Athens Master of Science in Information Networking (Athens MSIN)
 Faculty
Degree Standards
Program Sponsors
 The INI offers the Master of Science in Information Networking program in Athens, Greece (Athens MSIN) in collaboration with Athens Information Technology  (AIT).
Modeled after the Pittsburgh MSIN program, the Athens MSIN is an intensive, full-time, 16-month graduate program that gives students a solid foundation in information technology and introduces students to management, strategic thinking, and policy, with the opportunity to study each of these areas in greater depth through electives.
A curriculum option allows students to choose a Professional Track or Research Track to develop an area of specialization. MSIN students are well positioned to pursue leadership, technical, and management positions in a variety of sectors and industries.
Graduates of the INI’s programs enter a range of careers, including software engineer, networking engineer, technology consultant, IT analyst, computer systems consultant, systems & software engineer, corporate security officer, financial software developer, security consultant, and Ph.D. candidate.
 Application Deadline - Apply Online
May 30 - International Applicants(extended from May 15)
June 13 - Greek Citizens (extended from May 15)
Admissions
See the Admissions Requirements online or email admissions@ait.gr for details.
All admitted students must satisfy INI admissions criteria. Admissions are decided by a joint INI-AIT committee with the INI Director having veto power on admissions.
Structure
Three main components make up the Athens MSIN: the core course requirements (72 units), restricted electives (60 units), and the curriculum specialization/research seminars (39 units). For details, go to Curriculum.
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 specialization, 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.
Specifically, this program is designed to prepare students to:
- Acquire detailed understanding of the technical, management and policy aspects of information networking and computer systems
- Gain theoretical understanding and practical experience in building networked and distributed computer systems
- Gain detailed understanding of the design principles and tradeoffs made in information networking infrastructures
- Manage the development and evolution of reliable and secure information networks and computer systems
- Gain expertise in managing and troubleshooting large scale information networks and distributed systems
- Gain detailed understanding of estabilising requirements in complex applications and translating these requirements into a design architecture
- Learn theoretical as well as practical aspects of database management systems
- Acquire an understanding of microeconomics theory with an emphasis on business applications
- Acquire an understanding of business management functions including accounting, finance, human relations, marketing and operations with an emphasis in information systems
- Equip themselves with skills to assume leadership positions in information networking
Environment
The student body is a diverse group of highly motivated individuals who come to Athens from around the world. Students share a common commitment to their education and a determination to excel in the field of information networking. This selective program accepts up to 30 students each year.
All classes and coursework are in English. The AIT campus is equipped with the latest technologies, including wireless Internet and distance learning technologies. Classrooms equipped with video conferencing connect students and faculty in Athens with their peers in Pittsburgh.
Carnegie Mellon faculty who are located in Pittsburgh spend at least one week per semester at AIT. AIT faculty teach the remaining courses onsite using MSIN curriculum guidelines and materials.
Watch the CNN World Report story on the MSIN program in Athens, Greece at Athens Information Technology.
The 100,000 ft. building on AIT campus includes classrooms, faculty offices, laboratory facilities, library, cafeteria, bookstore, study rooms and student offices.
Course Delivery
Four to five courses (three are core) are taught from Carnegie Mellon to Athens via distance learning technologies. Co-instructors and teaching assistants at AIT support the remote students. All courses are evaluated according to Carnegie Mellon standards.
The MSIN core courses are delivered in real-time utilizing video teleconferencing (VTC) technologies. Lectures are also videotaped, digitized, and converted to streaming format within 24 hours, and CDs are then sent to Athens overnight. A smartboard and an electronic whiteboard are used to enable annotations to be streamed in real-time to AIT and saved.
The Blackboard course management system acts as a central interactive repository for all course materials, such as anonline gradebook, asynchronous discussion forums and a virtual chat for synchronous exchange of information. Go to Blackboard, and login as a GUEST to see sample courses.
Faculty
The hiring process and standards for AIT faculty are the same as at Carnegie Mellon. The faculty teaching the MSIN courses in Athens have adjunct faculty status in the INI. Obtaining adjunct status requires a one semester residency at Carnegie Mellon. Once obtained, the adjunct status is reviewed and renewed every three years. INI and AIT encourage research collaboration between Carnegie Mellon and AIT faculty.
Visit Faculty for the list of adjunt faculty members who are located at AIT.
Degree Standards
The Athens MSIN degree standards are based on the Pittsburgh MSIN program and approved by the Engineering College Council.
The Athens MSIN is assessed on an ongoing basis to ensure the integrity of the degree being conferred. The components of the assessment include: direct classroom observation, inter-rating grading analysis to ensure grading consistency, tracking of overall performance, online surveys and focus groups to measure student satisfaction, faculty course evaluations rating overall course quality and quality of the instructor, and continuous evaluation of distance learning technologies.
Upon completion, students receive a degree from Carnegie Mellon University.
Program Sponsors
The Athens MSIN program would not be possible without the support of Socrates Kokkalis and John G. Rangos Sr.
Read about John G. Rangos Sr.'s contributions to the Athens MSIN.
|