analytical workloads. The course prepares you to design scalable data systems that power strategic and operational decision-making.
Fundamentals of Machine Learning
Learn how to transform real-world business data into reliable predictions and actionable decisions. Through hands-on case studies, this course introduces core machine learning methods, beginning with regression foundations and progressing to more advanced models, all implemented in Python.
You will develop an end-to-end machine learning workflow, including data cleaning, feature engineering, model training and tuning, performance evaluation, and results interpretation. The course also explores the use of tools such as Python, Cursor, and LLM platforms including Groq and OpenAI to analyze business datasets and understand trade-offs between accuracy, interpretability, and deployment readiness. By the end of the course, you will be able to translate model outputs into clear, practical business recommendations.
Info Security & Assurance in a Networked World
Explore both the technical and managerial dimensions of information security. Through case studies and hands-on labs, you will learn how to apply security frameworks, assess organizational risk, and evaluate how companies detect, respond to, and recover from cyber threats.
By integrating strategic decision-making with technical knowledge, this course prepares you to support real-world cybersecurity initiatives and contribute meaningfully to organizational security strategy.
Managing IT Projects
Develop the skills to lead technology initiatives from concept to delivery using agile project management approaches such as Scrum, Kanban, and Extreme Programming. Working in teams, you will design a product or service concept built around emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, or IoT.
You will translate customer needs into actionable product visions, apply AI tools to product development and case analysis, and build a strategic execution plan. Teams present their concepts to potential investors at the end of the quarter, and some choose to develop working prototypes. The course emphasizes strategic thinking, collaboration, and disciplined execution. Students may continue developing their ideas in the Product Leadership series.
Winter Quarter
Advanced Machine Learning
Design and implement state-of-the-art AI systems for complex business challenges. This course covers advanced techniques including convolutional neural networks, vision transformers, and large language models using Python, Google Colab, and APIs that connect to leading AI platforms.
You will apply methods such as transfer learning, neural network optimization, and model interpretability while building hands-on applications across multiple AI environments. By the end of the course, you will be able to develop end-to-end machine learning solutions that integrate diverse data types and support real-world business decision-making.
Cyber Security Policy, Management, and Compliance
Learn to make informed, defensible cybersecurity decisions in environments shaped by business, legal, and regulatory pressures. Through collaborative and applied exercises, you will evaluate trade-offs between risk, cost, compliance, and operational priorities.
The course mirrors real organizational decision-making and prepares you to communicate security strategies clearly to both technical teams and executive leadership.
IT and Marketing in the New Economy
Explore how AI and analytics are transforming digital marketing. In this course, you will use Python and modern machine learning libraries such as scikit-learn and Hugging Face transformers to analyze unstructured marketing data, including web analytics, search engine marketing performance, social media content, and customer reviews.
Through hands-on projects, you will build tools such as AI-powered sentiment and topic models that convert raw data into actionable marketing insights. By the end of the course, you will be able to operate confidently at the intersection of marketing, analytics, and AI applications.
Leadership Series
The Information Systems Leader Series bridges academic learning with industry practice. This course exposes students to leadership concepts, management frameworks, and practical tools that prepare them to lead in technology-driven organizations.
Through applied exercises and direct engagement with experienced professionals, students strengthen their ability to communicate effectively, manage teams, and translate strategic ideas into organizational impact.
Machine Learning & AI for Business Applications
Learn how to apply generative AI technologies to transform business operations and decision-making. This course explores tools and frameworks including copilots, agentic systems, Retrieval Augmented Generation, prompt engineering, and multimodal AI solutions.
Students gain hands-on experience with platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Lovable, and diffusion models for image and video generation. You will develop skills in evaluating AI systems, designing human-AI collaboration workflows, and building practical applications that support roles in product management, consulting, and AI strategy.
Spring Quarter
Digital Transformation of Orgs
Examine how digital platforms and AI-driven technologies are reshaping industries and redefining competition. This course explores the mechanics of disruption through real-world cases such as Audible, Airbnb, and Netflix, analyzing how data, scalability, and personalization allow digital challengers to outperform established incumbents.
Using strategic and analytical frameworks, you will evaluate evolving ecosystems and understand the technical and business forces driving transformation. By the end of the course, you will be prepared to anticipate industry shifts, assess competitive threats, and lead innovation in an AI-first economy.
Enterprise Systems and Cloud Computing
Develop the expertise to design, manage, and optimize cloud-based enterprise systems. Through applied labs and real-world scenarios, you will learn core cloud architecture principles and gain hands-on experience with cloud services including security, networking, storage, databases, and analytics.
The course builds a strong technical foundation for careers in systems management, IT consulting, technology leadership, cloud development, and data analytics.
Leadership/Product Leadership
Advance your product thinking from execution to strategic leadership. This course teaches you how to craft compelling product visions, build business cases supported by financial modeling, and make data-informed prioritization decisions.
Using AI tools for competitive analysis and strategic planning, you will address challenges faced by leading technology firms and digital innovators. The course culminates in a competitive challenge where you either develop a strategic roadmap for a major company or expand a prior project with deeper market analysis, financial projections, and executive positioning. By the end of the course, you will be prepared to lead product initiatives, navigate digital disruption, and communicate strategy effectively to senior leadership.
Electives
Students must also select one elective from the list below. These courses are typically offered in spring quarter, depending on student demand.
Advanced and Unstructured Data Mining
Advanced topics in data mining, with a special focus on unstructured data; web mining; text mining. Students will learn and apply unstructured data mining tools on real-world unstructured data.
Advanced Development Frameworks
Introduces object-oriented principles and key web-based system development tools. Topics include object-oriented modeling, object-oriented programming languages, and advanced user interface design. Students will learn to use object analysis and design, modern programming languages, and advanced database technology to develop business applications.
Managing Information Technology Resources
Covers issues related to managing operations of the information (IT) department in an organization. Topics include IT budgeting, systems implementation/support/maintenance, user training, hardware replacement strategies, performance evaluation, technology cost estimation and trend forecasting, capacity planning, website utilization and traffic load balancing, and coordination with other functional departments.
Technology Entrepreneurship
Examines the issues involved in creating an organizational environment that recognizes, nurtures, and grows technology-related entrepreneurial activities, the practice of selecting and monitoring ventures, and the capital process within a firm.
Information Systems Economics
Examines basic concepts of economics as it pertains to information technology and systems. Includes the value of information, cost-benefit analysis, economies of scale, network effects, pricing of digital goods, information uncertainty in electronic markets, risk-return trade-offs, and other related topics.
Managing in the Era of Cloud Computing
Cloud computing, risks and benefits of information technology (IT) infrastructure, service and deployment models, virtualization and organizational impact, cloud security.
Security Analytics
Covers the process of and tools for data collection, aggregation, and analysis in security monitoring and threat detection.
Contemporary Topics in Information Systems
Topical coverage varies.