-
Courses
Courses
Choosing a course is one of the most important decisions you'll ever make! View our courses and see what our students and lecturers have to say about the courses you are interested in at the links below.
-
University Life
University Life
Each year more than 4,000 choose University of Galway as their University of choice. Find out what life at University of Galway is all about here.
-
About University of Galway
About University of Galway
Since 1845, University of Galway has been sharing the highest quality teaching and research with Ireland and the world. Find out what makes our University so special – from our distinguished history to the latest news and campus developments.
-
Colleges & Schools
Colleges & Schools
University of Galway has earned international recognition as a research-led university with a commitment to top quality teaching across a range of key areas of expertise.
-
Research & Innovation
Research & Innovation
University of Galway’s vibrant research community take on some of the most pressing challenges of our times.
-
Business & Industry
Guiding Breakthrough Research at University of Galway
We explore and facilitate commercial opportunities for the research community at University of Galway, as well as facilitating industry partnership.
-
Alumni & Friends
Alumni & Friends
There are 128,000 University of Galway alumni worldwide. Stay connected to your alumni community! Join our social networks and update your details online.
-
Community Engagement
Community Engagement
At University of Galway, we believe that the best learning takes place when you apply what you learn in a real world context. That's why many of our courses include work placements or community projects.
Business Information Systems
Course Overview
The objective of the programme is to nurture high-calibre graduates for the national and international business environments, that can demonstrate business analysis and applied information skills, coupled with a strong blend of business knowledge and management capabilities.
Global Experience & Work Placement
- BIS students now have the opportunity to avail of a Global Experience year as part of their studies. This will take place in year 3 of the programme. Semester 1 will typically consist of a period studying abroad with a global partner university. In some cases, it may be possible to undertake a period of work placement abroad. In cases where a student cannot travel abroad, they will follow a programme of global activities that achieves the learning goals of the programme.
- Some of our partners include City University Hong Kong, Lehigh University College of Business & Economics, PA, (USA), Montana State University (USA), FNHW (Switzerland), Rennes School of Business (France), LUISS, Rome (Italy), University of Turku (Finland). These opportunities are offered on a competitive basis
- Semester 2 will feature a paid work placement. Placements are secured via competitive selection and can vary in length from 3 to 8 months. Our membership of the SAP and Microsoft University Alliance provides our students with access to the latest industry software while our Industry Advisory Board ensures that the skills, methodologies and theories that you learn are consistent with industry needs. Recent placements have included SAP, Dell, OnePageCRM and EY
Applications and Selections
Who Teaches this Course
Requirements and Assessment
Key Facts
Entry Requirements
Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/H7 level in the Leaving Certificate, including Irish, English, another language, Mathematics, and any two other subjects recognised for entry purposes.
Additional Requirements
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
Duration
4 years
Next start date
September 2025
A Level Grades (2024)
universityofgalway.ie/alevels
Average intake
40
QQI/FET FETAC Entry Routes
Closing Date
NFQ level
Mode of study
ECTS weighting
Award
CAO
GY206
Course code
Course Outline
Curriculum Information
Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).
Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.
3rd year students in 2023/24 will do Study Abroad in Sem 1, and a Placement in Ireland in Sem 2
[an error occurred while processing this directive]Further Education
Graduates can go on to study in many postgraduate programmes such as MSc in Information Systems Management or Business Analytics. Past graduates are employed in companies such as Google, Accenture, Deloitte, Microsoft, SAP and Storm.
Why Choose This Course?
Career Opportunities
Our graduates are employed by Accenture, Avaya, CISCO, Google, KPMG, Deloitte, Intel, Lawler Developments, Lionbridge, Pramerica and IBM to name just a few.
100% Employability Rate
100% of BIS graduates are now in degree-related employment. The mix of business acumen, technical skills and management knowledge combined with communication and team skills makes Business Information Systems graduates valuable assets to any organisation. Our graduates pursue careers across a wide spectrum of job titles. Many choose to focus on their business skills and pursue careers as diverse as entrepreneurship, sales, management, or non-business careers such as teaching or law enforcement.
Other graduates focus more on their technology skills and pursue more specialist careers such as:
- Business analyst - defining the optimal technology to drive business.
- Software tester/ developer - application development and testing.
- eCommerce consultant - leveraging internet related technologies for business.
- e-Business specialist - managing supply chains or customer relationship management systems.
- IS manager - managing the range of hardware, software and networking equipment in any organisation.
- Specialist IS consultant - working with enterprise systems such as SAP or Oracle. BIS gives you the flexibility to define your career.
Work Placement
The BIS programme includes a paid work placement, site visits to leading multinational companies and our membership of the SAP and Microsoft University Alliance provides our students with access to the latest industry software while our Industry Advisory Board ensures that the skills, methodologies and theories that you learn are consistent with industry needs.
Study Abroad
BIS students have the option to study abroad in our partner universities in year 3. Some of our partners include Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kogod School of Business (Washington DC, USA), Montana State University (USA), Lehigh University (NY, USA), and ESC Rennes (France).
Click here to see where your B.I.S degree can take you in the world!
For students who choose not to study abroad, a global experience that fulfills the integrated learning outcomes of a Global Experience without physically going abroad will be offered.
