Business Information Systems Undergraduate Major (BA, BS, HBA, HBS)
This program is available at the following locations:
- Corvallis
- Ecampus
Options available:
The Business Information Systems (BIS) curriculum teaches you to marshal technology to help organizations achieve a competitive advantage in today's rapidly changing environment.
You will gain a firm foundation in business administration and learn to analyze, develop, manage and protect information systems.
The BIS program offers two focus areas:
- The IS Management Focus concentrates on developing and managing information systems that will help organizations succeed.
- The Cybersecurity Management Focus emphasizes Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) and aligning IT processes with organizational goals.
Depending on the skills, interests and focus you choose, you might become a business process analyst, IT security administrator, IT project manager, IT auditor, application specialist, data modeler, security/GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance specialist, systems analyst, software quality tester, developer, database or systems administrator, or choose from other technology-oriented business careers.
You will not just learn theory. You have plenty of opportunities to build, troubleshoot, refine and manage information systems through targeted exercises based on real-world projects.
Major Code: 183
Upon successful completion of the program, students will meet the following learning outcomes:
- Analyze and model the flow of information through business processes.
- Formulate plans and architectures for the capture, storage and retrieval of data.
- Develop computer programs to support or automate business processes.
- Apply networking concepts and technologies to support business needs.
- Align information systems and services with business strategy and formulate plans for the retrieval and analysis of supporting data.
- Document, monitor and assess the effectiveness of IT controls.
- Apply standard project management tools and approaches to IS projects.
The lower-division business core involves completion of courses within the first and second year that build a solid foundation for the upper-division BIS and business curricula. The lower-division business core course work may be completed at OSU or any accredited college or university that offers equivalent courses transferable to OSU.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Summary of Requirements | ||
| Business Core | 85 | |
| Business Information Systems Curriculum | 28 | |
| Baccalaureate Core 1 | 52 | |
| Unrestricted Electives 2 | 15 | |
| Total Credits | 180 | |
- 1
Credits listed are minimum to fulfill Bacc Core with Business requirements overlapping. As coursework in this grouping may not satisfy both Bacc Core and Business requirements, check with advisors for best course selections to overlap and complete requirements in both groups
- 2
Options and minors are available to provide specializations and fulfill unrestricted elective credits
Business Administration Core Curriculum
The business administration core curriculum provides students with a broad overview of business; basic skills in accounting and quantitative methods; an understanding of the legal and social environment of business; a background in management and organizational behavior, marketing, finance, and operations management; an understanding of the entrepreneurial process; and the opportunity to integrate course work and further develop decision-making skills through the analysis of business cases.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations of Business 1 | ||
| Transitions | ||
| Students entering OSU as their first college experience will take the BA 16X series. Other students will complete BA 280 (or other transition course). | ||
| BA 160 | B-ENGAGED | 2-3 |
| or BA 163 | B-ENGAGED | |
| or BA 280 | BUSINESS INSIGHTS | |
| Introduction to Business | ||
| Select one of the following with approval from your advisor: | 6 | |
| INNOVATION NATION--AWARENESS TO ACTION and INNOVATION NATION--IDEAS TO REALITY | ||
| LAUNCH PAD I and LAUNCH PAD II | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS and MICROSOFT EXCEL | ||
| Communications | ||
| COMM 114 | *ARGUMENT AND CRITICAL DISCOURSE | 3-4 |
| or COMM 111Z | +*PUBLIC SPEAKING | |
| or COMM 218Z | +*INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION | |
| Economics | ||
| ECON 201 | +*INTRODUCTION TO MICROECONOMICS | 4 |
| ECON 202 | +*INTRODUCTION TO MACROECONOMICS | 4 |
| Mathematics | ||
