Management Information Systems Course Spotlight: Database Management Systems
One of the courses that Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems (MIS) students will take at William Woods is MIS 225 – Database Management Systems. This course familiarizes students with various database management systems and how to manage them. Students will learn how to develop application programs in the database environment as well as how to develop and implement procedures for backup, restart and recovery of data.
Here are five topics you can expect to cover in this course.
What is a database management system: Database management systems (DBMS) is a system software used for creating and managing databases. DBMS offers database administrators an effective way to store, retrieve, update and safeguard data. In essence, DBMS acts as an interface between the database and its end users by providing a centralized view of data.
Types of database management systems: Today there are a number of database management systems to choose from. Some examples include relational database management systems (RDBMS), in-memory database management systems (IMDBMS), columnar database management systems (CDBMS), and cloud-based data management systems among others.
Advantages and disadvantages of using DBMS: Through this course, students will understand the advantages of DBMS including better protection and maintenance of data as well as easy data-sharing with various users concurrently. Students will learn how to recover data in case of errors and impose structured organization of data. Disadvantages of using DBMS such as overhead costs associated with its management will also be discussed.
Models of data and data structure: Database model is a logical structure of a database that includes various relationships and constraints related to how data is stored and accessed. Students will learn about the various data models including hierarchical, relational, network, object-oriented, and document, among others.
Database application development: The primary purpose of developing applications for DBMS is to access information from a database. Students will learn about the issues related to application programming and design such as interfacing SQL (structured query language) with traditional programming languages.
Students with special interests in topics covered in this class should explore careers as database administrators. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the employment of database administrators is projected to grow 11 percent by 2024 while the median salary is $81,710. Database administrators manage database management systems ensuring an efficient storage, security, access, and management of data.