Examples of Visiting professors and CEO- in-Residence initiative
- Prof. Bill Schmarzo, CTO, Hitachi Vantara
- Dr Stefan Siedel, University of Liechtenstein
- Mr Gearoid Madden, Accenture Analytics
- Mr John Power, Founder and MD of Aerogen
- Mr. Eoin Corey, Senior Analyst, Accenture
- Mr Gillian Grant, Analyst, Accenture
- Dr Efpraxia Zamani, The University of Sheffield
Examples of Guest Lecturers, Panel & Seminar Speakers
- Mr Michael Ryan, EMEA Manager, Azure CXP Engineering, Microsoft
- Mr. Alex Burnham, Mazars
- Ms Yvonne Comer, CEO & Co-founder of RugbySmarts
- Ms Danese Cooper, CTO, Paypal,
- Mr Davitt Connolly, Integration Specialist & Team Leader, SAP
- Mr. Stephen Howell, Microsoft
- Dr Annemarie Hanlon, Cranfield School of Management.
- Mr Joe Haslam, Executive Director of Owners Scaleup Program,
- Ms Jane Ann Meehan, Physioflex
- Ms Kate Costello, Global Senior Social Media Manager, Burberry.
- Prof. Robert Scapens, Emeritus Professor at Alliance Manchester Business School
- Mr Conor O’Dowd, CEO Galway Port
- Mr Jim Clarken, CEO Oxfam Ireland
- Ms Katie Lernihan, SAP Services Strategy (BIS Graduate)
- Mr Barry Comerford, CEO Cambus Medical Ms Dora Trachana, Principal, Uni.fund
Amazon Web Services Educate Program
We are also a member institution of Amazon Web Services Educate Program. This program is a global initiative that provides students and educators with the resources needed to greatly accelerate Cloud-related learning endeavours and to help power the workforce of tomorrow. AWS Educate provides grant-based access to AWS, training, and content, while also providing educators and students with a forum for collaboration. For the BIS discipline, his provides many benefits to students and teaching staff, most importantly free credits for tutorials and labs using cloud services.
Addressing UN Sustainable Development Goals
Modules offered on the BSc (BIS) address all of the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals. New modules introduced in recent years include Cybersecurity, Philosophy, Theory and Research Methods in IS, and Introduction to Sustainability.
Who’s Suited to This Course
Learning Outcomes
Transferable Skills Employers Value
Work Placement
Study Abroad
Related Student Organisations
Course Fees
Fees: EU
Fees: Tuition
Fees: Student Contribution
Fees: Student levy
Fees: Non EU
EU Fees are comprised of Tuition + Student Contribution Charge + Student Levy* €140. *Payable by all students and is not covered by SUSI. Further detail here.
For 25/26 entrants, where the course duration is greater than 1 year, there is an inflationary increase approved of 3.4% per annum for continuing years fees**.
**Excludes Full-Time EU Undergraduate fees. These are fixed and do not change.
Find out More
- J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics, University of Galway
- T + 353 (0)91 492 612
- E business@universityofgalway.ie
What Our Students Say
Mk Chong | Software Infrastructure Engineer at Intel Corporation
University of Galway and the BIS programme gave me the opportunity to find my passion in business, technology and cyber security. Furthermore, it has given me a valuable network of talented friends and lecturers that have inspired me to pursue a technical career. While studying, I founded University of Galway's first competitive cyber security team (The Dec1phers). We’ve remained active in cyber security competitions for 2 years, consistently ranking top 3 on the Irish leader board on CTFtime and achieving 1st place in Zerodays CTF 2022, the largest national onsite cyber security competition in Ireland (one of my proudest moments studying at University of Galway). I highly recommend the BIS programme as it is designed to be a student-centred, multi-disciplinary and rewarding degree.in Connect with Mk
Katie Lernihan | BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT , SAP INNOVATIVE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
The BIS course offers students an education and skillset that is unique, competitive, and relevant. Through BIS I built a strong global network through international guest lectures, my Erasmus at La Rochelle Excelia Business School, the talented faculty at the NUIG Business School who are incredible mentors to my class and through industry leaders who connected with our class, incl. SAP where I completed my 8-month Internship and where I continue to build my career since graduating in 2019. I would encourage any individual who wishes to pursue a successful and exciting career in the rapidly accelerating world of technology to consider this course. As a young woman in tech, BIS has provided me a diverse and extensive knowledge base that is relevant and reflective of the demands, trends, and strategy of the technology industry today allowing me to fully thrive in my role at SAP and many aspects of my professional life!in Connect with Katie
Brian Barrins | Technology Analyst, Accenture
The BIS undergraduate degree is the perfect blend of business and computers. Having the opportunity to learn about programming languages, databases & new and emerging technologies helps to make you really well informed student. This, coupled with an understanding of management principles, accounting and economics let’s you mix and bring together all your other learnings in each module. The course and classes themselves are very personable. The small class sizes really helped with my learning, and by having small numbers ensures you don’t get left behind, and can have a personal relationship with each lecturer. Through the study abroad option in second year of the course, I got to study in Villanova University with the help of a scholarship programme in place. While there, I got to study new modules, increase my knowledge in areas I liked, and even made long lasting connections and friends which I still use today. My current role is with Accenture where I am working in the Cyber Security field helping clients devise state of the art strategies to protect and secure payments.
Paul O'Flynn | EMEA Sales Finance Lead at Intel Corporation
I have a keen interest in IT and I also wanted to do a course that incorporated business studies in some way; the obvious answer was Business Information Systems. One of the best things that a BIS student is equipped with when they graduate is the employability factor. You learn about business, economics, and marketing all side by side with IT such as programming, information systems, and so much more. Along with this, a student is put on an eight-month internship. Most graduates are snatched up by multinational companies.
Kathleen Garrity | Sr Program Manager, Data Science & Engineering, Google
I choose to study Business Information Systems at NUI Galway because of the wide range of topics and career options that it offered. I was exposed to a wide variety of subjects which allowed me to find my strengths and areas of interest. This suited me because I didn’t know what kind of job or career I wanted to pursue. The industry experience was an invaluable feature of this degree.