Information Systems MSc
Subject and course type
- Computing and Information Systems
- Postgraduate
Transform the future of technology and data management. This MSc equips you with advanced technical, managerial and analytical skills to excel in information systems careers.
You are reading:
Lead the way in digital innovation and system design
Unlock your potential to transform businesses through cutting-edge technology.
This MSc equips you with the expertise to design and manage complex IT systems, bridging the gap between technical development and strategic leadership.
The tech sector is evolving fast, so our course designers partner with an industrial advisory board to meet current demands. With a focus on the design, development and management of cutting-edge information systems, you’ll be well-positioned to step into roles that demand technical proficiency and strategic thinking.
Gain hands-on experience in:
- IT Project management: Learn to plan, execute and oversee IT projects from inception to delivery, ensuring alignment with organisational goals.
- System development: Master the tools and methodologies to design, build and implement scalable and efficient information systems.
- Advanced data analysis: Develop analytical skills to interpret large datasets, support decision-making and drive innovation.
Through real-world projects and industry collaborations, this course prepares you for impactful roles such as IT consultant, data architect and systems manager. You’ll leave Kingston with the technical proficiency, leadership skills and professional acumen to excel in a tech-driven, globally connected world.
I graduated with a distinction and subsequently obtained the position of infrastructure consultant at the Royal Bank of Scotland and was promoted to a managerial grade.
Why choose this course
This MSc programme combines technical depth with industry relevance, offering you a distinctive edge in the competitive tech landscape.
- Accreditation by the British Computer Society (BCS): Gain a qualification that aligns with global industry standards, ensuring your skills are recognised and respected worldwide.
- Real-world projects: Apply theoretical knowledge to practical challenges, working on live projects that mirror the demands of professional environments. This experience not only enhances your portfolio, but also prepares you to tackle complex IT issues confidently.
- Industry collaborations: Collaborate with leading IT firms, gaining insights into cutting-edge technologies and processes. Kingston’s strong partnerships offer valuable networking opportunities with key industry players.
- Comprehensive skill development: Build expertise in managing IT infrastructures, designing advanced systems and using data analytics for strategic decision-making.
- Tailored study opportunities: Adapt your studies to suit your career, industry background, or the requirements of your organisation. We also offer part-time options to help you fit your studies around other commitments. This course is modular, with each module taught in a week-long block, allowing you to attend as you would for a short course.
- Work placement scheme: Embrace the opportunity to take a 12-month work placement as part of your course. Find out more about the postgraduate work placement scheme.
This course equips you with expertise in areas like Agile project management, knowledge engineering and business intelligence, highly sought after by employers across industries. You’ll also be trained to harness the power of big data and manage IT infrastructures, ensuring seamless operations in an ever-changing digital landscape.
Kingston University’s Information Systems MSc equips you with the tools to excel in a rapidly evolving digital world, ensuring you’re ready to lead and innovate.
Accreditation
The British Computer Society (BCS) accredits this course. This means that you can gain some exemption against BCS professional examinations, leading to Chartered membership and CEng, IEng or CSci status.
Please note: The programme delivered at our partner institution overseas is not currently accredited by the BCS.
For full details of exemption and accreditation levels, please check the BCS course search.
The Faculty is a long-time member of BCS. For many years we have hosted meetings of the local BCS Kingston and Croydon Branch, contributing to members' continuing professional development programmes.
Course content
You will study the design, development and management of information systems to enable you to recognise and accommodate the increased rate of change and instability in the business and information environment created by social, economic, political and technical changes. You will gain an understanding of how information is used within an organisation, who uses it, the nature of the information, how it relates to decision making and how it contributes to organisational goals and objectives.
The full MSc course consists of an induction programme, four taught modules, and project dissertation. Please note that this is an indicative list of modules and is not intended as a definitive list.
To go on placement, students are required to pass every module first time with no reassessments. It is the responsibility of individual students to find a suitable paid placement. Students will be supported by our dedicated placement team in securing this opportunity.
