Online Sciences Business Degree :: Accredited Universities

What if you understood people more easily? What if you learned how to provide others with what they need, how to navigate conflict and negotiate and how to manage others effectively? An important role of social services is equipping individuals and their families to succeed in interpersonal relationships in order to achieve positive outcomes working and living within their communities. By learning to understand these dynamics through the Family & Community Services program, you will be prepared to assist families, communities and businesses and educate them in available resources.

This 36-credit hour online master’s program is designed for those interested in the social and behavioral sciences and working with children, adults and families in community/agency settings.

Entry Requirements

Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree or should anticipate completion of a bachelor's degree before enrollment in the graduate program.

International applicants
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For those whose English is not a primary language , they should have

TOEFL: required score of 550 paper-based, 213 computer-based, 79-80 Internet-based

IELTS: 6.0

Other Fees

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Education is not just about knowledge; it is also about skills. If you have a passion for equipping middle and high school students with practical skills in the consumer sciences, SDState Online’s Master’s in Family & Consumer Sciences Education can provide you with the information, techniques and personal experience needed to gain teaching licensure. Taught entirely online, this degree offers flexible course options and may especially appeal to graduates with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition, human development or another area of family and consumer sciences. It is also useful for current family and consumer sciences teachers (grades 7-12), extension educators, 4-H professionals, curriculum specialists, service unit educators as well as human resources professionals in government, business or industry.

The program will offer the pedagogy courses needed for certification/licensure. Depending on your bachelor's degree, there will most likely be several content courses that will need to be taken as well to meet licensing requirements and prepare for the certification exam in your state.

Entry Requirements

Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree or should anticipate completion of a bachelor's degree before enrollment in the graduate program.

International applicants
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For those whose English is not a primary language , they should have

TOEFL: required score of 550 paper-based, 213 computer-based, 79-80 Internet-based

IELTS: 6.0

Other Fees

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Massey’s Bachelor of Information Sciences (BInfSc) prepares graduates for a relevant and dynamic career in one of the world’s largest industries – the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry.

The BInfSc offers a blend of computer science and information technology, which not available within one degree anywhere else in the country.

With about 2000 vacancies in New Zealand’s ICT sector at any given time, Massey graduates have no problem finding employment once they have finished their degree.

A career in ICT is challenging, rewarding and highly paid, and jobs can be found in every sector including business, health, education, research and many more.

In the first year of a BInfSc, students will:

Study a range of papers that establish a broad base of knowledge across the information sciences. Compulsory topics include computer programming, computer applications, mathematics, statistics and written communication.

Students can also take elective papers in any area of interest including finance, business management, English or history.

It is common for new students not to have a clear focus on which major will best suit them. So one advantage of the BInfSc is that the selection of the major (or majors) can be delayed until the end of the first year when students have become familiar with the topics on offer.

A wide range of majoring options is available including a single major, a double major, a joint major or a major/minor combination.

In the senior years, students study a range of topics across their chosen majors. These topics are well known internationally and can include networks, systems analysis, operating systems, data structures and graphics programming.

Graduates of the degree can then move on to advanced study in the BinfSc (Honours) or the Postgraduate Diploma in InfSc or the Master of InfSc.

Entry Requirements

Students with excellent achievements in NCEA and prior programming experience through the successful completion of courses and participation in competitions like STAR, NCSS or the ACM SPPC will be considered for direct entry into second-year Computer Science courses and may be eligible to participate in software development projects.

Other Fees

Enrolment Fee - $51.40 (NZD)

Student Services Levy - $237.50 (NZD)

Massey Foundation Fee -$22.40 (NZD)

Distance Learning overseas venue fee - $214.20 (NZD)

Textbooks

Incidental Unit Fees

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Cybersecurity and information assurance — it's a constant challenge for individuals, businesses, and governments. There is no shortage of publicity surrounding security failures, breaches, and cyberattacks. The increasing dependence on technology to power critical infrastructures across the globe exposes vulnerabilities, and the consequences of a successful cyberattack can be far reaching. In fact, a recent article notes that hackers are pilfering $250 billion a year in intellectual property, including weapons designs and source code, as well as trade secrets from consumer industries.

Information sharing, the way we buy and sell goods and the sheer amount of data shared and exchanged via technology, points to an increasing need for a skilled workforce — individuals who can recognize and anticipate failures and intrusions and those who can ensure network and system security.

Why Information Sciences Online at Penn State?

Pursuing the online Master of Professional Studies in Information Sciences (MPS in IS) gives you flexibility combined with a highly relevant course curriculum that incorporates real-world business issues and simulations. The program takes a multidimensional perspective on cyber-domains that is defined by using a socio-technical approach to generate solutions to complex problems.

Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) is a leader among information schools, and the faculty are a diverse group of thought leaders from numerous fields, including computer science, engineering, psychology, chemistry, artificial intelligence, and more.

Cybersecurity and Information Assurance

The MPS in IS program consists of foundational courses combined with courses specific to cybersecurity and information assurance. The MPS in IS — cybersecurity and information assurance — focuses on information analysis, cybersecurity, and information science training. Penn State is a provider in information security and assurance and has been designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

Who Should Apply?

With the growing national focus on information assurance and cybersecurity, the degree is an excellent choice if you are interested in exploring in depth the nature of information and networks and recognizing the multiple internal and external threats posed to cyberspace.

The degree is multidisciplinary in nature and students from almost any discipline may be accepted into the program. However, because of the technical nature of the degree program, those who hold a bachelor’s degree in a technical or scientific discipline, including applied mathematics, computer information systems, computer science, information sciences, engineering, statistics, or a related field will be considered. Students with sufficient background gained through work experience or professional training in information technologies, such as networks, web services, and database development, will also be considered for admission to the program.

