Management Information Systems

Types of Degrees Management Information Systems Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many management information systems graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	2,381
Graduate Certificate	330
Doctor’s Degree	55

What Management Information Systems Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to MIS and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for MIS Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in MIS should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for MIS Majors

When studying MIS, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Programming - Writing computer programs for various purposes.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for MIS Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a MIS student include the following:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Management Information Systems Major?

People with a MIS degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Computer and Information Systems Managers	12.0%	$142,530

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Management Information Systems?

This major tends to be male dominated. About 66% of recent graduates are men.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of MIS majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	177
Black or African American	397
Hispanic or Latino	253
White	994
International Students	211
Other Races/Ethnicities	349

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in MIS, too. About 8.9% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• Saudi Arabia
• India
• China
• Nepal
• South Korea

How Much Do Management Information Systems Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that management information systems students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a master’s degree made a median starting salary of $65,781 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $65,756 (25th percentile) and $76,700 (75th percentile).

It’s important to note that just because the people reporting these salaries have a degree in MIS, it does not mean that they are working in a job related to their degree.

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $89,580 to $152,860 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to MIS. This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Management Information Systems

Some degrees associated with MIS may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for MIS careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.7%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	3.1%
Some College Courses	15.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.3%
Bachelor’s Degree	66.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.5%
Master’s Degree	8.0%

Online Management Information Systems Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 588 schools offered some type of management information systems program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	42	16
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	0
Associate’s Degree	102	23
Bachelor’s Degree	89	24
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	148	46
Post-Master’s	11	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	11	3
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Management Information Systems Worth It?

The median salary for a MIS grad is $89,580 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 125% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $993,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Management Information Systems

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to MIS.

Major	Number of Grads
Business Administration & Management	131,555
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods	31,701
Accounting	19,309
Human Resource Management	12,117
General Business/Commerce	9,137
Finance & Financial Management	5,784
Marketing	4,011
International Business	2,007
Entrepreneurial Studies	1,823
Taxation	1,350
Hospitality Management	1,341
Real Estate	1,280
Other Business, Management & Marketing	1,073
General Sales & Marketing	537
Construction Management	466
Specialized Sales, Merchandising & Marketing	180
Business/Managerial Economics	162
Insurance	143
Business/Corporate Communications	117
Telecommunications Management	23

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Dzonatas under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.