Skip to main content
Metropolitan State University (Home)

Information Assurance BAS

College of Management / Management Information Systems
Undergraduate major / Bachelor of Applied Science

About The Program

Recognized as a Center of Academic Excellence by Homeland Security and the National Security Agency.

Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs Logo

The Bachelors of Applied Science in Information Assurance is designed to manage and work with government agencies and businesses to protect their information systems. The coursework prepares students for careers in a high growth area, with a strong job market. Students will learn about vulnerability and threat analysis, computer security solutions guidance, network security assurance, security training, and more. This BAS program is designed to build on specific, related, AAS programs offered primarily by technical colleges. Therefore, this BAS is only available to students who have completed specific related AAS programs approved by an official articulation agreement between Metropolitan State and the college offering the AAS degree.

Information assurance (IA) is the practice of managing risks related to the use, processing, storage, and transmission of information or data and the systems and processes used for those purposes. While focused predominantly on information in digital form, the full range of IA encompasses not only digital, but also analog or physical business related risks.

Student outcomes

Students graduating with a major in Information Assurance will be able to: 

  • Demonstrate an understanding of core knowledge in information assurance including, but not limited to network security solutions, cryptography, security awareness training and support, and infrastructure security engineering. 
  • Develop a security architecture consisting of tools, techniques, and technologies. 
  • Implement information assurance initiatives to protect an organization’s information assets by ensuring availability, confidentiality, integrity, authenticity, and non-repudiation.

Related minors

How to enroll

Current students: Declare this program

Once you’re admitted as an undergraduate student and have met any further admission requirements your chosen program may have, you may declare a major or declare an optional minor.

Future students: Apply now

Apply to Metropolitan State: Start the journey toward your Information Assurance BAS now. Learn about the steps to enroll or, if you have questions about what Metropolitan State can offer you, request information, visit campus or chat with an admissions counselor.

Get started on your Information Assurance BAS

Program eligibility requirements

Students must have earned an AAS degree related to computer science and technology with a cumulative 2.5 GPA or higher within the Minnesota State system. See the Mn State Transfer webpage for approved articulation agreements. You must earn a grade of S or C- or above in Foundation courses.

Courses and Requirements

SKIP TO COURSE REQUIREMENTS

At least 20 credits from among the Business Core Courses, Major Required Courses and Capstone must be completed at Metropolitan State. See also the COM policies page for requirements that are common to all programs.

Prerequisites

+ General Education and Liberal Studies requirements

These three courses are recommended General Education and Liberal Studies courses to be used towards Goal V or Liberal studies.

This course investigates current and past work in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Definitions of intelligence are considered and mechanisms and performance of AI application systems are studied ¿ has artificial intelligence matched or exceeded human intelligence? Comparisons are made to human intelligence as the class evaluates achievements in the AI application areas of problem solving, expert systems, neural networks, natural language processing, speech recognition, computer vision, machine learning and robotics. Course explores the philosophy of consciousness and the future social and economic changes that AI and particularly Large Language Models (e.g., ChatGPT) may cause.

Full course description for Artificial Intelligence

Human factors psychology (ergonomics) is the study of human capacities and limitations affecting people's interaction with machines. Topics include perception, cognition, memory, psychomotor learning, display and control design, vehicular and roadway design, the human-computer interface, airplane crashes, and product liability. The course includes psychology laboratory experiments and research reports, exercises in human factors design, and a field trip in which students fly a flight simulator. Experimental methodology underlies the content of this course.

Full course description for Human Factors

The impact of technology on human and organizational behavior is examined within the context of psychological theory. Topics include challenges that technologies have created for individuals, social relations, and businesses; the effects of emerging technologies on self and others; and technology's effect on mental health and well-being. Students will explore psychological theories that address how and why we engage with technology and its products as well as the social and practical impacts of technology on the world today.

Full course description for The Impact of Technology on Human and Organizational Behavior

Requirements (120 credits)

+ Foundation

To complete this BAS in 120 credits you must successfully complete MIS 100, MATH 115 and STAT 201, or equivalent courses as part of your AAS degree.

This course is the first information technology foundation course in the College of Management. It focuses on the technology literacy, managerial and business problem solving dimensions of computer based information systems. It provides students with an introduction to the fundamental terminology of the hardware, software and the people involved with computer based information systems. The course includes hands on computer lab time to introduce students to word processing, database, spread sheet, and Internet microcomputer applications. This course is designed specifically to prepare students for information technology competence as needed in College of Management courses.

Full course description for Fundamentals of Information Technology in Organizations

This course develops the fundamental concepts of algebra with an emphasis on the classification and analysis of linear, quadratic, polynomial, exponential and logarithmic functions. Applications to the natural and social sciences are given throughout. It aims to provide insights into the nature and utility of mathematics, and helps students develop mathematical reasoning skills.

Full course description for College Algebra

This course covers the basic principles and methods of statistics. It emphasizes techniques and applications in real-world problem solving and decision making. Topics include frequency distributions, measures of location and variation, probability, sampling, design of experiments, sampling distributions, interval estimation, hypothesis testing, correlation and regression.