Career Opportunities for Graduates

As an information science professional with a master's degree, you can enter the marketplace with a distinct advantage; acquiring the degree can also provide you with more opportunities to earn a higher salary than other professionals in the same field.

You can prepare for positions such as:

information assurance manager
intel analyst
information assurance/security engineer
network intel analyst
enterprise architect
cyber network security engineer
information assurance analyst
catastrophe risk analyst
computer system security analyst
systems integration analyst
IT analyst
IT consulting manager

Entry Requirements

For admission to the Graduate School, an applicant must hold either (1) a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or (2) a tertiary (postsecondary) degree that is deemed comparable to a four-year bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution. This degree must be from an officially recognized degree-granting institution in the country in which it operates.

Successful applicants are expected to have an overall grade-point average of 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale) or higher for their undergraduate study (and/or graduate-level studies).

Students are expected to have a basic competency in college algebra, computer programming, networks, and information technology (related work experience is also acceptable). A student may be accepted into the program with "provisional status" for no more than one year while work is completed to meet these expectations.

International applicants
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All international applicants must take and submit scores for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or the IELTS (International English Language Testing System), with the exceptions noted below. The minimum acceptable score for the TOEFL is 550 for the paper-based test, or a total score of 80 with a 19 on the speaking section for the internet-based test (iBT). Applicants with iBT speaking scores between 15 and 18 may be considered for provisional admission, which requires completion of specified remedial English courses ESL 114G (American Oral English for Academic Purposes) and/or ESL 116G (ESL/Composition for Academic Disciplines) and attainment of a grade of B or higher. The minimum acceptable composite score for the IELTS is 6.5. Graduate programs may have more stringent requirements.

Other Fees

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The demand for college-educated IT professionals continues to increase as organizations from retail to manufacturing, business to science, improve and upgrade their IT infrastructures.

During the technology boom of the 1990s, workers with a high school diploma landed these high-paying IT jobs. Today, however, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that most employers are looking for candidates who have at least a bachelor’s degree.

If you want a career with growth potential that can provide opportunities across numerous industries and occupations, you can prepare for it by enrolling in Penn State's online bachelor’s degree program in IST.

This degree is particularly suitable if you can bring your current real-world IT experience to your studies; however, you do not need previous experience in the field.

The online bachelor’s degree in information sciences and technology is a good fit if:

- you are currently employed in IT, have an associate degree, and want to continue your education to advance your career

- you are currently employed in other professional or preprofessional positions and wish to expand your employment opportunities

- you are already employed in IT and want to enter a bachelor’s degree program, but you have no previous credits toward an IT degree

- you want to change your current career and do not have an IT background

In the IT profession, continued learning is key to advancing your career. With this in mind, you might want to enroll in the associate degree in IST or the certificate in IST programs as you work toward your bachelor’s degree. Many of the credits in these programs can be applied to the requirements for your bachelor’s degree, so that means you can benefit from Penn State's highly respected name on your résumé even sooner. Your adviser can help you plan the best path for you to achieve your goals.

Career Opportunities for Graduates

IT professionals often work as associate systems designers, network managers, application programmers, web designers, and web administrators. Robert Half Technologies, leading provider of IT professionals on a project and full-time basis, cites the following four industries in which IT growth is expected:

Health care: In an aging population, the need for constant technology upgrades and government funding should result in continuing rapid growth for IT in health care and related industries.

Government: U.S. stimulus funding is likely to fuel IT hiring, both in government agencies and in firms that rely on government contracts.

Financial services: Technology investments and hiring may increase as firms strive to meet reform and compliance requirements.

Education: Technology investments and hiring should remain strong, thanks to stimulus funding, rising student enrollments at all levels, and the growth of e-learning.

Entry Requirements

You must be a high school graduate or have completed your GED to be eligible for admission into the degree program. You are also required to satisfy the entrance-to-college requirements to be admitted into the College of Information Sciences and Technology by any of the following methods:

completing three units of mathematics (four are recommended), selected from any combination of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. The college requires one-half unit of trigonometry or higher level math within the required three units

- completing MATH 022 (College Algebra II and Analytic Geometry) or MATH 026 (Plane Trigonometry) OR a higher-level math course offered by Penn State such as any one of the following:

1. MATH 040 (Algebra, Trigonometry, and Analytic Geometry)
2. MATH 041 (Trigonometry and Analytic Geometry)
3. MATH 110 (Techniques of Calculus I)
4. MATH 111 (Techniques of Calculus II)
5. MATH 140 (Calculus with Analytic Geometry I)
6. MATH 141 (Calculus with Analytic Geometry II)

- completing a trigonometry or higher-level course at another accredited institution with a grade of C or better

- receiving sufficient scores on Advanced Placement trigonometry or calculus exams

International applicants
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International students whose native language is not English must submit proof of English language proficiency.
The scores must be less than two years old. The following are ways in which you can satisfy the language proficiency requirement:

TOEFL: A minimum TOEFL score of 80 on the Internet-based TOEFL or 550 on the paper exam (score reports must be official and cannot be more than two years old (code #2660);

IELTS: A minimum IELTS score of 6.5 on the academic test

SAT score of 530 or higher on the critical reading section (code #2660);

ACT score of 24 or higher on the English section (code #3656);

IGCSE score of A, B, or C on the English language exam,
IB score of 5 or higher on the English Language & Literature (SL/HL) exam.

Other Fees

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