With built-in flexibility to accommodate working professionals in Information Systems & Technology, our PhD in program prepares you to conduct relevant IS&T scholarship and make lasting contributions to the academic research community.

The PhD program maintains a design-centric emphasis that focuses on solving pragmatic problems using a mixture of creative designs and existing theory. Technical courses provide the requisite skills to develop these IS&T solutions. Spanning applications in education, health, government, business, and more, our curriculum trains candidates to develop the research and analytical skills to evaluate the effectiveness of designed solutions and their impact on improving human performance and addressing societal challenges. Five available concentrations allow students to customize a track of study that best aligns with their interests and career aspirations while providing a flexible curriculum and schedule that accommodates both full-time students and working professionals.

Program Highlights
  • Well-equipped research clinics and laboratories enable you to work directly on applied and academic research, including:
    • IDEA Lab
    • Data Science Lab
    • Advanced GIS
    • Social Learning
  • You can pursue a PhD in Information Systems & Technology in conjunction with another degree program at CGU, such as an MA in Public Policy. You earn a diploma for each degree, “double count” some units from one program to the other, and decrease your required total units.
  • Our GIS Club convenes students and professionals interested in geographic information systems (GIS) and informs the local community about the latest GIS workshops and conferences.
  • This program is STEM designated, allowing international students who hold F-1 visas to apply for OPT work authorizations for a total of 36 months (an initial 1-year period and a 24-month OPT STEM extension) of paid work experience in the U.S. after graduation.

Program at a Glance

UNITS
76 units

ESTIMATED COMPLETION TIME*
Full-time: 4–7 years
Part-time: varies

*Actual completion times will vary and may be higher, depending on full- or part-time course registration, units transferred, and time to complete other degree requirements.

COURSES BEGIN
Fall | Spring | Summer

DEGREE AWARDED
PhD in Information Systems & Technology

Featured Courses

IST 302
Databases

Introduces concepts and techniques for database design and management emphasizing the relational model, query optimization and performance tuning, and more.

IST 303
Software Development

Provides an understanding of modern software development principles and practices to support more advanced information systems and technology courses.

IST 500
Introduction to IS&T Research

Introduces the nature of doctoral studies, the conceptual foundations for information science research, past and current research areas, and researchers in the discipline.

IST 503
Qualitative Research

Provides hands-on experience in designing, conducting and writing up qualitative research while exploring issues in research on information systems questions.

IST 504
Quantitative Research Methods

Explores the design of quantitative studies (experimental and non-experimental), the development and validation of measurement instruments, sampling strategies, and more.

IST 505
Design Research Seminar

Develops students’ skills for implementing and evaluating the techniques and methods that are used in the various phases of design research.

Areas of Concentration

 

Additional Program Requirements

Research Tools Requirement

Qualifying Portfolio
The Qualifying Portfolio compiles activities that reflect your ability to succeed as a PhD candidate. Although you will work with your faculty advisor to create a portfolio customized to your needs, there are five required items:

PhD Completion

 

Partnerships

Esri
Claremont Graduate University’s comprehensive partnership with Esri, the world’s leading supplier of geographic information systems (GIS) software, offers numerous benefits, including:

Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance
CISAT is also a Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance Member, which gives our students and researchers access to the latest technologies for use in classroom assignments and projects.

IBM Watson Analytics Academic Program
To ensure students work with leading data analytics technologies, CISAT is part of the Watson Analytics Academic Program (WAP), which provides no-cost use of IBM® Watson Analytics software for classroom teaching and research

Faculty & Research

  • Samir Chatterjee profile image

    Samir Chatterjee

    Fletcher Jones Chair of Technology Design & Management

    Research Interests

    Design science research, Health informatics, Electronics and telecommunication engineering

  • Terry Ryan profile image

    Terry Ryan

    Professor of Information Systems & Technology

    Research Interests

    Management information systems, Programming, Software development, Research methods, Statistics

  • Yan Li profile image

    Yan Li

    Associate Professor of Information Systems & Technology

    Research Interests

    Data science, Data mining, Analytics, Semantic technologies, Databases, Data warehousing, Business intelligence, ICT4D

  • Tamir Bechor profile image

    Tamir Bechor

    Research Fellow

    Research Interests

    Cybersecurity, IT leadership and management

  • Brian Hilton profile image

    Brian Hilton

    Clinical Full Professor

    Research Interests

    Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Management Information Systems (MIS), GIS solution development, Data analytics

  • Chinazunwa Uwaoma profile image

    Chinazunwa Uwaoma

    Research Assistant Professor of Information Systems & Technology

    Research Interests

    Internet of Things, Mobile Computing, Computer Communications & Networks, Healthcare Systems, Artificial Intelligence, and Cyber Security

  • Wallace Chipidza profile image

    Wallace Chipidza

    Assistant Professor of Information Systems & Technology

    Research Interests

    Dynamics of social networks, Quantum Computing and Applications, Internet Privacy, ICT4D

Where You Can Find Our Alumni

Request information about the Information Systems & Technology program

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Brittany Galvez

Assistant Director of Admissions
T: 909-607-6728
E: brittany.galvez@cgu.edu