Work placement scheme
Many postgraduate courses at Kingston University enable students to take the option of a 12-month work placement as part of their course. Although the University supports students in finding a placement and organises events to meet potential employers, the responsibility for finding the work placement is with the student; we cannot guarantee the placement, just the opportunity to undertake it. You may find securing a professional placement difficult as they are highly competitive and challenging, but they are also incredibly rewarding. It is very important to prepare and apply yourself if this is the route you wish to take. Employers look for great written and oral communication skills and an excellent CV/portfolio. As the work placement is an assessed part of the course, it is covered by a student's Student Route visa.
Find out more about the postgraduate work placement scheme.
Modules
Core modules
60 credits
This module constitutes the major individual piece of work of the masters programme where the student carries out a project involving independent critical research, design and implementation (where applicable).
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
- Select, justify and use effectively the research methods and techniques appropriate for particular cases in order to carry out a literature search and an independent work of research
- Critically identify the need to position their research in the wider academic or business context and structure the dissertation format to agreed conventions
- Plan, manage and critically evaluate the project using the techniques and tools needed in order to bring it in successfully on time and within resourcing limits
- Identify and critically analyse real-world problems or knowledge gaps to which academic concepts and methods can be realistically applied to improve or resolve the problem situation
- Apply skills to show an ability to engage in academic and professional communication with others in their field through report and presentation
- Present critical awareness in applying appropriate legal, social or ethical obligations and when required, respond to the financial and other constraints of a corresponding business environment.
30 credits
This core module focuses on various approaches to agile development and deals with agile project and risk management, techniques, documentation and testing.
On successful completion of the module, you will be able to:
- Critically analyse and explain the concepts, strengths, limitations and suitability of agile development techniques.
- Develop appropriate use of project management qualitative techniques within an agile framework, such as feasibility study, planning, control and estimating, risk management and configuration management and quantitative techniques such as PERT and CPN.
- Apply management and team-building techniques to appropriately managing an information systems development project.
- Select and apply object oriented development techniques within an agile development environment.
- Critically discuss social and professional issues associated with information systems project and risk management.
- Manage the development of a system by applying an agile framework.
30 credits
In this module students will be introduced to the methods, techniques and tools that organisations use to collect, manage, store and secure data. Different approaches and methods will be explored to model data requirements using structured and unstructured databases. Students will also be introduced to data warehousing architectures and concepts in 'big data'. Essential knowledge of data security issues, including policies, structures and practices used to ensure data security and confidentiality, and the way that such issues are addressed in practice, is also examined.
30 credits
This postgraduate module covers the theory and practice of the business and management needs of students from different academic contexts including Science, Engineering, Computing and Health Services who are aspiring team leaders, managers, and entrepreneurs in business within the context of the commercial, public, voluntary, or academic sector. This module explains and puts business concepts into context within a variety of sectors.
You will investigate business topics ranging from finance, accounting, budgeting, and marketing, to organisational management by developing the leadership skills to meet business challenges and to cope with their complexity.
30 credits
The knowledge society is a driving force in creating economic growth. It is an aim of Information Systems to use IT to organise relevant information in an entrepreneurial fashion to increase its value, to add more value and, by provoking innovation, to create new and superior value chains.
On this module, the information life cycle and hierarchy, and the various types of intellectual property, will be presented and explained. Subjects covered involve the knowledge-based view of the organisation, theories of knowledge and information use, and the role of various software systems (CRM, CMS, ERP, EDM etc.) in developing supportive information systems and in learning and knowledge cycling.
From that foundation, the module proceeds to explain how to develop an Information Systems strategy to satisfy critical information needs. It also explores the application and use of improved value chains, using the concepts of corporate venturing (intrapreneurship) and entrepreneurship (new venture creation).
You will not only get 'knowledge', but also gain an 'employability benefit' that you can use in your career as information systems specialists in an innovative organisation and/or as an independent consultant or entrepreneur. The module also introduces legal, ethical and professional aspects, addressing your future employability. You will also gain the necessary research skills to independently carry out a research project.
