Carnegie Mellon University

Welcome from the Director

The Information Networking Institute (INI) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) educates and develops engineers through technical, interdisciplinary master’s degree programs in information networking, security and mobile and IoT engineering that incorporate business and policy perspectives.

With extraordinary agility, the INI has navigated the changing landscape of technology from wired communications in the 1980s to wireless, mobile and Internet of Things in today’s world. We were established in 1989 in response to a demand from industry for professionals skilled in both computing and communications. Looking at first principles in each of those domains, we designed a program that would prepare students for the world we saw coming in which distributed computing and communications would be indistinguishable.

What began as a small fledgling program has evolved over the past three decades to become an integral part of Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering and home to over 300 students each year from across the world. Our students are provided with a distinctly interdisciplinary learning experience: an advanced, specialized curriculum in information networking and computer systems, complemented by coursework in business, management, and policy.

An unparalleled student experience is what sets the INI apart from other graduate programs. We strive to cultivate a welcoming and inclusive culture for our students, faculty, staff and alumni across our program locations: Pittsburgh and Silicon Valley. Our alumni go on to serve high-powered companies, tech start-ups and government agencies, always returning to their home away from home at the INI to recruit, mentor and inspire current students to follow their path to success.

Our people are our core strength – the fabric of the INI. I believe that together we can shape the future. Are you with me? 

Dena Haritos Tsamitis 

Barbara Lazarus Professor in Information Networking
Director, Information Networking Institute (INI)
Founding Director, Education, Training and Outreach, CyLab

Interdisciplinary Culture

The INI builds on the collaborative and interdisciplinary culture of Carnegie Mellon. The INI teaching faculty are drawn from:

Founded in 1989

INI was the nation's first research and education center devoted to information networking.

Explore INI's History

2,700+ Alumni Community

Graduates are succeeding in next-generation careers at the pulse of the tech industry.

Meet INI's Alumni

Partnered with CyLab

CyLab is Carnegie Mellon's security and privacy institute, involving more than 50 faculty and 100 graduate students from more than six different departments and schools.

About CyLab

Where Wi-Fi Was Born

In 1989, the INI's first director, Alex Hills, created the first Wi-Fi campus network, Wireless Andrew, and brought higher education into the 21st century.

Discover Student Projects

Global Leader

INI's programs in Greece, Portugal, and Japan have become a paragon for international education at CMU and influenced the innovative design of bicoastal programs offered at the Silicon Valley campus.

INI's Bicoastal Program

National Designations

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has received three designations as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C):

Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD)

Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations (CAE-CO)

Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research (CAE-R)

About INI's Designations

Rankings

Icon of a hard hat #5 College of Engineering

U.S. News & World Report

binary code #1 Artificial Intelligence

U.S. News & World Report

handshake icon #1 Programming Language

U.S. News & World Report

person icon More awards & rankings