ABOUT THE INFORMATION SYSTEMS PROGRAM

The undergraduate Information Systems (IS) major is a joint offering of the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. The program evolved out of the Dietrich College's Information and Decision Sciences major in the 1980s and 90s, becoming formalized as its own program in 1999. Our Bachelor of Science in Information Systems is a program that could only exist at CMU, created to educate future innovators to lead change at the intersection of technology, society, and business.

The IS program is strongly technical—drawing from CMU’s leadership in computer science, human-centered design, and software engineering—but due to its development within the Dietrich College, the program has always been rooted in a rich tradition of the humanities and social sciences. Through both education and research, this approach gives students the flexibility to forge their own path in the field. Combined with the data analytics and practical management expertise of Heinz College, our IS program is truly unlike any other undergraduate program in higher education. IS graduates have soft skills and management chops, but they can also develop and implement software systems. They deeply understand technology and how systems are built, but can easily translate technical ideas to people and organizations. This rare combination of abilities uniquely positions our graduates to use technology and data to drive positive change in a connected world.