Differences Between CS and CIS

The table below categorizes some of the differences between the CS and CIS degrees.

	Computer Science	Computer Information Systems
CS Courses	Requires 16 CS courses, 13 at the higher level.	Requires 14 CS courses, 13 of which are essentially the same as for the CS degree
Business	None required	Requires 6 courses in the business: accounting, economics, management and marketing classes.
Math	Requires 6 math courses including pre-calculus, 2 calculus courses, and three others that require a background in calculus: probability and statistics, linear algebra, and operations research or numerical analysis.	Four math courses are required including algebra, 2 "Practical Calculus" courses(which is much less rigorous than Calculus) and an algebra-based statistics course.
Science	Three lab-based science courses are required. These science courses are the "major's versions" of Biology, Chemistry, or Physics. Two of the courses must be in the same area.	Two lab-based general science courses which come from a broader range of courses (Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Geography, Geology, Physics) are required. These courses are not as in depth as the ones required by the CS degree.
Foreign Language	None required.	None required.
Jobs	As well as preparing a student for jobs in the business and government environment, a CS graduate might have an edge over CIS in jobs in engineering, scientific, or more pure science fields.	Geared more towards software development jobs in the business and government environment (which is most of the jobs).
Graduate School	The CS degree adequately prepares graduates for graduate work in CS or CIS.	A CIS graduate would be prepared to enter a CIS/MIS graduate degree program. However, the CIS graduate would probably require more mathematics to enter a graduate CS program.