This Postgraduate course is delivered by Cranfield University on behalf of the Defence College for Military Capability Integration, Defence Academy.
The aims of the course are to provide you with the knowledge to:
*develop an awareness of the management, user and supplier communities
*recognise the stakeholder roles, needs and expectations within these communities
*enable effective communication and a shared understanding between these stakeholders in order to meet capability objectives
*master the principles and practice that underlie the delivery of effective, efficient and secure systems in various business spaces that exploit information in order to provide strategic benefit
Why this course
There is a need to understand the strategic importance of information and develop agile, effective and secure ways to exploit it to its full potential. To do this, effective information capability management must be developed throughout the organisation so that the right information is available to the right people at the right time in an effective, efficient and secure manner.
The MSc has been developed to address these important issues. Skilled professionals are needed to enable organisations to realise the strategic benefits that successfully exploiting information can provide. Success in business of all types and in all sectors, both public and private, is dependent on:
*understanding the value of information as a strategic asset
*developing agile, effective and efficient systems that make this information available
*countering cyber threats with appropriate cyber security
Course Delivery
MSc students must complete a taught phase consisting of 12 modules followed by an individual dissertation in a relevant topic; breakdown as below:
PgCert students must complete the core module (Foundations of Information Systems) together with five other modules.
PgDip students are required to undertake the same taught phase as the MSc, without the individual dissertation.
MSc students must complete a taught phase consisting of 12 modules followed by an individual dissertation in a relevant topic.
Modules
Cranfield’s requirement to keep their courses up-to-date and current requires constant innovation and change. The modules they offer reflect the needs of business and industry and the research interests of their staff and, as a result, may change or be withdrawn due to research developments, legislation changes or for a variety of other reasons. Changes may also be designed to improve the student learning experience or to respond to feedback from students, external examiners, accreditation bodies and industrial advisory panels.
The module is list detailed below. Modules indicative only and may be subject to change for your year of entry.
Compulsory modules
All the modules in the following list need to be taken as part of this course:
Cyber Security and Information Assurance
Emerging Technology Monitoring
Foundations of Information Systems
Methods and Tools for Information Systems Development
Systems Thinking for Organisational Viability
Programme and Project Management for Information Systems
Data-led Decision Support and Artificial Intelligence
Data Modelling, Storage and Management
Taking a standalone module as a short course
You may also elect to undertake a number of standalone modules as opposed to an MSc, PgDip or PgCert, with the associated assessment, less for the Dissertation module. In these circumstances, you will need to have previously undertaken the Foundations of Information Systems which runs once a year in Sep and Jan (subject to demand). Applications for standalone modules can be made direct to Cranfield via the web page linked above.
The qualification aims to take you on to further senior career opportunities and to become one of the next generation of senior professionals delivering business benefit through exploitation of information with skills in appropriate areas including business analysis, strategy development and implementation, information assurance, cyber security, organisational development and strategic application of information systems.
| Military | |
| MOD civil servants | |
| Industry | |
| Internationals |
All applicants to courses that are wholly or partially delivered at Shrivenham must complete the BPSS (HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard V4 April 2014) prior to registration on the course or must already hold a security clearance level or higher). Refer to the Cranfield MSc web page for more detail.
You must have one of the following:
In order to attend the course, you are normally expected to have a 1st or 2nd class honours degree or equivalent. Alternatively, a lesser qualification with relevant professional experience. Exceptional candidates with relevant professional experience only may also be accepted.
Coursework and group presentations during the taught phase and for the MSc a research-based dissertation.