Goal

The overarching goal is to train students at Ph.D. level so that they are prepared for a career as scholars, researchers, teachers, change agents and leaders in the Information Systems discipline.

Objectives

The objectives of this Programme are:

1. To build capacity for critical thinking and creativity for advanced research and practice in information systems that address industry and societal problems.
2. To provide a rigorous academic experience for strengthening capacity for local and international collaborations in research and teaching in information systems.

To provide lifelong learning skills that enable graduates to conduct innovative research that solves problems in all sectors in the economy.

Upon completion of this Programme, the students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate and apply critical thinking and creativity skills to advanced research in Information Systems that solve industry and societal problems.
2. Apply the   knowledge   and   skills   gained   to    foster    local   and              international collaborations in research and teaching in information systems.
3. Utilize advanced knowledge and skills learned to conduct innovative research that solves problems in all sectors in the economy.

The integration of ICT in various sectors, within the country and across the region, is rapidly growing hence the need for highly skilled personnel especially in systems thinking, systems modelling and systems evaluation. Currently there is a skills gap in these areas to enable strategic decision making geared towards integrating ICTs in service delivery sectors such as agriculture, health, commerce, legislation, education, among others. Moreover, Vision 2040 (Uganda, 2012) underlines the need for curricula and learning content to be progressively reviewed in order to align what students are taught and what industry globally requires.

This curriculum also addresses a number of weaknesses identified in the previous curriculum (2009). The weaknesses that necessitated a review of the curriculum included: inadequate rigor, limited career options, and declining industry relations. In addition, the previous curriculum faced the threat of diminishing appeal to prospective students due to competing programmes in the region.

A number of institutions of higher learning have been set up and offer both graduate and undergraduate programmes in the area of information systems and technology. The need therefore remains for highly trained professionals to teach and conduct research in the new departments. Therefore, an opportunity exists for a better curriculum to address the need for highly trained Information Systems academics and researchers.

Furthermore, the revision of this curriculum is premised on the following strengths: availability of highly trained faculty at the department of Information Systems, outstanding research excellence, existing international collaborations, and increasing availability of students who are in need of PhD training in the country and region. Emerging collaboration requests by industry and international peers who wish to partner with a recognized regional brand, new application areas for research and scholarship, and increasing demand for advanced skills in Information Systems exist for improvement of the SCIT PhD-IS programme to make it more appealing and relevant.

To qualify for admission, a candidate must:

1. Meet the minimum entry requirements for a PhD Programme at Makerere University;
2. Be a holder of a Master’s degree in Information Systems, Information Technology, Informatics, Computing, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Information Sciences, Data communication, Business computing, Computer engineering, or a related field or its equivalent from a recognized Institution of higher learning.

Information Systems is a discipline that is applied to support decision making and problem solving in various domains such as agriculture, computing, medicine, public health, law, economics, natural and social sciences, engineering, management, and public administration. The PhD IS programme is designed to attract students with a wide range of backgrounds and experienced professionals advancing knowledge in ICT- related fields.