Applying to SIMS

Masters Admissions Requirements: university and SIMS requirements
Ph.D. Admissions Requirements: university and SIMS requirements
FAQ: frequently asked questions about SIMS admissions and other areas
How to Apply: application instructions and materials
Recruitment Fairs 2001: List of graduate school fairs across California that SIMS will participate in
Experience SIMS: information about lectures, seminars and other events at SIMS

Dean's Message to Prospective Students

The School of Information Management and Systems, founded in 1995, is Berkeley's newest and most interdisciplinary school. Like most professional schools we have a dual mission. Our teaching mission is to educate students in ways to manage information, while our research mission is to develop better understanding of, and tools for, information management.

Information technology has been so productive that today the management of information has become a central challenge for individuals, groups, organizations, communities, and even society as a whole. Effective management of information requires the perspectives of a variety of disciplines such as computer science, economics, business, law, political science, and information science.

Our masters program is based on the idea of an "information transaction": information that is communicated to a user. Each piece of this transaction is part of your core curriculum: information, communication, and users. Effective organizational and systems management is necessary to make these transactions happen, so this is the topic of the fourth core course.

The remainder of your courses are elective, including courses from other schools and colleges if you choose (such as engineering, business, and the social sciences).

With a close-knit group of about 100 graduate students and 15 faculty, you will develop ongoing professional relationships and lifelong friendships. Our courses emphasize hands-on group-project experience, and during the second year you will undertake a semester-long group project that exercises your full range of acquired knowledge and skills. SIMS is part of a large comprehensive research university-one of the best in the world-giving you almost unlimited opportunities for professional and cultural development.

Equipped with the broad background and fundamentals of a SIMS education, you will be qualified to pursue many career options. Our students pursue many fulfilling careers, as consultants, information architects, database managers, security engineers, Web designers, project managers, usability specialists, knowledge managers, librarians, and many others. Information is exploding, so the future is bright for those who know how to manage it effectively.

Our faculty is at the forefront of research in information management, working with graduate students pursuing a Ph.D. in information management as well as with students from other relevant disciplines.

Please peruse our Web site, and if you desire further information do not hesitate to contact us.

Dean Hal R. Varian