Design & Development of Digital Business

Course Outline
Our MSc Design & Development of Digital Business is a 12-month (full-time) taught master's degree course. This intensive and innovative course is designed to provide honours graduates who have little or no prior technology experience with a critical understanding of Internet and mobile business strategies, models and processes; a high level of competence in the technical skills needed to develop professional electronic and mobile business systems; and excellent employment opportunities and a world-class student experience.

Course Practicalities
The course is 12 months full-time. In Part I there are typically 16 hours of lectures per week and eight hours of tutorials. Dedicated lab facilities are available for students to work on their course assignments in Part I and their group project in Part II.

Assessment is performed through a number of methods: by examinations at the end of teaching Part I (up to Christmas) and Part II (usually the following May), set class assignments, and continuous assessment.

The course is taught by staff from the Department of Business Information Systems (seven modules) and from the Department of Electrical Engineering (one module). Faculty can be viewed on our Cork University Business School faculty page.

Connected Curriculum

Our teaching approach reflects our commitment to the Connected Curriculum where we emphasise the connection between students, learning, research and leadership through our vision for a Connected University. Our staff are at the forefront of this integrative approach to learning and will support you in making meaningful connections within and between disciplines such as design, technology, management, and business.

Why Choose This Course
We offer a unique opportunity for graduates from non-computing disciplines. This course provides you with an opportunity to quickly acquire a set of core skills, both commercial and technical, that will enable you to start your own electronic/mobile business, or seek a position in an established company.

College of Business and Law Available Scholarships

We support our postgraduate community by offering scholarships and bursaries to prospective and current students. Please see the College of Business and Law Available Scholarships page for more information.

Programme content

In Part I of the course, you work closely with our staff in lectures, seminars, and in our state-of-the-art development labs to acquire and hone the knowledge and skill areas that underpin the contemporary electronic and mobile business. Modules in Part I focus on a wide variety of subject areas including business strategy, programming for the Internet and for mobile devices, systems analysis, and design, and systems infrastructure. All technology courses are firmly grounded in a practical, real-world business context and are designed for students with little or no prior experience in computing technology.

In Part II, you work in small groups with a mentor to apply new knowledge and skills in a practical way – by developing an idea for a new, innovative electronic business venture. The project groups will bring their venture from an initial concept to a fully-articulated business and marketing plan, culminating in the implementation of a functional proof-of-concept prototype system.

In total students take 90 credits as follows:

Part I

IS6100 Electronic Business Models and Systems (5 credits)
IS6124 Business Models for Disruptive Technology (5 credits)
IS6127 Systems Analysis and Application Modelling (5 credits)
IS6130 e-Business Strategy Formulation (5 credits)
IS6131 Programming for Web Application and Services 1 (5 credits)
IS6132 Programming for Web Applications and Services 2 (5 credits)
IS6133 Fundamentals of Interaction Design (5 credits)
IS6143 Foundations of Object-Oriented Programming using Java (5 credits)
IS6144 Introduction to Mobile Application Development (5 credits)
IS6145 Database Analysis and Design (5 credits)
IS6146 Databases for Management Information Systems (5 credits)
IS6147 Service Design Thinking (5 credits)

Part II

IS6057 Digital Design and Development Project (30 credits)
See the Postgraduate College Calendar (MSc Design & Development of Digital Business) for further course details.

Modules

Further details on the modules listed above can be found in our Book of Modules. Any modules listed above are indicative of the current set of modules for this course but are subject to change from year to year.

University Calendar

You can find the full academic content for the current year of any given course in our University Calendar.

To apply for this course, you will have:

at least a Second Class Honours Grade II in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) in any discipline except those with high levels of software development content (e.g. computer science, business information systems, etc.) or
expect to graduate in the year of entry with at least a Second Class Honours Grade II in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) in any discipline except those with high levels of software development content

Consideration under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) will be given to applicants who do not meet the minimum criteria but who have relevant professional experience, subject to approval by the School of Business.

English Language Requirements
Applicants that are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university-approved English language requirements. Please visit our PG English Language Requirements page for more information.

For applicants with qualifications completed outside of Ireland
Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements. For more information see our Qualification Comparison page.

International/Non-EU Applicants
For full details of the non-EU application procedure visit our how to apply pages for international students.

In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.

Note that not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above. For more information contact the International Office.

The closing date for non-EU applications is 30 June 2023

How Do I Apply
1. Check Dates: Check the opening and closing dates for the application process in the fact file boxes at the top of the page.

For Irish and EU applicants we operate a rounds system and you can check the rounds closing dates here.
Note that not all our programmes are subject to the rounds system so check the opening and closing dates for your specific programme in the fact file boxes above.

2. Gather Documents: Scanned copies of supporting documents have to be uploaded to the UCC online application portal and include:

Original qualification documents listed on your application including transcripts of results from institutions other than UCC.
Any supplementary items requested for your course if required.

3. Apply Online: Apply online via the UCC online application portal. Note the majority of our courses have a non-refundable €50 application fee.

Any questions? Use our web enquiry form to contact us.

Assessment is performed through a number of methods: by examinations at the end of teaching Part 1 (up to Christmas) and Part 2 (usually the following May), set class assignments, and continuous assessment.

The course is taught by staff from the Department of Business Information Systems (seven modules) and from the Department of Electrical Engineering (one module).

1 year full-time.

Start Date 7 September 2020

Skills and Careers Information
On this programme you can expect to gain both technical and commercial skills. The technical skills include programming for the web and mobile devices, data modelling, and database management. The commercial skills learned include electronic business models, business systems analysis, and electronic commerce. You will have the know-how to start your own e-business or seek a position in an established company.

Our graduates have secured positions as business analysts, systems analysts, programmers, consultants, etc. with a variety of indigenous and multinational companies in fields as diverse as business consultancy, IT, telecommunications, banking, insurance, and pharmaceuticals.