Online Master of Science in Information Systems
Coursera
Your gateway to being a leader in tech engineering—even without previous tech experience.
100%
online
18+
Months
8
Courses
$24k
$3,000 per course
About the program
With the Online Master’s of Science in Information Systems (MSIS) from the College of Engineering at Northeastern University, you’ll learn how to use technology to address the challenges facing people in businesses, organizations and communities across the world.
Designed for graduates and working professionals from any background, the MSIS equips you with the technical skills and business management expertise to drive digital transformation in any organization. You’ll gain deep applied knowledge across a range of technological fields, including UX design, software development, data analytics and digital business processes.
Along the way, you’ll absorb and become proficient in business leadership best practices. With a strong working knowledge of quality assurance, data management, agile methodologies and marketing assessment, you’ll be ready for leadership in almost any organization or industry.
With this unique and flexible set of must-have skills, you’ll be ideally positioned to step into a diverse range of tech leadership roles, including IT project manager, systems administrator, software developer, information security analyst and more.
This prestigious and meticulously designed master’s allows capable graduates from all academic and professional backgrounds to reposition themselves across a range of rapidly growing IT industries, ready to help define and lead the systemic changes that are reshaping our societies.
Skills
- Mobile app software engineering 70%
- User experience (UX) design 60%
- Python application engineering 80%
- Information systems development 50%
- Agile software development 70%
- Business management 90%
Skip the application—let your performance pave your way
With the MSIS program’s fast app pathways, you can skip the application process, and use your performance on two initial courses to secure your place in the MSIS.
Complete two courses, get a ‘B’ or better, show proof of your bachelor's degree by the time you complete the two courses, and you’ll join the next cohort on the master’s degree.
You can also apply to the program using the standard graduate application for direct admission consideration. Learn more about the standard application requirements at the College of Engineering graduate admissions.
How to prepare
We encourage you to review the material in the MSIS Bridge specialization, Information Systems Foundations, through Coursera, in preparation for your Online MSIS performance-based admissions pathway courses. This series of courses was created by College of Engineering faculty and is designed to equip you with essential skills and knowledge that will significantly enhance your success in the pathway courses.
Current Fast App dates
Term |
Submit Fast App between |
Enroll by |
Start course(s) |
| Spring 2025 | August 22 - December 15 | December 20, 2024 | January 6, 2025 |
| Summer 2025 | December 18 - April 15 | April 28, 2025 | May 5, 2025 |
Missed an enrollment deadline? Use the enrollment link in your email to enroll in the current term.
Submit your Fast App for more information and get started today.
Resources
Engineering for Everyone: Master’s Programs for Non-Engineers
Learn more about Northeastern's Online MS in Information Systems Engineering is often perceived as a field reserved for those with highly technical backgrounds, however, this is changing. Today, more and more master's programs in engineering are opening their doors to...
Is a Master’s in Information Technology Worth It?
Learn more about Northeastern's Online MS in Information Systems If you’re weighing the decision to pursue a master’s degree in information technology, you’re not alone. In a rapidly evolving field, where new technologies are reshaping industries, many professionals...
Why Performance-Based Admissions Matter: Insights from Northeastern University
In an era where skills and practical knowledge are highly valued, pursuing a graduate education has become a key stepping stone for professionals aiming to advance their careers. However, for adult learners, traditional admissions processes can create unnecessary...
Summer 2025 pathway courses
Take a look at the fast app performance-based pathway courses starting May 2025. Use the course outlines to start preparing in advance of the courses starting.
For your performance-based pathway, you'll enroll in INFO 5100 and your choice of available elective shown below for a total of two courses.
INFO 5100: Application Engineering & Development
Note: INFO 5100 must be taken first or in combination with other available course.
Takes students in a step-by-step manner through the process of systematically combining UX techniques, business processes, and complex data models to assemble applications that are user-friendly and meet business requirements. Employs the object-oriented paradigm, visual user experience, and system design principles to put together complicated, powerful, real-world applications. The primary objective of this course is to practice social-technical software engineering methods and tools to solve real-world problems. Offers students an opportunity to learn innovative design and programming techniques to build significant business applications quickly; to practice simple and smart ways of making software construction enjoyable; and to master the art of how to systematically write software programs to solve any business problem.
INFO 7260: Business Process Engineering
Addresses the question of how to understand and specify the flow of work responsibility and movement of
information throughout the enterprise. For businesses to maximize the benefits of technology, they must
transform their ad-hoc and often poorly defined ways of doing things to formal business processes. Analyzes
the specification and implementation of complex information systems that integrate well into core business
operations. Offers students an opportunity to learn how to use agile process specification techniques, dynamic
process execution, and real-time measurement and reporting to support continuous business improvement and
change.
CSYE 7280: User Experience & Testing
Introduces user experience concepts and advanced interaction concepts while working on UX and Design
projects. Offers students an opportunity to build the necessary skill sets to make better decisions when designing contemporary websites/apps that cater to customer needs. Students practice interview techniques to
understand user requirements while keeping user experience central to the effort. Students use wireframes and user scenarios to drive the creative design process. Students practice with tools like wireframes, Mid-fidelity, and advanced prototype tools for user research understanding, which will cause the creative design process. Uses quality assurance and usability testing to drive validation and user-acceptance testing and
approvals.
INFO 6205: Program Structure and Algorithms
Presents data structures and related algorithms, beginning with a brief review of dynamic memory allocation. Discusses the fundamental data structures in detail, including the abstract representation, supporting algorithms, and implementation methods. Focuses on understanding the application of the abstract data structure and the circumstances that affect implementation decisions. Covers lists, stacks, queues, trees, hash tables, and graphs. Covers recursion and searching and sorting algorithms in detail. Emphasizes data abstraction and encapsulation in code design. Explores external storage structures, time permitting.
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