Technology and Information Management B.S.

Information and Policies

Introduction

Technology and Information Management (TIM) is a rigorous, challenging major for those students wanting to pursue careers in the management of information and technology. TIM students will receive a thorough grounding in the fundamental principles and practices of technology (in particular, computer science and computer engineering) and management, and the scientific, mathematics, and economics principles upon which they are built. In particular, they will become proficient in the following areas: strategy, planning, innovation, entrepreneurship, information technology, software design, product development, and supply-chain management.

The essence of the technology and information management major at the University of California, Santa Cruz is the integration of fundamental intellectual content from the disciplines of computer science, computer engineering, business management economics, and finance. TIM students learn how to apply the fundamentals of these diverse disciplines to solving problems that require the integration of management and technology, e.g., developing information technology systems to manage all activities and operations in a firm, e-commerce, managing and commercializing a new technology, and starting a new high-technology company.

To graduate with a B.S. in technology and information management, students normally complete 26 required courses (with two laboratories, totaling 133 quarter credits) plus three elective courses (15 quarter credits) for the technology and information management major program. Honors students are likely to find the rigorous management and leadership elements of the program of significant interest. Industrial interactions and projects are key features of this major.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students graduating from the TIM program will acquire the following:

1. Students will learn the fundamentals of the three core areas—mathematics, economics, and engineering—necessary to analyze and solve complex problems in technology and information management.

2. Students will develop the ability to apply mathematics, economics, and engineering to fundamental issues and problems in TIM. 

3. Students will develop the ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex real-world problems in the two key multi-disciplinary domains of technology and information management: management of technology (MOT) or management science and engineering (MSE); and technology of management (TOM) or information science and engineering (ISE). 

4. Students will be able to communicate effectively in written form in papers and project reports related to TIM. 

Academic Advising for the Program

The Baskin Engineering undergraduate advising office offers general advising for prospective and declared undergraduates majoring in Baskin Engineering programs. The office handles major declarations, transfer credits, course substitutions, articulations, and degree certifications. Undergraduate students obtain and submit all paperwork requiring departmental approval to the undergraduate advising office. Transfer students should also refer to the Transfer Information and Policy section.

Baskin Engineering Building, Room 225
bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu
(831) 459-5840

Getting Started in the Major: Frosh

The technology and information management major is intended for students with an interest in both technology and business. It is recommended that students intending to declare this major have completed four years of mathematics (through advanced algebra and trigonometry) and three years of science in high school. Completion of business-oriented computer literacy and basic programming courses is of benefit to students entering this major. Completion of any economics and/or business-related courses in high school is also beneficial, but the faculty realizes that these courses may not be available at many high schools. Completion of comparable college courses at other institutions serves to strengthen the preparation of a student for the technology and information management major.

This major is highly course intensive and sequential; students who intend to pursue this major must begin taking classes for the major in their first quarter at UC Santa Cruz.

Math placement is required for one or more of the foundation courses for this major. For more information, please review the Math Placement website.

Transfer Information and Policy

Transfer students who want to pursue the technology and information management major, must have applied and been admitted to UC Santa Cruz as a proposed Technology and Information Management major.

Transfer Admission Screening Policy

The requirements for transfer students are as follows:

1) Transfer students must have completed at least six of the lower-division courses from the list below.

2) A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.4 is required in all the lower-division courses taken from the list below.

Students who wish to graduate in two years are strongly recommended to complete all screening courses except TIM 50, CSE 12, and CSE 13S, as well as most general education requirements, before coming to UC Santa Cruz.

Students should consult assist.org to determine which courses at other institutions in California are transferable to UC Santa Cruz.

Getting Started in the Major: Transfer Students

Transfer students should declare their major in their first quarter at UC Santa Cruz. Instructions for declaring a major in Baskin Engineering are on the Baskin Engineering Undergraduate Advising website.

Major Qualification Policy and Declaration Process

Major Qualification

Transfer students should refer to the transfer admission screening requirements. 

In order to be admitted into the technology and information management major,  students must be listed as a proposed major within Baskin Engineering. Please refer to the Baskin Engineering "Proposed Major Retention" and its "Declaring a Baskin Engineering Major" sections in the catalog for more information.

In addition, to be admitted to the TIM major after a student has entered UC Santa Cruz, students need to complete a total of six courses chosen from the following:

Mathematics

At least one of the following:

Engineering

At least one course from the following:

Economics and Technology and Information Management

At least one additional course must be chosen from the following:

Three additional courses

At least three additional courses must be chosen from the following:

Eligibility to qualify for the major

Students in their first six quarters who have completed at least six qualifying courses in the TIM major will need to meet the following:

1. Their cumulative GPA is at least 2.4 in all of the major qualification courses attempted.

2. They have no more than 7 credits resulting in grades of C-, D+, D, D-, F or NP among all of the TIM major qualification courses attempted. 

Appeal Process

Students who are informed that they do not qualify for the major may appeal this decision by submitting a letter to the undergraduate director through the Baskin Engineering undergraduate advising office within 15 days from the date the notification was mailed. Within 15 days of receipt of the appeal, the department will notify the student, college, and Office of the Registrar of the decision.

How to Declare a Major

There are four steps to declaring a Baskin Engineering (BE) major. For a detailed guide to this process, please consult the BE Undergraduate Advising Declare Your Major website. 

