I wanted to make sure you all knew something as you start your degree program at Purdue University Calumet. This information applies to those of you who are getting a B.S. (Bachelor of Science) in Management only. If you are getting a B.S. in Accounting or a B. A. (Bachelor of Arts) in Business, this information does not apply. Please see my comments at the bottom of this document. For those of you getting a B.S. in Management, you have the ability to major in two different areas for no additional time or cost. I strongly suggest that you do that. With the job market as tight as it is, you need to set yourself apart from the other job candidates. Focusing on not just one but two areas of study will differentiate you from those who concentrated on only one area. We have several majors in the School of Management, including accounting, economics, finance, human resources, Management Information Systems (MIS), and marketing. For each major, you must take six classes as shown on the information sheet for that major. We have built it into the bingo sheets for the B.S. degree that you can complete two majors within four years. The first major classes will be put into the six Major class cells on the bingo sheet. The second major uses the cells on the bingo sheet that say Business Elective (four of those) and Electives (two of those). You can also major in one area and minor in another. A minor is only five classes, and right now we have minors in marketing and HR.

My specific area is MIS, and I wanted to talk to you about that. The four required classes for an MIS major are: MGMT 307 Systems Analysis & Design, MGMT 308 Database Analysis & Design, MGMT 318 E-business Strategies, and MGMT 486 Project Management. You also have to take two MIS electives. You can pick from a number of electives that we offer, including:

• MGMT 320 Advanced Spreadsheet Applications for Business - I strongly recommend this for Accounting majors
• MGMT 322 E-business Applications (Web development) - I strongly recommend this for marketing majors
• MGMT 416 IS Control & Auditing - I strongly recommend this for Accounting majors
• MGMT 482 Business Data Communications
• MGMT 487 Knowledge Management - I strongly recommend this for HR majors
• MGMT 490 Visual Basic Programming

If you choose not to double-major in MIS, I suggest that you at least take some of the MIS classes. In our classes we expand on what you learned in MGMT 211 and give you a better idea how businesses are using IT to compete today. Prospective employers are going to want you to know something about IT regardless of what job you do in the company.

For B.S. in Accounting and B.A. in Business students:
I recommend that you consider taking some MIS classes and use those as electives or business electives. Classes I recommend for all students are: MGMT 486 Project Management and MGMT 308 Database Analysis & Design. The skills developed in those classes will be beneficial to you regardless of the functional area in which you work. For Accounting majors, I strongly recommend that you take MGMT 416 IS Auditing and MGMT 320 Advanced Spreadsheet Applications for Business. It is helpful to know more about these areas if you plan to work in accounting.