Online Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Decision Sciences

Total credit hours per program: 120 credit hours

Cost per credit hour: $399

Total cost with fees and maximum amount of credits allowed to transfer into the program: $11,970

Total cost with fees: $47,880

The online Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Decision Sciences requires completion of 120 credit hours distributed as follows: 

General Education Requirements: 39 Credit Hours

• ENGL 1001 English Composition | Credit Hours: 3
• ENGL 2000 English Composition | Credit Hours: 3
• MATH 1021 College Algebra | Credit Hours: 3
• MATH 1431 Calculus with Business and Economic Applications | Credit Hours: 3
• General Education Fine Arts | Credit Hours: 3
• General Education Humanities | Credit Hours: 9
• General Education Natural Sciences | Credit Hours: 9
• ECON 2000 Principles of Microeconomics | Credit Hours: 3
• ECON 2010 Principles of Macroeconomics | Credit Hours: 3

Business Core Requirements: 42 Credit Hours 

• ACCT 2001 Introductory Financial Accounting | Credit Hours: 3
• ACCT 2101 Introductory Managerial Accounting | Credit Hours: 3
• BLAW 3201 Business Law | Credit Hours: 3
• ISDS 1102 Introduction to Management Information Systems for Business Majors | Credit Hours: 3
• ISDS 2000 Business Statistics and Analytics I | Credit Hours: 3
• ISDS 2001 Business Statistics and Analytics II | Credit Hours: 3
• FIN 3716 Principles of Finance | Credit Hours: 3
• ECON 2035 Money, Banking and Macroeconomic Activity | Credit Hours: 3
• ISDS 3115 Introduction to Operations Management | Credit Hours: 3
• MGT 3200 Principles of Management | Credit Hours: 3
• MGT 3830 Strategic Management | Credit Hours: 3
• MKT 3401 Principles of Marketing | Credit Hours: 3
• Oral & Written Communication Requirement 1 | Credit Hours: 3
• Oral & Written Communication Requirement 2 | Credit Hours: 3

ISDS Core Requirements: 18 Credit Hours 

• ISDS 3100 Foundations of Information Systems | Credit Hours: 3
• ISDS 3107 Design of Information Systems Solutions | Credit Hours: 3
• ISDS 3110 Data and Information Managements | Credit Hours: 3
• ISDS 4113 Management of Information Systems Projects | Credit Hours: 3
• ISDS 4120 Enterprise Architecture | Credit Hours: 3
• ISDS 4125 Analysis and Design of Information Systems | Credit Hours: 3

Business and ISDS Elective Requirements (3000-4000 Level): 15 Credit Hours 

Free Elective Requirements: 6 Credit Hours 

First Time Freshman

• 3.0 Core GPA on the 19 units of college-preparatory high school courses as outlined in the LSU Core
• LSU is a test-optional institution which means applicants will have the choice to select if they wish to have their ACT or SAT scores considered for admission. Click here to learn more!

Transfer Student General Admission Requirements

• 30* or more transferable (academic, non-remedial) credit hours from a regionally-accredited college or university
• 2.5 academic GPA on all transferable college work attempted
• A grade of “C” or better in a college-level English course that fulfilled a general education requirement at the institution where it was taken
• A grade of “C” or better in a college-level Math course that fulfilled a general education requirement at the institution where it was taken

*Students who will not have 30 transferable credit hours by the time they plan to enroll at LSU can still be considered for admission if they meet all remaining transfer requirements.

To see about transfer credits please check out the TIGER TRANSFER TABLES.

Re-Entry Student Admission Requirements

Students interested in applying for re-entry to LSU must have a 2.0 GPA on all LSU coursework and must meet the requirements for their prospective senior college. Students who have attempted 30 or more hours at another institution must also have a 2.5 cumulative GPA on all college work attempted. For your senior college specific requirements please check out the Re-Entry Student Requirements per College.

If you feel like you do not meet any of the above qualifications please reach out to your Enrollment Coach team member as there are different evaluation pathways for non-traditional students to take.

