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
|
| Restricted Electives |
48 units
|
| Curriculum Option / Research Seminar |
39 units
|
|
Total
|
159 units
|
NOTE: Students that choose the Cyber 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:
|
18-342: Fundamentals of
Embedded Systems (Fall) (Prerequisite to 18-842) |
OR
|
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. |
||
|
AND
|
||||
|
18-842: Distributed Systems (Spring)
|
||||
|
AND
|
||||
|
18-756: Packet Switching
and Computer Networks (Fall) Note: You must take 18-345 as a prerequisite to 18-756; 18-345 is considered overlapping with 14-740.
|
OR
|
14-740: Fundamentals of Telecommunications and Computer Networks (Fall or Spring)
Note: This class has a limited enrollment. |
OR
|
15-441: Computer Networks (Fall)
|
|
AND
|
AND
|
|||
| 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 or Spring)
- 14-775: Business Management (Fall or Spring)
- 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 or Spring)
- 95-704: Advanced Database Management (Fall or 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, 12 units must be a course in INI (14-xxx), ECE (18-xxx) or CS (15-xxx) that is numbered 300 or above. (Note, 15213: Introduction to Computer Systems does not satisfy this requirement.) The remaining 36 units can be fulfilled by any courses in Heinz College or the Tepper School or any courses in ECE, EPP, School of CS, Silicon Valley or the INI. All electives must be numbered 300 or above. 15-213: Introduction to Computer systems can 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
The curriculum option must be chosen before the end of the first spring semester. Students choose either a Professional Track or Research Track:
-
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.
-
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, providing 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 Cyber Forensics and Incident Response Track
The Cyber Forensics and Incident Response Track is made up of the following courses:
- 14-761: Applied Information Assurance (pre-requisite to all other track courses) (Fall or Spring)
- 14-822: Host-Based Forensics (Spring)
- 14-823: Network Forensics (Fall)
In addition, students who have been pursuing the track must complete two of the following three mini-courses:
- 14-824: Advanced Host-Based Forensic Analysis (6 units) (Spring)
- 14-825: Advanced Network Analysis (6 units) (Fall)
- 14-826: Event Reconstruction and Correlation (6 units) (Fall)
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
New Course Sequence Now Planned for Spring 2013
In the future, incoming students wishing to complete the Cyber Forensics and Incident Response Track will need to complete the following courses:- 14-761: Applied Information Assurance (pre-requisite to all other track courses) (Fall and Spring)
- 14-822: Host-Based Forensics (Spring)
- 14-823: Network Forensics (Fall)
- 14-832: Cyber Forensics and Incident Response Capstone
Due to the length of time needed for transitioning, the new course sequence is now planned to be offered next year instead of spring 2012.