Professional placement
Professional placement
120 credits
The Professional Placement module is a core module if you're following a masters programme that incorporates an extended professional placement. It provides you with the opportunity to apply your knowledge and skills in an appropriate working environment, and develops and enhances key employability and subject specific skills in your chosen discipline. You may wish to use the placement experience as a platform for a major project or your future career.
It is your responsibility to find and secure a suitable placement opportunity; this should not normally involve more than two placements which must be completed over a minimum period of 10 months and within a maximum of 12 months. The placement must be approved by your Course Leader prior to commencement to ensure its suitability. You will have access to the standard placement preparation activities offered by the Student Engagement and Enhancement (SEE) group.
Read more about the postgraduate work placement scheme.
Careers opportunities
With Kingston’s strong reputation and industry links, graduates are highly sought after for roles in tech innovation, IT management, systems analysis and consulting.
Graduates from the Information Systems MSc course often pursue careers as IT project managers, systems architects, business analysts and data scientists.
Examples of recent graduate destinations for this and similar courses include:
- data manager at the British University Video Council, London
- expert system analyst at Broadcasting Data Services, London
- information age position at the Ministry of Defence, London
- information systems manager at the Peabody Trust, London
- IT manager at AMB Engineering Ltd, Berkshire
- operations manager (e-commerce) at the Automobile Association
- technology manager at the BBC, Cardiff
Valuable links with the Information Systems industry
Our Industrial Advisory Board represents the diverse spectrum of industries and public sector organisations that make up the jobs market for our graduates. We work closely with members from Google, Microsoft, EasyJet, games developer Colossal and Chief Information Officers from local government.
Kingston's strong industry links, including input from professionals and collaborations with the Big Data Group, provide a practical and innovative context for your learning. Employers value Kingston graduates for their ability to adapt to change, implement technological solutions and contribute to organisational growth. The combination of technical knowledge, real-world experience and Agile qualifications ensures you’ll graduate ready to make an immediate impact in your field.
Whether you aim to join a global tech firm, lead digital transformation in an organisation, or develop new information systems, this course provides the skills and confidence to excel in a tech-driven world.
Teaching and assessment
When not attending timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. Typically this will involve reading journal articles and books, working on individual and group projects, coursework assignments and presentations, and preparing for exams. Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, the library and CANVAS, the online virtual learning platform.
As a student at Kingston University, we will make sure you have access to appropriate advice regarding your academic development. You will also be able to use the University's support services.
A course is made up of modules, and each module is worth a number of credits. You must pass a given number of credits in order to achieve the award you registered on, for example 360 credits for a typical undergraduate course or 180 credits for a typical postgraduate course. The number of credits you need for your award is detailed in the programme specification which you can access from the link at the bottom of this page.
One credit equates to 10 hours of study. Therefore 180 credits across a year (typical for a postgraduate course) would equate to 1,800 notional hours. These hours are split into scheduled and guided. On this course, the percentage of that time that will be scheduled learning and teaching activities is shown below. The remainder is made up of guided independent study.
- 15% scheduled learning and teaching
The exact balance between scheduled learning and teaching and guided independent study will be informed by the modules you take.
Your course will primarily be delivered in person. It may include delivery of some activities online, either in real time or recorded.
Type of assessment
- Year 1: coursework: 99%; practical: 1%
Assessment typically comprises exams (e.g. test or exam), practical (e.g. presentations, performance) and coursework (e.g. essays, reports, self-assessment, portfolios, dissertation).
We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 20 working days.
You will be part of an intimate cohort of 20-40 students which provides dedicated academic guidance and advice as well as the opportunity to build a life-long network of colleagues. Some modules are common across other postgraduate programmes; you may therefore be taught alongside postgraduates from other courses.
Fees and funding
| Fee category | Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | |
| Full Time | £11,400 |
| Part Time | £6,270 |
| International | |
| Full Time | £17,600 |
| Part Time | £9,680 |
| Fee category | Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | |
| Full Time | £10,900 |
| Part Time | £5,995 |
| International | |
| Full Time | £16,900 |
| Part Time | £9,295 |
Funding support for postgraduate students
If you are a UK student living in England and under 60, you can apply for a loan to study for a postgraduate degree on the government's website.
