Master of Science in Information Systems program

A. Knowledge and Comprehension

• Acquire advanced knowledge in the areas of information systems and maintain awareness of current issues and research.
• Gain advanced application-based knowledge across a broad range of activities within the information systems domain, including detailed expertise in specialized areas.
• Develop advanced knowledge in data analysis, encompassing the specification, design, development, and deployment of information systems to meet domain-specific needs, along with a critical understanding of the tools and techniques available to support these processes.
• Demonstrate advanced technical knowledge associated with the development of information systems within an organizational context.

B. Mental Skills

• Acquire advanced skills relevant to the diverse activities within the information systems domain.
• Develop and apply advanced skills in critical analysis, evaluation, and synthesis, considering the theories, concepts, and techniques used in the information systems field, and in designing projects and experimental models.
• Make sound judgments even with incomplete or inconsistent data, or in situations lacking established professional or ethical guidelines.
• Identify risks related to organizational data security and recommend appropriate tools and techniques for risk mitigation.
• Integrate knowledge to analyze, evaluate, and address complex phenomena, issues, and situations related to information systems, even when information is limited.
• Identify and formulate questions to plan and execute advanced tasks within defined timeframes and evaluate the outcomes effectively.

C. Professional and Practical Skills

• Demonstrate critical awareness of current legal, social, ethical, and professional issues within the discipline.
• Develop and apply advanced problem-solving skills to address challenges related to modern applications of information systems.
• Develop and demonstrate advanced communication skills and techniques with peers and academic or industrial staff, using a variety of methods tailored to different levels of audience knowledge and expertise.
• Understand research ethics and how to appropriately build upon the work of others.

D- General Skills:

• Acquire advanced skills in both mainstream and specialized areas of information systems, including data science, digital transformation, and information and enterprise systems engineering.
• Develop research skills and the ability to critically analyze through reviewing and evaluating current research literature.
• Gain advanced capabilities to analyze, design, and build information systems that effectively support the goals of a knowledge-based economy.
• Work autonomously and collaboratively within teams, demonstrating the ability to take on and critically reflect on roles and responsibilities.

In addition to the admission requirements outlined in the unified regulations for graduate studies in Saudi universities and the organizational and executive rules and procedures for postgraduate studies at King Saud University, the Department of Information Systems requires the following for enrollment in the program:

1. Applicants must hold a full-time BSc degree in Information Systems, Computer Science, Information Technology, Software Engineering, or Computer Engineering from King Saud University or a university recognized by the Ministry of Education, with a minimum rank of “High Good” and a GPA of at least 3.25 out of 5.0 or its equivalent.

2. A minimum score of 45 in the TOEFL-IBT test or an equivalent English language proficiency test.

3. A minimum score of 70 in the General Aptitude Test (Quantitative Section) or at least 144 in the GRE (Quantitative Section).

4. Applicants with bachelor’s degrees from non-Saudi universities must provide an equivalency certificate from the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia.

5. Applicants with prior work experience must upload details of each job, including the duration of employment.

First Year – First Semester

1. IS 524 – Advanced Information Systems Analysis & Design (3 units, 3+0)

   • Lecture, assessment included

2. IS 533 – Advanced Topics in Databases (3 units, 3+0)

   • Lecture, assessment included

3. IS 536 – Information Security Governance (3 units, 3+0)

   • Lecture, assessment included

Total: 9 study units

First Year– Second Semester

1. IS 537 – Artificial Intelligence & Knowledge-Based Systems (3 units, 3+0)

   • Lecture, assessment included

2. IS 541 – Data Mining & Knowledge Discovery (3 units, 3+0)

   • Lecture, assessment included

3. IS 564 – Advanced Topics in Data Science (3 units, 3+0)

   • Lecture, assessment included

Total: 9 study units

Second Year – First Semester

1. Elective Course (1) (3 units)

2. Elective Course (2) (3 units)

3. IS 596 – Thesis Proposal Preparation (1 unit)

   • Supervision, Pass/Fail

   • Pre-requisite: 15 study units

Total: 7 study units

Second Year – Second Semester

1. IS 600 – Thesis (6 units)

   • Supervision, Pass/Fail

   • Pre-requisite: IS 596

Total: 6 study units

Elective Courses (Students must select 2 courses)

1. IS 526 – Knowledge Management Systems (3 units, 3+0) – Lecture, assessment included

2. IS 531 – Document Storage & Retrieval Systems (3 units, 3+0) – Lecture, assessment included

3. IS 546 – Distributed Data Intensive Systems (3 units, 3+0) – Lecture, assessment included

4. IS 552 – Geographic and Spatial Data Management (3 units, 3+0) – Lecture, assessment included

5. IS 560 – Big Data Analytics (3 units, 3+0) – Lecture, assessment included

6. IS 562 – Modeling & Simulation in Decision Making (3 units, 3+0) – Lecture, assessment included

7. IS 565 – Advanced Quantitative Methods for Information Systems (3 units, 3+0) – Lecture, assessment included

8. IS 571 – Machine Learning Techniques (3 units, 3+0) – Lecture, assessment included

9. IS 576 – Language Processing for Social Networks (3 units, 3+0) – Lecture, assessment included

10. IS 581 – Selected Topics in Data Science (3 units, 3+0) – Lecture, assessment included