Calling all University of Liverpool (UoL) students and alumni in IT-related masters p

I am currently considering the Msc in IS or ISM and would like to hear a little about your experiences in any of the IT programs they offer.

• How did you come to choose your particular specialization (IS vs IT vs ISM)
• Would you consider the program you chose rigorous?
• How did you like the instructors?
• How many hours did you spend studying on average?
• How did you juggle your academic work with other commitments (day job, family, friendship)? Will I be banished to the annals of academic hell for the next 2+ years?
• If you were in the middle of a module and you experienced a sudden spike in external commitments (perhaps a business trip or a big, week-long project at work), were you able to work something out with your instructor?
• How long did it take you (i) complete the program? (ii) complete your dissertation?
• Would you do it again?

Yep, lots of questions!

Mike

 

Hi there. I'm doing the Liverpool program in Information systems Management. I've completed 2 courses, so can only comment on what I've seen so far.

I am in IT, however I was struggling whether to do the MSc or MBA. As a compromise (with myself ) I though the Information Systems Management program had a good balance of IT and management courses. MBA versus ISM was a very big struggle for me.

As far as how rigorous it goes it depends on what you're looking for. Getting a B will be alot of hard work. I think you'll be in the 15-20 hour range per week, but going for the A is a ton of work at least from what I've seen so far. It helps to get your significant other supporting you and having good writing skills and the ability to quicly research will help. And I've seen our instructor hand out a good KIA when the class wasn't working up to her expectations. In terms of the mental challenge, I find it in the middle of the road. The work certainly hasn't easy, but hasn't been more difficult than I can handle. But then again I have 15 years in the IT field.

I've had one instructor so far for both courses. She's been nice and knew her stuff. I really like how she added to the class discussions. That was very helpful.

I spend roughly 20-25 hours per week. Though there was one 35 hour week, which combined with work and family made things a bit rough.

You have to set up a routine and set expectations with your family or this won't work. My instructor was flexible, she was quite aware that most people in the program are working professionals. Its best to let the instructor know ahead of time though.

I'll have to get back to you regarding the last 2 questions.

good luck!

 

• How did you come to choose your particular specialization (IS vs IT vs ISM): I took a 3 year break in the middle and was therefore only allowed to do the general IT track.
• Would you consider the program you chose rigorous? I found it to be very time consuming especially when you want to achieve an A.
• How did you like the instructors? Most instructors were good and engaged.
• How many hours did you spend studying on average? I spent an average of 20 hours a week.
• How did you juggle your academic work with other commitments (day job, family, friendship)? Will I be banished to the annals of academic hell for the next 2+ years? I got up at 4 AM every Sunday and put in a solid 8 hours of Liverpool work until noon, this minimized the impact on my family.
• If you were in the middle of a module and you experienced a sudden spike in external commitments (perhaps a business trip or a big, week-long project at work), were you able to work something out with your instructor? To some degree there is flexibility, given the workload it may be hard to catch up.
• How long did it take you (i) complete the program? (ii) complete your dissertation? 30 months excluding the break, I spent a total of 900 hours on my thesis (got an A)
• Would you do it again? I learned a lot, but it also was a LOT of work....

BS & MS in Information Systems, University of San Francisco
Msc Information Technology, University of Liverpool

 

Need recommendation

Hello
I am planing to start the master in information systems management in October.
I would like to have some recommendation considering books or reading materials that can help during the courses.
Thanks