NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

Evanston, Illinois
Communication Systems Strategy and Management
Program
http://www.communication.northwestern.edu/mscstrategy

Northwestern University was founded in 1851. It is accredited by North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It first offered distance learning courses in 2004. Institutionally administered financial aid is available to distance learners.

Services Distance learners have accessibility to academic advising, bookstore, campus computer network, e-mail services, library services.

Contact Ms. Donna J. Weirich, Director, Northwestern University, Frances Searle Building, 2240 Campus Drive, 2-118, Evanston, IL 60208. Telephone: 847-491-3848. Fax: 847-467-1036. E-mail: [email protected].

DEGREES AND AWARDS

MSC Business Strategy

COURSE SUBJECT AREAS OFFERED OUTSIDE OF DEGREE PROGRAMS

Graduate— business; communications technologies.

Non-credit— English as a second language.

Special Message

This two-year master's degree is uniquely designed for the working professional. It addresses the ever-increasing demands placed on managers who are responsible for the investment, productivity, and performance of information/communication technologies and systems in business–-including those responsible for the development of products and services in both the old economy and the new Internet economy.

The program is interdisciplinary, and it provides the advanced skills and expertise to help managers effectively bridge the "understanding gap" that occurs between a company's technical support staff and its non-technical executive decision-makers.

The program is a complete, fourteen-course curriculum. It focuses on business and management expertise and is often described by graduates as incorporating the essential elements of an M.B.A. Yet, the curriculum incorporates an effective foundation in technology and systems principles. Overall, the program is a progression in the development of related, advanced skills. In the first year, course topics include science and technology of information systems, the management and general application of communication and technology systems, and technological innovation.

The second year extends this interdisciplinary framework into course topics from market assessment/strategy, business finance, legal/political issues and process, and network management. Given that the program emphasizes the larger managerial perspective, a wide variety of undergraduate degrees are accepted; having an engineering degree or technical background is not required.

See full description on page 462.