InfoSci @ Shady GROVE: cURRICULUM

InfoSci Courses at Shady Grove

The Bachelor of Science in Information Science (BSIS) degree program, known as InfoSci, is offered at Shady Grove to transfer students who have completed a two-year Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree in information science, information systems, computer science or related field, or have completed 60 college credits, including required benchmarks or their equivalents.

Qualified transfer students are admitted to the InfoSci at Shady Grove program as a cohort group. Students complete their degree over four consecutive semesters as full-time students, taking five 3-credit courses per semester, and graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Information Science degree. The InfoSci program at Shady Grove is a cohort program with a pre-set class schedule to ensure admitted students are able to complete their degree in four consecutive semesters.

The program requires the completion of twenty courses comprised of ten core courses, five INST major electives (3xx or 4xx INST courses), four free electives, and one professional writing course. 

Core Courses - 30 credits

Course

Credits

Prerequisite

INST301 Introduction to Information Science

3

 

INST311 Information Organization

3

INST301 (can also be taken concurrently)

INST314 Statistics for Information Science

3

INST301, MATH115, STAT100

INST326 Object-Oriented Programming for Information Science

3

INST301 and INST126 or equivalent

INST327  Database Design and Modeling

3

INST126 or equivalent

INST335 Teams and Organizations

3

PSYC100 and INST301

INST346 Technologies, Infrastructures and Architecture

3

INST301, INST326, and INST327

INST352 Information User Needs and Assessment

3

INST301 and INST311

INST362 User-Centered Design

3

PSYC100, INST301, and INST326

INST490 Integrative Capstone

3

INST314, INST335, INST346, INST352, INST362

Five Major Electives - 15 credits

A major elective is an INST course at 3xx or 4xx level. Students need to complete five 3-credit major electives (15 credits total) to meet program requirements. The following list of major electives has been offered by the InfoSci-Shady Grove program during previous semesters:

 

Elective

Credits

INST354 Decision-Making for Information Science

3

INST363 Fundamentals of Technology Innovation 3
INST364 Human-Centered Cybersecurity 3
INST366 Privacy, Security and Ethics for Big Data 3

INST377 Dynamic Web Applications

3

INST402 Designing Patient-Centered Technologies 3
INST407 Leading and Sustaining a Culture of Innovation 3
INST408K Competitive Business Intelligence 3
INST408P Introduction to Salesforce 3
INST414 Advanced Data Science 3
INST453 Project Management 3
INST447 Data Sources and Manipulation 3
INST455 Information Assurance and Compliance 3

INST456 Risk Management Leadership in the Information Age

3

INST462 Introduction to Data Visualization

3

we are continually adding more major electives to our list...  

Four Free Electives - 12 credits

Students have to complete 12 credits of free electives while in the program to meet the minimum 120 credits required to graduate. Free electives are any UMD courses offered by any UMD department (at 1xx-4xx level) at the College Park or Shady Grove campuses. Students do not have to take courses outside of the Information Science Shady Grove program to fulfill the free elective requirements, however, students are welcome to pursue other free elective courses in consultation with the InfoSci Advisor that may be of interest to them, or that may better suit their own personal and professional goals.

Professional Writing - 3 credits

The Professional Writing requirement strengthens writing skills and prepares students for the range of writing expected of them after graduation.

General Education Requirements (if any)

If you are transferring to the program without an Associate's degree completed, your previously completed courses will be evaluated on an individual basis to ensure you fulfill all UMD General Education requirements. More information about General Education requirements can be found here - https://academiccatalog.umd.edu/undergraduate/general-education-requirements/#requirementstext. Depending on how many General Education requirements you still have to fulfill, those can be taken in place of your free elective coursework.