Curriculum
The MSIN curriculum consists of three main components: the core courses, electives, and a curriculum specialization/research seminar.
The core courses establish the necessary background and a common competence level, and the elective courses build upon the core. Students can choose from a wide variety of technical and management elective courses according to their interests and career needs.
For the curriculum option, students have unprecedented flexibility to customize the program according to their career goals, whether they want to focus on an industry or specialized area of study.
| Core Course Requirements |
72 units
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| Restricted Electives |
48 units
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| Curriculum Option / Research Seminar |
39 units
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Total
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159 units
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NOTE: Students that choose the Computer Forensics and Incident Response Track do not add any additional units. The forensics track consists of 48 units, which will be fulfilled by one security elective (12 units) and the curriculum option (36 units).
MSIN Core Courses - 72 units - Core Courses May Not Be Waived
Networking and Systems Requirement - 48 units
All students must take:
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18-342: Fundamentals of
Embedded Systems (Fall) (Prerequisite to 18-842) |
OR
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15-410: Operating System Design
and Implementation (Fall) (Prerequisite to 18-842) Note: You must take 15-213: Introduction to Computer Systems as a prerequisite to 15-410. |
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AND
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18-842: Distributed Systems (Spring)
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AND
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18-756: Packet Switching
and Computer Networks (Fall) |
OR
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14-740: Fundamentals of Telecommunications and Computer Networks (Fall)
Note: This class has a limited enrollment. |
OR
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15-441: Computer Networks (Fall)
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AND
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AND
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| One course from ECE/CS in the areas of Software Systems & Computer Networking and Signal Processing & Communications | Two courses from ECE/CS in the areas of Software Systems & Computer Networking and Signal Processing & Communications | |||
Management Requirement - 18 units
Students must take each of the following classes:
- 14-774: Managerial Economics (Fall)
- 14-775: Business Management (Fall)
- 14-777: Information Systems Modeling (Spring)
Database Requirement - 6 units
Students must take one of the following classes:
- 15-415: Database Applications (Fall)
- 45-872: Information Resources Management (Spring)
- 95-703: Database Management (Fall)
- 95-704: Advanced Database Management (Spring)
Note: 15-415, 95-703 and 95-704 are 12 unit courses, so the extra 6 units will be used toward the restricted elective requirement.
Restricted Electives - 48 units
Restricted electives form the area of a student's specialization. Students have the opportunity to pursue a wide range of electives in which they have a special interest. This portion of the curriculum is composed of 48 units. Of the 48 units required units, 12 units must be a course in ECE or CS that is numbered 300 or above. The remaining 36 units can be fulfilled by any courses in Heinz College or the Tepper School or any courses in ECE, EPP, CS or the INI. All electives must be numbered 300 or above. 15-213: Introduction to Computer systems can now also be counted as a restricted elective, but only if it is taken as a prerequisite to 15-410: Operating System Design and Implementation. Restricted electives may not be taken pass/fail.
Curriculum Option - 36 units
Curriculum option must be chosen before the end of the first Spring semester. Students choose either a Professional Track or Research Track:
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Professional Track: Either 1.) a set of courses that will equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in industry; 2.) a supervised practicum that will provide students with industry experience while gaining significant knowledge; or 3.) a development-based project that allows students to build up knowledge and skills in delivering successful solutions for industry.
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Research Track: A thesis-style research paper that will allow students to delve deep into a problem and create a solution for a research-based project, offering them the opportunity to gain significant knowledge and skills in a particular area.
Research Seminar - 3 units
Research seminars require students to attend presentations that take place during the Fall and Spring semester. Speakers present on current issues in areas of industry and research. Students must take both:
- 14-704: INI Seminar (Fall)
- 14-705: INI Seminar (Spring)
For Students in the Computer Forensics and Incident Response Track
Students wishing to complete the Computer Forensics and Incident Response Track must complete the following courses:
- 14-761: Applied Information Assurance (pre-requisite to all other track courses)
- 14-822: Host-Based Forensics
- 14-823: Network Forensics
In addition, students must complete two of the following three mini-courses:
- 14-824: Advanced Host-Based Forensic Analysis (mini)
- 14-825: Advanced Network Analysis (mini)
- 14-826: Event Reconstruction and Correlation (mini)
Below is a sample progression of the track's curriculum:
- First fall: 14-761
- First spring: 14-822 and 14-824
- Second fall: 14-823 and 14-825