Scholarships and bursaries
For students interested in studying Information Systems MSc at Kingston, there are several opportunities to seek funding support:
This scholarship offers a 40% reduction in fees across a range of taught postgraduate courses. Learn more about eligibility criteria for Inspire the Future applicants.
If you are an international student, find out more about scholarships and bursaries.
We also offer discounts for Kingston University alumni.
There are Progression Scholarships available for certain postgraduate courses. Review our range of funding opportunities for masters-level study.
The Kevin Walsh Scholarship is a one-year scholarship for a taught masters course in the School of Computer Science & Mathematics. This bursary fund covers the cost of the home fees for a masters degree as well as providing a maintenance grant.
For more information, visit the Kevin Walsh Scholarship page.
Additional course costs
Some courses may require additional costs beyond tuition fees. When planning your studies, you’ll want to consider tuition fees, living costs, and any extra costs that might relate to your area of study.
Your tuition fees include costs for teaching, assessment and university facilities. So your access to libraries, shared IT resources and various student support services are all covered. Accommodation and general living expenses are not covered by these fees.
Where applicable, additional expenses for your course may include:
Our libraries have an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as open-access computers and laptops available to rent. However, you may want to buy your own computer or personal copies of key textbooks. Textbooks may range from £50 to £250 per year.
While most coursework is submitted online, some modules may require printed copies. You may want to allocate up to £100 per year for hard-copies of your coursework. It’s worth noting that 3D printing is never compulsory. So if you choose to use our 3D printers, you’ll need to pay for the material. This ranges from 3p per gram to 40p per gram.
Kingston University will pay for all compulsory field trips. Fees for optional trips can range from £30 to £350 per trip.
Your tuition fees don’t cover travel costs. To save on travel costs, you can use our free intersite bus service. This route links the campuses and halls of residence with local train stations - Surbiton, Kingston upon Thames, and Norbiton.
You’ll need to buy your own laptop (minimum specification CPU 2.6 GHz+, 8GB Memory RAM) to use for the duration of your studies. This laptop should support 3D CAD software for your course, such as Revit, SolidWorks, KeyShot, Vectorworks and 3D Photoshop. The University will give you access to these programmes. Estimated costs for a laptop start at £500.
Project materials will cost between £100 and £200 per year. You’ll also need to purchase tools at a cost of around £50.
You’ll need to buy your own board and cardboard materials, which should cost between £40 and £80 per year. The course also requires you to have your own interior model-making tool set, which will cost between £25 and £40.
How to apply
Before you apply
Please read the entry criteria carefully to make sure you meet all requirements before applying.
How to apply online
Use the course selector drop down at the top of this page to choose your preferred course, start date and mode, then click 'Apply now'. You will be taken to our Online Student Information System (OSIS) where you will complete your application.
If you’re starting a new application, you’ll need to select ‘new user’ and set up a username and password. This will allow you to save and return to your application.
Application deadlines
We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. Applications will close when the course is full.
Information required to confirm your place
If English is not your first language, we will require proof of your proficiency to allow us to confirm your place on the course. This will generally be either an IELTS or TOEFL test certificate, which can be forwarded to us after you have submitted your application. If you do not hold a formal English language qualification, please indicate how you have acquired your proficiency in written and spoken English.
After you have applied
For courses that select on application alone, applicants should normally receive an initial decision or a request for more information within four to six weeks of receipt of their application. Our admissions team will notify you of the decision by email.
Learn more about the postgraduate application process in detail.
Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Course changes explained.
Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
What our students say
Having worked as a technical analyst for some time, I wanted a change in direction with a view to gaining a position as an IT architect. I didn't have any formal IT qualifications, so I chose to do the MSc in Information Systems at Kingston University on a part-time basis over three years. I was nervous to begin with but quickly overcame this because the staff and students were so helpful and friendly.
