Information Systems at the University of Texas at Dallas

Founded in 1969 as the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest, The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) has distinguished itself within a short time as an excellent research university with a small and select group of students. The School of Management (SOM) has established itself as a high quality institution conducting cutting edge research that addresses the theory and problems of relevance to business and policy. The school has made a strong commitment to create a research program in Information Systems that is recognized as a leader in the field. To this end, the SOM has recruited eight outstanding researchers in the last four years. Major new research activities at UTD in collaboration with business and industry have commenced under the leadership of our internationally renowned faculty.

Research Initiatives in Information Systems

Cutting edge research is being conducted by IS faculty in a wide cross-section of areas such as:

 

Data and knowledge management: data quality, data warehousing, incentive compatibility in knowledge management initiatives, information acquisition, knowledge discovery and data mining

Decision support and intelligent systems: genetic algorithms, group and organizational DSS, logic, machine learning, neural networks, and reasoning under uncertain conditions

eBusiness Technologies: filtering techniques, internet auctions, personalization, scheduling banner advertisements, search strategies

eBusiness Operations: Economics of Web Server Design, Load Balancing, Capacity Planning, Content Delivery and Caching

Internet Business Models: Pricing of information goods and services

Management of technology: IT and supply chain management, management of software development and maintenance, strategic IT investments

Telecommunication: network design, routing issues

Our research emphasizes the integration of theory and practice using methodologies that cut across multiple disciplines. The strong research focus of the faculty is evidenced by the numerous research articles published in leading journals in information systems and the supervision of award-winning dissertations. Several faculty members serve on advisory and editorial boards of major academic journals, and have chaired or are chairing the premier meetings in information systems. The journal Information Technology and Management is housed in the School of Management at UTD.

Our MIS faculty members are:

• Rajiv Banker (DBA, Harvard University), Ashbel Smith Professor
• R. Chandrasekaran (PhD, University of California, Berkeley), Ashbel Smith Professor
• Rakesh Gupta (PhD, Ohio State University)
• Varghese Jacob (PhD, Purdue University), Associate Dean and Area Coordinator
• Nirup Menon (PhD, University of Arizona)
• Vijay Mookerjee (PhD, Purdue University)
• Hasan Pirkul (PhD, University of Rochester), Caruth Chair and Dean, School of Management
• Srinivasan Raghunathan (PhD, University of Pittsburgh)
• Young Ryu (PhD, University of Texas, Austin)
• Sumit Sarkar (PhD, University of Rochester)
• Wei Yue (PhD Candidate, Purdue University)

Selected Programs of Study in the School of Management

• Ph.D. Program
  The Management Information Systems Ph.D. program is designed for individuals who desire to acquire advanced theoretical and practical knowledge in information technology and its impact on organizations and people. The goal of the Ph.D. program is to train students in conducting research in a rigorous manner, with emphasis on both theoretical and methodological issues. Upon completion of the program, students will be able to independently undertake significant research projects, analyze research issues in a theoretically sound manner, and present their research findings in scholarly journals and conferences. The program prepares students for research careers in academia and industry. We are committed to fostering a culture that nurtures the development of scholars with intellectual and technical skills needed to conduct rigorous and innovative business research in the 21st century. In the past two years, 10 outstanding students have been admitted into our Ph.D. program.

• Master of Business Administration
  The School of Management offers a full-time MBA, a part-time MBA, an Executive MBA, and an online Global MBA program. The full-time MBA (Cohort MBA) focuses on developing management skills for the information age. The curriculum stresses the ideas and concepts that will provide the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in the twenty-first century. The part-time MBA caters to full-time employees of the high-tech organizations in the neighboring telecom corridor who wish to gain the necessary management skills for career enhancement.  A specialized M.B.A., the EMBA, is offered in the Executive Education program. It focuses on management for change with a curriculum that stresses skills and perspectives needed for leadership in the twenty-first century. The E.M.B.A. is a lockstep, two-year weekend program for executives with at least ten years of managerial experience. UTD's School of Management is a distance education pioneer in the UT-System, having offered its Masters in International Management Studies (GLEMBA) program using internet technologies starting in 1996. The Global MBA Online emphasizes globalization and the information age, which brings together two of the School's strongest academic areas: international management and information systems/eCommerce.

• Master of Science
  UTD offers Master of Science degrees in three concentration areas related to information systems, namely Electronic Commerce, Information Technology Management and Consulting, and Telecommunications Management.  The EC concentration focuses on the emerging business models and processes in the new Internet economy.  The curriculum will focus on how technology enables new models of conducting businesses, and the resulting implications on the marketplace. It encompasses issues relating to business-to-customer, business-to-business, and intra organizational processes. The IT Consulting concentration emphasizes the role of technology in business processes at strategic, tactical, and operational levels. In particular, it focuses on the analysis, design and development of information systems in the information age enterprise. The telecommunications management concentration provides students with an in-depth view of the different technologies utilized in the provision of telecommunciation services and capabilities. Students also learn about the regulatory and legal environments in the telecommunications industry that have significant impact on providers and consumers of such services.

• Business Administration with MIS Concentration (undergraduate program of study)
  This is a 120-hour degree plan in Business Administration with concentration in Management Information Systems. It takes about 4 years to complete on a full-time basis. The degrees includes 51 upper division and 69 lower division hours.

Living in Dallas

Dallas is the eighth largest city in the U.S. It is 4th and 3rd, respectively, on the Fortune 500 lists of industrial company and service based corporations headquarters. It is among the largest employment centers in the U.S. for high technology, ranking 3rd in job growth in computers, telecommunications and instruments. The city has 312 parks covering 50,000 acres. There are 60 lakes within 100 miles of Dallas covering more than 550,000 acres. Some of the major attractions in the city include Fair Park, a 277 acre recreational and cultural facility including over one dozen museums and attractions, Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, the world class Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center and many historic performing arts theaters including The Majestic Theater. The average annual temperature is 68 degrees Fahrenheit.