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

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

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

7. 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

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

9. 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
Kansas Economic Report:
Three of top five fastest
growing occupations are
IT-based
KC: A Smart City
MSIT Information Session 2017

10. 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

11. 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

12. What it is not Not a computer science program Not an MBA/MIS program
Some managerial contents but mostly technical
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13. The student body 40+ students in the program Some 70+ have graduated
Garmin, Cerner, Sprint, Honeywell, Hallmark, IBM, smaller companies (e.g., the PP)
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14. 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

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

16. 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

17. 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, internet-based exam, or IELTS 6.0+
MSIT Information Session 2017

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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
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22. 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
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23. 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

24. 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

25. 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
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26. 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
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27. Software engineering certificate
EECS810: Principles of Software Engineering
EECS814: Software Quality Assurance
EECS818: Software Architecture
EECS811: IT Project Management
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28. 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

29. 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)
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30. KU in Overland Park resources
Several computing labs
KU Writing Lab (
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)
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31. 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