Biotechnology innovation is now driving one-third of the world’s economy – from pharmaceuticals and healthcare, to identity and privacy, agribusiness, bio-fuels, mobile bio-sensors, and more. At the same time, every application of biotech is driven by information. In fact, the explosion of information in the biotech space is unprecedented – from DNA to diagnostics, from drug trials to bio-identity management, from the open source quest for cures to cancer to online video games unlocking the structure of nature by users with little or no science background. The single common link is information.
The MSIS program offers a concentration in Biotechnology to enable students to immediately enter the burgeoning biotech field, or if already employed in biotech, to better understand its place within the global industry, drawing heavily from the San Francisco Bay Area, the world’s largest bio-innovation cluster and the birthplace of biotech. Uniquely, as part of the Business of Biotechnology program, it enables students to visit major global bio-clusters, alongside fellow USF grad students in business administration and biotechnology.
The concentration area is offered only on the San Francisco Campus.
Objectives
- Gain an understanding of the local, national and global biotechnology industry.
- Comprehend the “what” and “where” of biotech information – from clinical drug trials to criminal databases, from regulatory requirements to the personal genome, to a basic understanding of how DNA can be transformed from inside a human cell to its digital representation in data.
- Understand the difference between traditional pharmaceuticals and bio-pharmaceuticals, and the latter’s important relationship to personalized medicine.
- Gain insight into the legal, social and ethical implications of biotech – from GINA, the US’s Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, to the regulation of frozen embryos in the UK nonexistent in the US, from the perspectives of various religions vis-à-vis biotechnology to the challenging decisions that individuals and families face with newly emergent bio-pharma, diagnostics, and treatments.
- Meet biotechnology industry professionals, while discovering the innovation advantages of each global bio-cluster and its impact on the industry, and comprehending that every biotech business is a global business, and all information is global.
Program Requirements
The MSIS curriculum includes up to 36 semester credits (12 courses). Students must also demonstrate computer proficiency through academic background or professional training.
Required courses are sequenced as follows:
- MSIS 612 - Analysis, Modeling and Design
- MSIS 611 - Data Base
- MSIS 620 - Economics for IS Managers
- MSIS 625 - IT Policy and Strategy
- MSIS 613 - Communications and Networking
- MSIS 651 - IT Security
- MSIS 624 - Managing Projects and Change
- MSIS 647 - Global Information Systems
- MSIS 636 - Identity Management and Trust
- MSIS 653 - Network Security
- MSIS 659 - IT Audit and Forensics
- MSIS 626 - Capstone Project
Biotechnology Concentration Courses:
Students complete nine credits of course work from the below offerings:
Degree Requirements
- Completion of all major coursework with a minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA
