Welcome! The KU EECS Graduate IT Programs Spring 2017 Information Session Professor Hossein Saiedian

Organization Program objectives Why, what it is and is not Faculty Admission requirements Completion requirements Resources Conclusions MSIT Information Session 2017

Educational objectives To provide a modern, practice-oriented and advanced IT education to the KC metropolitan area Short term: provide advanced and the state of the art IT education that will improve productivity, offer best practices, and enhance competitiveness Long term: the educational program and its related applied research opportunities will help the area industries to retain existing IT infrastructures and encourage their expansion MSIT Information Session 2017

Why an MSIT degree? [1/6] Lots of demand! IT jobs among the top-5 of many Department of Labor listings 2016 Salary Guide for Technology Professionals: So many jobs, so few applicants MSIT Information Session 2017

Why an MSIT degree? [2/6] Hot industries for IT hiring: financial, healthcare, telecommunication, managed services, … Tech roles in demand: developers, system engineers, system administrators, … Pay at or above market salaries for top talent (a KU degree will help!) MSIT Information Session 2017

Why an MSIT degree? [3/6] MSIT Information Session 2017

Why an MSIT degree? [4/6] In response to demands by commercial, industrial, and government organizations Studies show that the demands cannot be met by CS or graduate programs alone According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment opportunities in information technology (IT) will be among the fastest growing in the U.S. for many years to come MSIT Information Session 2017

Why an MSIT degree? [5/6] MSIT Information Session 2017

Why an MSIT degree? [3/4] The Kansas DoL top-10 “hot jobs” include four IT-related jobs Network and data communication systems Computer software engineers (applications) Computer software engineers (systems) Computer systems analysts Network/System Admins http://www.dol.ks.gov Kansas Economic Report: Three of top five fastest growing occupations are IT-based KC: A Smart City MSIT Information Session 2017

Why an MSIT degree? [6/6] A KU degree Based on existing students’ input To update, gain, and enhance knowledge (advancement, promotion) To have an advanced degree (for marketability) To have a newer, IT/computing degree (for marketability) A KU degree From the School of Engineering EECS MSIT Information Session 2017

What it is Approved in 2006 Targets the professional community in the KC metro area A hybrid (unification) of computer science, software engineering, computer networking, cyber security, project management Offered in its entirety at the KU Edwards Campus; all courses are offered during evenings Web address: it.eecs.ku.edu/MSIT MSIT Information Session 2017

What it is not Not a computer science program Not an MBA/MIS program Some managerial contents but mostly technical MSIT Information Session 2017

The student body 40+ students in the program Some 70+ have graduated Garmin, Cerner, Sprint, Honeywell, Hallmark, IBM, smaller companies (e.g., the PP) MSIT Information Session 2017

The EECS MSIT faculty EECS Faculty at the KU Edwards Campus Fengjun Li (Ph.D., Penn State) Bo Luo (Ph.D., Penn State) Hossein Saiedian (Ph.D., Kansas State), Assoc Chair, Director of MSIT Program, Academic Advisor James Sterbenz, Ph.D., Washington University (St. Louis) MSIT Information Session 2017

The MSIT administrative staff Ms. Pam Shadoin (application processing) Ms. Parveen Mozaffar (assistance with admission, recruiting, promotional meetings) MSIT Information Session 2017

Other KUEC EECS members Responsible for the BSIT program Tim Johnson (MS, Kansas State), faculty Rassul Saeedipour (MS, Univ of Nebraska), faculty Annette Tetmeyer (MS, KU; ABD, CS, KU), faculty MSIT Information Session 2017

Admission requirements Same as other EECS MS degrees An undergraduate degree in engineering, science, mathematics, business 3.0+ GPA Acceptable GRE scores 146+ verbal, 155+ quantitative, and 4.0 analytical TOEFL score (international applicants) 600+ paper-based exam, 250+ computer-based exam, 100+ internet-based exam, or IELTS 6.0+ MSIT Information Session 2017

Completion requirements Same as other EECS MS degrees Two options Course-only: 30 credit hours Thesis option: 8 courses (24 hours) and a MS thesis (6 hours) All courses meet during evenings Each course meets once a week MSIT Information Session 2017

Course and focus area requirements Choose a focus areas Cyber security (also offered as a certificate degree) Software engineering (also offered as a certificate degree) IT project management For each focus area Take five core (required) courses Take five elective courses MSIT Information Session 2017

Focus area: Software Engineering and Management Focuses on industrial-strength practices and modern concepts and methodologies in software development, management and maintenance; advance courses on software architecture, software quality assurance, requirements engineering, and project management MSIT Information Session 2017

Focus area: Software Engineering and Management Required (core) courses EECS810: Principles of Software Engineering EECS814: Software Quality Assurance EECS818: Software Architecture EECS780: Computer Networks EECS811: IT Project Management Elective courses (select five): EECS746: Database Management Systems EECS710: Information Security and Assurance EECS714: Information Security and Cyber Laws EECS711: Security Management and Audit EECS712: Network Security EMGT806: Finance for Engineers EMGT821: Strategic Analysis of Technology Projects MSIT Information Session 2017

Focus area: Information Security and Assurance Focuses on technical knowledge and practical skills in the science and methodologies for identifying important information assets, securing and protecting such assets, and assuring their availability for authorized users MSIT Information Session 2017

Focus area: Information Security and Assurance Required (core) courses EECS710: Information Security and Assurance EECS711: Security Management and Audit EECS712: Network Security EECS780: Communication Networks EECS811: IT Project Management Electives course(select five) EECS746: Database Management Systems EECS714: Information Security and Cyber Laws EECS810: Principles of Software Engineering EECS814: Software Quality Assurance EECS818: Software Architecture EMGT806: Finance for Engineers EMGT821: Strategic Analysis of Technology Projects MSIT Information Session 2017

Focus area: IT Project Management Focuses on managing IT projects: planning, scheduling, risk management, cost and effort estimation, personnel management, stakeholder management, procurement management, communication management; finances and strategic management of IT projects, heavily uses the PMBOK concepts MSIT Information Session 2017

Focus area: IT Project Management Required (core) courses EECS811: IT Project Management EECS711: Security Management and Audit EMGT806: Finance for Engineers EMGT821: Strategic Analysis of Technology Projects EECS810: Principles of Software Engineering Electives course: five of the following courses EECS746: Database Management Systems EECS710: Information Security and Assurance EECS712: Network Security EECS714: Information Security and Cyber Laws EECS780: Communication Networks EECS814: Software Quality Assurance EECS818: Software Architecture MSIT Information Session 2017

Two new options Graduate certificate in software engineering Graduate certificate in information security Four courses Why certificates? Less stringent admission requirements Quicker completion time Not interested in a degree but only in the above competencies MSIT Information Session 2017

Software engineering certificate EECS810: Principles of Software Engineering EECS814: Software Quality Assurance EECS818: Software Architecture EECS811: IT Project Management MSIT Information Session 2017

Cyber security certificate EECS 710: Information Security and Assurance EECS 711: Security Management and Audit EECS 712: Network Security and its Application Elective Courses (one of the following courses) EECS 811: IT Project Management EECS714: Information Security and Cyber Laws EECS 780: Communication Networks MSIT Information Session 2017

KU in Overland Park classrooms State of the art of classrooms (fully equipped with computers, projectors, DVD and VCR players, sound system, accessible network files, Internet access, HDMI connections, etc) MSIT Information Session 2017

KU in Overland Park resources Several computing labs KU Writing Lab (www.writing.ku.edu) Offer help in writing thesis and technical papers KUEC Library Course reserves Request materials: articles, books, theses, dissertations, …, from Lawrence or elsewhere Student union/bookstore (Jayhawk Central) ACM Digital Library (portal.acm.org) IEEE Xplore (ieeexplore.ieee.org) MSIT Information Session 2017

Concluding remarks The MSIT degree provides an opportunity for the KC metro professionals to enhance their careers without interrupting it! An MS degree from KU is a prestigious degree and highly respected locally, regionally, and nationally The degree is prestigious, but it is also challenging and requires hard work and dedicated efforts Mutually very enjoyable and rewarding Questions and feedback are welcome MSIT Information Session 2017