Undergraduate students who are reviewed and admitted by meeting LSU A&M general admissions requirements but do not meet the admittance requirements to a senior college have two admissions options:

Option 1

Students can start with The University College Center for Freshman Year (UCFY). This academic unit is designed for new freshmen and some transfer and re-entry students. Their mission is to prepare incoming students for success at LSU and to help define their academic and career goals. Students typically exit the UCFY at the conclusion of the freshman year and enter one of the degree-granting senior colleges at LSU.

Option 2

Students can start with The Center for Advising and Counseling (UCAC). This administrative unit serves as the academic home for students who have attempted 30-plus hours of college credit and who do not yet meet the admission requirements for one of the University’s degree-granting senior colleges.

For a list of specific senior college requirements please visit the LSU A&M Undergraduate Admission page.

LSU online ISDS students go on to have lucrative careers in various tech-related professions like IT consulting, IT outsourcing, business architect, business analyst, business intelligence, database administration, information systems integrator, and data science.

• Systems Analyst
• Business Analyst
• Data Analyst
• Data Scientist
• Internal Auditor
• IT Auditor
• Database Administrator
• Business Process Analyst
• Information Technologist
• Network Systems Manager
• Tech Entrepreneur 

Develop Inspire Business Innovation and Learn how to strategically and effectively develop and use IT resources.

The BS ISDS is a 120-hour, STEM-designated program. The program teaches analysis, design, and implementation of systems to support an organization’s operations and management functions. Students prepare for careers in corporate settings, small and medium-sized enterprises, or entrepreneurial ventures across all industries. Areas of study covered in the program include: 

• Business Statistics
• Programming
• Analytics
• IT Management
• Cloud Computing
• Digital Consulting
• Predictive Modeling
• Data Warehousing
• Cyber Risk
• Data Mining
• Supply Chain Management

Why choose LSU’s online Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Decision Sciences?

LSU’s online ISDS degree prepares students with the skills for designing, building, and analyzing business processes across all types of organizations. The flexible distance-learning format provides students the opportunity to balance personal responsibilities and school without compromising. Plenty of career opportunities exist in this thriving field, and LSU’s online ISDS graduates can find employment with computer companies, consulting firms, energy companies, entertainment companies, educational institutions, financial institutions, government agencies, and more.

BS ISDS majors can earn credit through PLA and through an internship as follows:

1. PLA: Students who pass the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification exam can earn 3.0 PLA credit hours for ISDS 3130 Cloud Computing for Business I, an ISDS elective. (This elective is for non ISDS majors. It does not count towards degree requirements for ISDS majors)
2. PLA: Students who pass the AWS Solution Architects certification exam can earn 3.0 PLA credit hours for ISDS 4130 Cloud Computing for Business II, an ISDS elective.
3. PLA: Students who pass the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA-ISACA) exam can earn 3.0 substitute credit hours for ISDS 4244 Information Systems Audit, an ISDS elective.
4. PLA: Students who pass the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP-ISC2) exam can earn 6.0 substitute credit hours for ISDS 4070 Special Topics, an ISDS elective. (note: In general, students can earn a maximum of 6.0 credits under the ISDS 4070 rubric.)
5. Internship: Students working in a professional IT role in an IT organization, may be able to earn up to 3.0 credit hours of ISDS 3075, an ISDS elective.
6. BS ISDS students may earn up to 9.0 credit hours of ISDS Elective Credit.

The laptop requirements below are set forth so that students may not have any issue loading data or software to their machine.

• Windows 10 Professional, Enterprise, or Education (Education is available through OnTheHub)
• 4 Core, X64, 64 Bit processor
• 16 GB RAM (16 recommended)
• 500GB Hard drive
• ATA 100/7,200 RPM hard drive is preferred but a 5,400 will work
• A graphics card supporting higher resolution than 1024×768 (32-bit). (1 GB dedicated, non-shared, memory card is recommended.)​

By becoming familiar with the types of technologies taught in this program, students are given a head start in their field post-graduation. Apple Systems are not recommended as all software utilized in this course requires the Windows operating system. However, if you do decide to utilize an Apple computer you must have Windows (10 or higher) running prior to starting courses.​ This can be done through a partitioned hard drive or other means of split operating systems.