| MTH 241 | *CALCULUS FOR MANAGEMENT AND SOCIAL SCIENCE | 4 |
| Writing II | ||
| WR 323 | *ADVANCED WRITING & ARGUMENTATION | 3-4 |
| or WR 227Z | *TECHNICAL WRITING | |
| Business Core | ||
| BA 211Z | PRINCIPLES OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING | 4 |
| BA 213Z | PRINCIPLES OF MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING | 4 |
| BA 223 | PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING | 4 |
| or BA 390 | PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING | |
| BA 230 | BUSINESS LAW I | 4 |
| BA 240 | FINANCE | 4 |
| or BA 360 | INTRODUCTION TO FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT | |
| BA 260 | FOUNDATIONS OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET | 4 |
| BA 275 | FOUNDATIONS OF STATISTICAL INFERENCE | 4 |
| BA 270 | BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT | 4 |
| BA 347 | INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS | 4 |
| BA 352 | MANAGING INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM PERFORMANCE | 4 |
| or BA 252 | MANAGING INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM PERFORMANCE | |
| BA 354 | ^MANAGING ETHICS AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | 4 |
| BA 357 | OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT | 4 |
| BA 370 | BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS OVERVIEW | 4 |
| BA 375 | APPLIED QUANTITATIVE METHODS | 4 |
| BA 466 | INTEGRATIVE STRATEGIC EXPERIENCE | 4 |
| Blueprint: Personal & Professional Development | ||
| Second Year | ||
| Third-year transfer students may be eligible to substitute BA 381 for second year Transitions and Blueprint. | ||
| BA 281 | PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT | 3 |
| BA 282 | DRAFTING YOUR CAREER BLUEPRINT | 1 |
| BA 283 | NAVIGATING CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS IN THE WORKPLACE | 1 |
| BA 284 | FOUNDATIONS OF PERSONAL FINANCE I | 1 |
| Third Year | ||
| BA 311 | FRAMING YOUR CAREER PLAN | 1 |
| BA 312 | FOUNDATIONS OF PERSONAL FINANCE II | 1 |
| BA 313 | A CASE FOR CIVIL DISCOURSE IN BUSINESS | 1 |
| Fourth Year | ||
| BA 411 | NAVIGATING CAREER TRANSITIONS | 1 |
| BA 412 | FINANCIAL PLANNING I | 1 |
| BA 413 | FINANCIAL PLANNING II | 1 |
| Total Credits | 98-101 | |
- *
Baccalaureate Core Course (BCC)
- ^
Writing Intensive Course (WIC)
- +
Core Education course. Applies only to students admitted to an OSU undergraduate degree from Summer 2025 onwards
- 1
The COMM, ECON, MTH and WR courses listed meet the university's Baccalaureate Core requirements for Speech, Social Processes & Institutions, Mathematics, and Writing II. All students must meet the other Baccalaureate Core requirements and the other requirements for baccalaureate degrees
Business information systems Curriculum
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIS Core | ||
| BIS 272 | BUSINESS APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT | 4 |
| BIS 371 | BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT | 4 |
| BIS 471 | BUSINESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING | 4 |
| or BIS 421 | NETWORKING BASICS PRACTICUM | |
| BIS 472 | INFORMATION SYSTEMS SECURITY | 4 |
| or BIS 422 | CYBERSECURITY BASICS PRACTICUM | |
| Experiential Learning | ||
| Complete a thesis, internship or certification/practicum: 1 | ||
Any COB 004 Internship (eg. BIS 004) | ||
Any COB 403 Thesis (eg. BIS 403) | ||
Any COB 409 Practicum (eg. BIS 409) | ||
Any COB 410 Internship (eg. BIS 410) | ||
| Electives | ||
| Select a minimum of 12 credits from the following (see Focus Areas for guidance): | 12 | |
| IT AUDITING | ||
or BIS 423 | IT AUDIT BASICS PRACTICUM | |
| INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS ANALYTICS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | ||
| BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT | ||
| INFORMATION SECURITY GOVERNANCE | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL FORENSICS | ||
| PROJECT MANAGEMENT 2 | ||
| Total Credits | 28 | |
- 1
Experiential learning can be taken for-credit as electives or zero-credit. If taken for zero-credit as a COB 004 course, a student must complete a minimum of 120 internship hours to satisfy the experiential learning requirement
- 2
Focus Areas
Focus Areas are suggested course combinations directed at specific areas of interest and professional goals, but other combinations of focus area courses may be selected.
The Cybersecurity Management Focus emphasizes Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) and aligning IT processes with organizational goals.
