Structure and contents

The Master of Science in Management & Informatics has been designed to provide graduates from a wide variety of backgrounds (informatics, economics, mathematics, business, engineering, etc.) with the necessary tools and skills for understanding complex information technology (IT) problems while, at the same time, knowing about the needs and requirements of a modern organization. The shortage of professionals who can interface these two sides is apparent in many companies and leads to extra costs, development of less efficient systems, and general misunderstandings between the technical and organizational parts of a company. The purpose of the degree is to offer a solution to this problem, and to educate professionals who can take responsibility for the interface between these two sides of an organization.

This Master offers a balanced combination of courses that cover the necessary background in management as well as the fundamental aspects of current and evolving information technologies. Moreover, the programme provides students with a specialized knowledge in topics at the interface between management and informatics such as enterprise resource planning. Since English is the unique teaching language, graduates are well-prepared to work in international companies. Moreover, the interdisciplinary approach of this Master provides a general skill to work across traditional areas.

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  • Study Programme 2023-2025

    This full-time programme stretches over two years. It allows students to personalize their study curricula according to their interests. The basic knowledge is acquired in the first two semesters. Students who obtained a Bachelor's degree in informatics or a related field (mathematics, engineering, physics, etc.) enter the programme in the Informatics track and follow a set of courses that provide them with a fundamental insight into the management disciplines. In contrast, the Management track is tailored for students with a background in economics or management and teaches the basic aspects of informatics. In addition, all students attend mandatory courses that cover the interface between management and informatics. The third and fourth semesters are dedicated to specialized courses and electives that can be chosen according to the student's preference. Moreover, the students participate in a practical field project, which is done in groups for a real company, and conclude their studies by writing a substantial master's thesis.

    First Semester

    Core Courses (12 ECTS)

    Enterprise Resource Planning

    6

    Enterprise Resource Planning Lab

    3

    Project Management

    3

    Informatics track (18 ECTS)

    Corporate Strategy

    6

    Financial Accounting (Management)

    3

    Managerial Accounting

    3

    Orthodox and Critical Perspectives in Marketing

    6

    Management track (18 ECTS)

    Databases

    6

    Fundamentals of Informatics

    6

    Introduction to Programming

    6

    Total ECTS

    30
       

    Second Semester

     

    Core Courses (9 ECTS)

     

    Business Intelligence and Applications

    6

    Operations Management

    3

    Informatics track (6 ECTS)

     

    Business Dynamics

    3

    Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice

    3

    Management track (6 ECTS)

     

    Algorithms & Data Structures

    6

    Elective Courses (15 ECTS)

     

    Advanced Corporate Strategy (ECO)

    3

    Business Analytics (ECO)

    3

    Business Dynamics (ECO)

    3

    Critical Consumer Behavior (COM)

    6

    Discrete Structures (INF)

    6

    Human Resources Management (ECO)

    3

    Information Security (INF)

    6

    Robotics (INF)

    6

    Software Quality & Testing (INF)

    6

    Text Analysis and Spatial Data for Economists (ECO)

    6

    Total ECTS

    30
       

    Third Semester

     

    Core Courses (6 ECTS)

     

    Lean Six Sigma

    6

    Capstone Work (12 ECTS)

     

    Field Project

    12

    Elective Courses (12 ECTS)

     

    Digital Challenges in Marketing and Big Data (COM)

    3

    Service Design Marketing (COM)

    3

    Analytical Thinking (ECO)

    3

    Innovation (ECO)

    3

    Organizational Design & Change (ECO)

    3

    Organizational Learning (ECO)

    3

    Writing Business Plans (ECO)

    3

    Distributed Systems (INF)

    6

    Machine Learning (INF)

    6

    Mobile and Wearable Computing (INF)

    6

    User Experience Design (INF)

    6

    Total ECTS

    30
       

    Fourth Semester

     

    Capstone Work (18 ECTS)

     

    Master Thesis

    18

    Elective Courses (12 ECTS)

     

    Critical Consumer Behavior* (COM)

    6

    Advanced Corporate Strategy* (ECO)

    3

    Business Analytics* (ECO)

    3

    Business Dynamics* (ECO)

    3

    Human Resources Management* (ECO)

    3

    Discrete Structures* (INF)

    6

    Information Security* (INF)

    6

    Robotics* (INF)

    6

    Software Quality & Testing* (INF)

    6

    Text Analysis and Spatial Data for Economists* (ECO)

    6

    Total ECTS

    30
       

    Total ECTS

    120

    * If not already chosen in the Second Semester.

    Please be aware that slight changes in the study programme may occur.

  • Research summer internships for students - UROP Internships

    The Faculty of Informatics encourages and promotes the talent of its Bachelor and Master students by offering them summer internships in academic research within the programme Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program - UROP.

    Internships are extracurricular, and access is on a competitive basis. Students work one-on-one with an advisor to develop a deeper understanding of both the concepts taught during the semester and the research topic. Students considering continuing in academia should seriously consider applying for a UROP position.

    All research opportunities for this year are listed here.

    See all the job and internship opportunities in the USI Job Bank.

  • Teaching

    Top-level faculty of international renown teach innovative courses, with a strong multi-disciplinary orientation and in collaboration with prestigious institutions at local and international level. Professors are pursuing research on a variety of topics and are active participants in Swiss and international research projects and networks. Visiting professors from renowned universities complement the top-quality teaching.

    Teaching methods at both the Faculty of Informatics and the Faculty of Economics stress an interactive approach or dialogue with the students. Further, as most tasks in organisations become increasingly interdisciplinary it is also important to be able to work across traditional areas, which is a skill that is actively encouraged within the programme. This is reflected in the variety of different teaching methods used including lectures, case studies, group work, games and fieldwork.

    The Faculty and the students are an international group, with education and work experience from across the world. This increases learning and cultural exchanges, as students learn to work effectively with people from different cultures.

     

    Academic Directors: Marc Langheinrich and Dirk Martignoni

    Read our interview with Kai Hormann (first Academic Director of the programme)

  • Language

    Admission to the A.Y. 2024/25

    Admission to English-language Master programmes at USI requires a good command of English. Non-native English speakers applying to the Master’s or whose previous degree was obtained in another language are required to provide an internationally acknowledged language certificate equal to the B2+ level as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Language Learning (CEFR) or equivalent (e.g. TOEFL, IELTS, etc.).

    The B2+ level on the CEFR corresponds to the following scores in internationally acknowledged exams:

      Score
    IELTS 6.5
    TOEFL Internet-based: 85
    Cambridge English First grade B
    TOEIC Listening & Reading: 860
    Speaking: 170
    Writing: 170
       

    Important:

    • The language certificate must be included in the application package: candidates whose Bachelor's was entirely taught in English must upload an official document mentioning the tuition language (e.g., official transcript, diploma supplement, or any other official certificate issued by the university) in the application form.
    • We only accept the above English qualifications (IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge English, TOEIC).
    • The certificate must still be valid at the point of the application. We generally cannot accept language test results older than three years as of September 1st.
    • Certificates obtained by passing the IELTS Academic Online or TOEFL iBT Home Edition tests may also be submitted for admission to the programme.

    Italian

    As Lugano is located in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, students might be interested in acquiring the basics in Italian.
    The Università della Svizzera italiana offers a free of charge Italian language course: further information can be found here.