Students will begin Coursework at St. Xavier’s College from April to July of each academic year by taking the following courses. It consists of five courses (9 transferable Credits)

The courses are: 

Introduction to IT and AI : 

"In today's world, where businesses operate on a worldwide scale with non-existent barriers, managers and data analysts must grasp the importance of business intelligence (BI). When it comes to projects, BI comprises the foresight to anticipate failures, determination of success factors, and the implementation of solutions that can be shared through visualisations. Hence, the foundations of BI, like data quality, maintaining big data, mining with intelligence, etc. will help with excellent analytics, efficient data summaries and good governance." 

 Ethics and Ethos : 

The course has three primary components. The first component provides an overview of global normative ethical principles, as well as a brief glimpse of local ethical worldviews—both religious and cultural. The second component highlights primary elements of “business ethics”, including work ethics, organizational ethics, unethical business practices, and corporate social responsibility. The third component focuses on the need for developing inter-cultural sensitivity—in the public sphere in general, and within professional and business contexts in particular.

 Leadership and Business Communication : 

This course bridges the critical skills of effective business communication and principled leadership. It is tailored for graduates aspiring to excel in global business environments and top-tier business schools. Participants will explore the nuances of crafting clear, persuasive messages and mastering cross-cultural communication to thrive in diverse, international contexts. Alongside communication skills, the course delves into leadership principles essential for navigating today’s complex global business landscape, emphasising ethical decision-making, cultural intelligence, and leading diverse teams. 

A. Students transferring the SXC Courses to Marquette for application toward the completion of the MS-CIS will be admitted to Marquette with nine credits transferred and will need to complete the Program requirement of 28 additional credits.

B. Students are expected to complete those 28 credits over four terms (Fall 2025, Spring 2026, Summer 2026, Fall2026), taking seven credits per term to meet Visa requirements and complete the Program.

Students in the Master of Science in Computer and Information Science with an Integrated Practicum specialization choose one primary focus and one secondary focus. Students complete four graduate credit hours of integrated practicum, normally one credit per semester, where each credit hour requires about 100 hours of effort. (28 Credits) 

Primary Focus: Data Analytics

COSC 5600. Artificial Intelligence: [3 Credits] An introduction to the broad field of artificial intelligence. 

COSC 5800. Database Systems: [3 Credits] Database concepts and architecture, data modeling, SQL, transactions and distributed databases, NoSQL languages.

COSC 6520. Data Analytics: [3 Credits] Methodology for the development of data analytics systems. Foundations of text and data mining techniques.

Choose two or three of:

COSC 6380. Big Data Systems [3 Credits] Focuses on newer, advanced database techniques in the areas of Big Data, NoSQL, Hadoop and Apache Spark. Covers main NoSQL data management topics such as document databases, key-value stores and graph databases.

COSC 6520. Data Analytics [3 Credits] Foundational topics in the analysis of data. Includes methodology for the development of data analytics systems. 

COSC 6530. Concepts of Data Warehousing [3 Credits] Provides an introduction to data warehouse design. Reviews topics in data modeling, database design and database access. 

COSC 6570. Data at Scale [3 Credits] Combines ideas from parallel databases, distributed systems and programming languages to analyze data at scale. 

COSC 6820. Data Ethics [3 Credits] Explores the social, political, legal and ethical implications of computer-based technologies and our increasingly data-driven society. 

Secondary Focus Cybersecurity

COSC 5360. Software and System Security [3 Credits] Fundamentals of computer security, including cryptography, access control, security policy models, attacks, surveillance, privacy, and forensics. 

COSC 6550. Introduction to Cybersecurity [3 Credits] Provides an introduction to cybersecurity threats, methods and security techniques. Foundations of various cybersecurity frameworks and methods for applying them to different types of organizations. 

COSC 6560. Principles of Service Management and System Administration [3 Credits] Introduction to the concepts, principles and practices involved in the operations of secure computing systems. 

 OR Secondary Focus Information Management

COSC 6055. Software Quality Assurance [3 Credits] Provides a perspective on people, organizations, controls, processes and tools that collectively influence the success of a Software Quality Assurance (SQA) strategy.

COSC 6360. Enterprise Architecture [3 Credits]Focuses on key topics and concepts that represent enterprise architecture (EA). Addresses the people, process and technology elements of EA from both a business and technical perspective. 

COSC 6931. Software Architecture [3 Credits] The methodology of design decisions as they relate to overall system structure and behavior. 

 Nota Bene: In the American tradition, some adjustments to this plan of studies are made to the interests and individual capabilities of each student. The plan of studies is worked out between the student and an advisor.

A. Students admitted to the MS-CIS program with the Integrated Practicum Specialization will enroll in practicum courses as required to complete the Program.

B. Students may use paid or unpaid placement at organizations inside or outside of Marquette to fulfill the required practicum coursework, with those placements limited to half-time (20hours/week).

C. MU will facilitate practicum placements by identifying potential placement sites for students.

D. MU does not guarantee placement in organizations outside of Marquette or compensation for practicum placements.

E. For students eligible for post-graduation work in the United States under their Visa,Marquette will provide appropriate documentation. Marquette does not guarantee post-graduation placement. Students must apply, interview and meet hiring criteria.