The IS Management Focus concentrates on developing and managing information systems that will help organizations succeed.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Cybersecurity Management | ||
| ACTG 420 | IT AUDITING | 4 |
| BIS 482 | INFORMATION SECURITY GOVERNANCE | 4 |
| CS 473 | INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL FORENSICS | 4 |
| IS Management | ||
| BANA 270 | INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS ANALYTICS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE | 4 |
| BIS 372 | BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT | 4 |
| MGMT 364 | PROJECT MANAGEMENT | 4 |
Major Code: 183
Degree plans are subject to change and the following is only an example of how students may complete their degree in four years. Students should consult their advisor to determine the best degree plan for them. Contact details for advisors can be found on the Academic Advising page.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | |
| BA 160 | B-ENGAGED | 3 |
| MTH 111Z | +*PRECALCULUS I: FUNCTIONS | 4 |
| Bacc Core: Science 1 | 4 | |
| Bacc Core: Cultural Diversity | 3 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Winter | ||
| BA 161 | INNOVATION NATION--AWARENESS TO ACTION | 3 |
| MTH 241 | *CALCULUS FOR MANAGEMENT AND SOCIAL SCIENCE | 4 |
| WR 121Z | *COMPOSITION I | 4 |
| Bacc Core: Science 2 | 4 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| BA 162 | INNOVATION NATION--IDEAS TO REALITY | 3 |
| COMM 111Z | +*PUBLIC SPEAKING | 4 |
| HHS 231 | *LIFETIME FITNESS FOR HEALTH | 2 |
| Bacc Core: PAC | 1 | |
| Bacc Core: Science 3 | 4 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| BA 211Z | PRINCIPLES OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING | 4 |
| BA 252 | MANAGING INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM PERFORMANCE | 4 |
| BA 275 | FOUNDATIONS OF STATISTICAL INFERENCE | 4 |
| BA 281 | PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT | 3 |
| BA 282 | DRAFTING YOUR CAREER BLUEPRINT | 1 |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Winter | ||
| BA 213Z | PRINCIPLES OF MANAGERIAL ACCOUNTING | 4 |
| BA 260 | FOUNDATIONS OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET | 4 |
| BA 270 | BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT | 4 |
| BA 283 | NAVIGATING CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS IN THE WORKPLACE | 1 |
| ECON 201 | +*INTRODUCTION TO MICROECONOMICS | 4 |
| Credits | 17 | |
| Spring | ||
| BA 223 | PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING | 4 |
| BA 240 | FINANCE | 4 |
| BA 284 | FOUNDATIONS OF PERSONAL FINANCE I | 1 |
| ECON 202 | +*INTRODUCTION TO MACROECONOMICS | 4 |
| WR 323 or WR 227Z | *ADVANCED WRITING & ARGUMENTATION or *TECHNICAL WRITING | 3 |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| BA 230 | BUSINESS LAW I | 4 |
| BA 311 | FRAMING YOUR CAREER PLAN | 1 |
| BA 370 | BUSINESS INFORMATION SYSTEMS OVERVIEW | 4 |
| BIS 272 | BUSINESS APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT | 4 |
| Electives | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Winter | ||
| BA 312 | FOUNDATIONS OF PERSONAL FINANCE II | 1 |
| BA 347 | INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS | 4 |
| BIS 371 | BUSINESS DATA MANAGEMENT | 4 |
| Bacc Core | 6 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| BA 313 | A CASE FOR CIVIL DISCOURSE IN BUSINESS | 1 |
| BA 354 | ^MANAGING ETHICS AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | 4 |
| BA 357 | OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT | 4 |
| BIS Elective 1 | 4 | |
| Electives | 3 | |
| Credits | 16 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| BA 411 | NAVIGATING CAREER TRANSITIONS | 1 |
| BIS Elective 2 | 4 | |
| BIS Elective 3 | 4 | |
| Bacc Core | 3 | |
| Electives | 3 | |
| Credits | 15 | |
| Winter | ||
| BA 412 | FINANCIAL PLANNING I | 1 |
| BA 375 | APPLIED QUANTITATIVE METHODS | 4 |
| BIS 471 | BUSINESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING | 4 |
| Bacc Core | 3 | |
| Electives | 2 | |
| Credits | 14 | |
| Spring | ||
| BA 413 | FINANCIAL PLANNING II | 1 |
| BA 466 | INTEGRATIVE STRATEGIC EXPERIENCE | 4 |
| BIS 472 | INFORMATION SYSTEMS SECURITY | 4 |
| Bacc Core | 3 | |
| Credits | 12 | |
| Total Credits | 180 | |