Full course description for Statistics I

This course in financial accounting acquaints students with the "language of business" and the concepts and practices of accounting in order to understand, interpret, and analyze the financial accounting reports of economic entities. Topics include: economic context of accounting; introduction to basic financial statements with emphasis on the statement of cash flows; measurement fundamentals; analysis of financial statements; cash; receivables; inventories; investments in equity and debt securities including Consolidations; long-lived assets; current and long-term liabilities; stockholders' equity; and time value of money concepts and computations for decision making: international accounting practices are incorporated into every topic. This is not a bookkeeping course.

Full course description for Financial Accounting

+ Required

This course is designed to define the role of information systems in organizations, and in particular the roles of IS staff and end-users in developing and maintaining computer systems. The managerial aspects and implications of databases, telecommunications, hardware, software and e-commerce are included. Special attention is given to management information systems theories in the organizational setting including: infrastructure, transaction processing, operational reporting, decision support systems and executive information systems. Also included are all phases of the systems development life cycle (SDLC) as well as alternative development methodologies. The course prototypically includes analysis of real world business cases and post-implementation audit report of a recently completed management information system. All students taking this class must have completed as a prerequisite the MIS 100 Fundamentals of Information Technology in Organizations course or its approved…

Full course description for Principles of Management Information Systems

This course presents approaches and methods for the analysis and design of IT applications. It also covers different methods for creating graphical models of IT project requirements. System development life cycle (SDLC) and alternate development approaches to information systems development are examined in detail. The course provides students with critical tools and representations (both traditional and object-oriented) for eliciting and documenting user requirements and for developing effective applications that meet organizational technology needs. Students work individually and in teams on assignments and projects. The roles of open source software, component based development and service oriented architecture in systems development are also examined.

Full course description for Information Systems Analysis and Design

Competence in management and use of organizational and external databases is a skill needed by all business people and critical to management information systems effectiveness, especially in the new era of "big data". This course teaches the development and accessing of internal and external information resources. Topics include: ensuring the availability of appropriate data; interrelating and applying data to typical business problems; normalized database design; protecting and managing information resources; scalability; and compatibility issues.

Full course description for Management and Use of Databases

This is an alternate capstone course for MIS majors that emphasizes both the technical and strategic planning and as well as organization frameworks necessary to successfully select, deploy and manage information systems. Other areas of study include the roles of executive and staff, administrative structures, outsourcing decisions and outsourcing frameworks. Several IT management methodologies will be examined, including ITIL and COBIT. This course was formerly numbered MIS 312.

Full course description for Administration of the Management Information Systems Function

Managers need to know how to manage the diverse distributed computing environments in which they work, and leverage the opportunities these architectures provide. Integration of data and users, graphics and telephony are illustrated through emphases on client/server and N-Tier architectures, Internet, intranet/extranet, groupware, mobile, cloud and other technologies. This elective course reviews state-of-the-art technologies in each of the basic software and hardware arenas, while emphasizing management models and higher-level analysis, including the relationship with general database strategy and data warehousing. Practical projects are assigned, giving students real-world opportunities to use the tools to enhance their work and build productivity. Theory and models are taught with a management perspective as opposed to platform-specific training. Participants are asked to complete a comprehensive and applied class project and final exam.

Full course description for Management of Distributed Computing

This course examines those activities involved in planning, implementing and controlling the flows of raw materials, in-process inventories, and finished goods from the points of origin to the points of consumption at the lowest total cost. Topics covered include enterprise resource planning; forecasting; inventory management; transportation modes, services and rates; warehousing; information systems; performance measurement; quality; materials handling; customer services; and the overall management of logistical functions. The computerized information programs intending to support the management functions are also treated. Special emphasis is placed on building business analysis skills to assess the feasibility and cost benefit of its functions to support logistics operations.

Full course description for Logistics in Supply Chain

+ Capstone

Choose one

This course explores the range of available network and telecommunications technologies and how they can be used to facilitate information access and dissemination at all levels of an organization and through the Internet. Trends of telecommunications services are analyzed. Telecommunications trends in the United States and Europe are addressed in detail. A range of emerging telecommunications services is explored as well as how such services radically alter the ways that organizations gather information for decision making. The widespread use of mobile technologies, the cloud and the World Wide Web has required many changes both in architecture and concept. The student learns how to manage these new environments.

Full course description for Telecommunications and Internet Management

This course covers a range of telecommunication applications and explores how the regulatory and legal environments relating to those technologies are impacting the business enterprise. It addresses the legal impact of various telecommunication services on day-to-day business operations and analyzes the productivity and revenue-enhancement potential available to business. The course also addresses the issues of creating mass customization for end users. This course is targeted at students who are working business managers with a need to understand the impact of the new and emerging telecommunications services and how they can be harnessed to add value to business operations.

Full course description for Telecommunications Economics and Policy