Students should start the declaration of major process by completing Step One on the BE Undergraduate Advising Declare Your Major website as soon as they complete the major qualification courses or reach their declaration deadline quarter, whichever comes first.

Students petitioning when the campus declaration deadline is imminent (i.e., in their sixth quarter, for students admitted as frosh), will either be approved, denied, or provided with conditions (e.g., completion of some courses with certain grades) that will be resolved within at most one more enrolled quarter, even if they have not completed the major qualification courses.

Letter Grade Policy

All students admitted to a Baskin Engineering major, or seeking admission to a major, must take all courses required for that major for a letter grade. This policy includes courses required for these degrees that are sponsored by other departments.

Baskin Engineering Policies

Please refer to the Baskin Engineering section of the catalog for additional policies that apply to all Baskin Engineering programs. These policies include admission to the major and the need for UC Santa Cruz students to obtain pre-approval before taking courses elsewhere.

Course Substitution Policy

Undergraduate engineering students who wish to substitute a major course with a course from another department at UC Santa Cruz, or from another academic institution, must first consult the Baskin Engineering Undergraduate Advising Office. The advising office requires a Petition for Course Substitution be approved before credit for an alternate course can be applied to any Baskin Engineering major requirement.

Petition forms are available at the undergraduate advising office and online.

Petitions and procedures for approval must be obtained from and submitted to the Undergraduate Advising Office.

Honors

The TIM program awards honors to students whose academic performance is excellent. Students with a GPA 3.5 or higher but lower than 3.7 will be awarded honors. Students with a GPA of 3.7 or higher will be awarded highest honors. Students who have been found guilty of academic misconduct are not eligible for either honors or highest honors.

Requirements and Planners

Course Requirements

Lower-Division Courses

Statistics

Mathematics

One of the following options

Plus one of the following

Plus the following

One of these courses

And one of these courses

Economics

All of the following

Computer Science and Engineering

All of the following

Plus these courses

Upper-Division Courses

Computer Science and Engineering

All of the following:

Economics

One of the following courses

Plus the following

Electives

Two 5-credit Baskin Engineering courses

Students select two upper-division Baskin Engineering electives on the basis of their particular interests. These electives may be any 5-credit upper-division or graduate Baskin Engineering courses, with the following limitations:

• Either STAT 131 or CSE 107, but not both;

• At most, one independent or field-study course (TIM 193, TIM 195, TIM 198, TIM 199) with prior approval from the department to be used as an elective.

Plus

One 5-credit, upper-division economics course

A list of suggested economics courses can be found on the Technology and Information curriculum chart on the Baskin Engineering Undergraduate Advising Major Curriculum page.

Disciplinary Communication (DC) Requirement

Students of every major must satisfy that major's upper-division Disciplinary Communication (DC) requirement. The DC requirement in technology and information management is satisfied by completing TIM 175.

Comprehensive Requirement

Students complete the comprehensive requirement in two areas, the management of technology and the technology of management. The comprehensive requirement in the management of technology consists of two five-credit courses, TIM 172A and TIM 172B, and two three-credit project courses, TIM 172P and TIM 172Q.  TIM 172A and TIM 172P need to be taken concurrently, as do TIM 172B and TIM 172Q. The comprehensive requirement in the technology of management consists of a five-credit project-intensive course, TIM 175.

TIM 172A addresses strategic, engineering, marketing, and financial processes and tools for the management, development, and commercialization of high-tech products.

TIM 172B addresses the development and application of processes and tools for the management, design, optimization, and operation of supply chain networks for high-tech products.

TIM 172P is the first of a two-course project sequence in which students apply the knowledge and skills gained in TIM 172A to complete the first part of a major quarter-long comprehensive team project in the management of technology. In this course, taken concurrently with TIM 172A, the team project focus is on the management, design, and commercialization of a new product within a high-tech company. TIM 172A and TIM 172P together form the first part of the required management of technology comprehensive requirement for the TIM B.S. major.

TIM 172Q is the second of a two-course project sequence in which students apply the knowledge and skills gained in TIM 172B to complete the second part of a major comprehensive team project in the management of technology. In this course, taken concurrently with TIM 172B, the team project focus is on the supply chain management for the new product developed in the project course TIM 172P. TIM 172B and TIM 172Q together form the second part of the required management of technology comprehensive requirement for the TIM B.S. major.

TIM 175 requires that students understand and use a structured methodology to evaluate the competitive use of information systems within an enterprise. This is accomplished by a team project as well as by an individual project that involves researching and writing a comprehensive analytical term paper using a methodology taught as part of this course.

Planners

The tables below are for informational purposes and do not reflect all university, general education, and credit requirements. See Undergraduate Graduation Requirements for more information.

The following are two sample academic plans for students pursuing the technology and information management major. Plan One is for first-year students, and Plan Two is designed for transfer students that have completed all general education requirements. Students completing the courses in the four-year planner will have satisfied the MF, PE and SR General Education requirements.

Four-Year Major Planner

* WRIT 2 should be taken in or before spring quarter of the second year.

Two-Year Transfer Major Planner*

*This plan assumes that transfer students have completed all of their lower-division courses for the technology and information management major, with the exception of CSE 12, CSE 13S, STAT 17 and STAT 17L, TIM 50 and TIM 58, prior to attending UC Santa Cruz.

Curriculum charts for all BE majors are available at the Baskin Engineering Undergraduate Advising website.