Curriculum
The MSISTM curriculum consists of three main components: the core courses, electives and the curriculum option/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.
| 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 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).
Core Courses - 72 units
(Core courses may not be waived.)
Management Requirement - 12 units
All students must take:
- 14-786: Information Security Risk Analysis (Spring)
Prerequisite: Either prior coursework in probability theory or 95-796: Statistics for IT Managers - 14-788: Information Security Risk Policy and Management (Spring)
Prerequisite: 95-710: Economic Analysis or equivalent coursework
Networking and Systems Requirement - 24 units
All students must take:
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15-441: Computer Networks (Fall)
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OR
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14-740: Fundamentals of Telecommunications and Computer Networks (Fall or Spring)
Note: This class has a limited enrollment. |
OR
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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.
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AND
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15-410: Operating System Design
and Implementation (Fall) Note: You must take 15-213: Introduction to Computer Systems as a prerequisite to 15-410. |
OR
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18-842: Distributed Systems (Spring)
Note: You must take one of 18-342: Fundamentals of Embedded Systems or 15-410: Operating System Design and Implementation, and one of 14-740: Fundamentals of Telecommunications, 18-756: Packet Switching and Computer Networks, or 15-441: Computer Networks as a prerequisite to 18-842. |
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Security Requirement - 36 units
All students must take:
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18-730: Introduction to Computer Security (Fall)
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AND
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18-731: Network
Security (Fall) Note: You must take 18-730 as a prerequisite to 18-731.
OR 18-732: Secure Software Systems (Fall) Note: You must take 18-730 as a prerequisite to 18-732.
OR 18-733: Applied Cryptography (Spring) Note: You must take 18-730 as a prerequisite to 18-733.
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AND
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One additional graduate-level security course, including
courses from another department (CS, ECE, EPP, Heinz, Tepper) Note: Course must be approved by the MSISTM program advisor. |
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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, 15-213: 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:
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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, 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.