The MSIT is a 100% online, instructor-led degree program. Its convenient format enables students to continue working while earning their degree and to apply what they learn in the classroom to their work environment.
The program begins with a two-week orientation. Learn more about the orientation, online learning activities and program structure on our admissions requirements page.
Instructional Excellence
Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems faculty members developed many of the online MSIT courses with input from industry professionals and, in keeping with higher education best practices, the school encourages faculty to both adhere to a syllabus and to bring their own interests and passion to the courses they teach.
Our students partner with faculty on research, in collaboration with:
- Top agencies to solve problems including mobile forensics, skimmer fraud and biometrics
- Corporations and startups to address IT challenges including e-commerce and cloud computing
Designated by the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education (CAE-CDE), all of the School’s cybersecurity courses map to the rigorous standards established by these agencies.
Customization
Students are required to take 30 credits to complete the MSIT. The program requires three core courses, four courses in the Cybersecurity or Network Administration specialization, two additional electives, and a Capstone Project course.
The online MSIT provides students with the opportunity to customize their education to meet their specific needs and career goals. Academic advisors work closely with students to create a personalized academic plan. A broad array of electives enables students to bridge knowledge gaps, acquire specialized knowledge, gain broader exposure to the IT ecosystem, or get a leg up on emerging industry trends.
Capstone
The program culminates with a Capstone Project, giving students the opportunity to delve into an area of interest with the enthusiastic support of one of our distinguished faculty members; Jonathan Lee teaches the Capstone Project course, which many students report is a highlight of their Seidenberg School education.
Students learn the importance of a systematic approach in the process of developing computer information systems. For this project, student teams develop real-world computer information systems for actual customers. By working on real-world systems with actual customers, the students learn the appropriate skills—both technical and soft—for filling meaningful roles in the professional IT workplace.
Learn more about the Capstone Project.
MSIT: Core Courses
This course introduces students to computer networking, the OSI network reference model, TCP/IP, and the Web architecture. It also includes an overview of operating system (both Windows and Linux) security, network security, Web security, social engineering, and legal and ethical issues.
This course introduces students to database concepts, SQL, and Web based database design. The major goal is to provide students with an understanding of the basic concepts underlying the use of a database system. A database management system will be used as a vehicle for illustrating some of the concepts discussed in the course.
This course combines project management methods and structured systems development techniques and applies them to the complex world of information systems development. The central project management functions of planning, organizing and controlling are presented in the context of the systems development process. Topics include project planning, estimating, testing, implementation, documentation, management of change, utilization of services consultants, software houses, turn-key systems and proprietary software packages.
This course covers concepts of Web computing, layered Web architecture, website structure, and creating websites with Content Management Systems (CMS). It also addresses enabling and managing social networking features, including blogging, polling, discussion forums, and RSS publishing. For the course project, each student designs and implements an effective corporate website for a fictitious company.
This course provides an introduction to programming with Python, and shows how to use Python to retrieve and visualize data. No prior programming experience is assumed. Topics include data structures in Python, control flow statements such as if-then-else and for loops, functions, accessing data from the web and from databases, and visualizing data.
*Core courses can also be used as electives in consultation with a faculty advisor.
Cybersecurity Courses (12 credits)
This course covers the most important issues and topics in computer and network security. Topics include encryption techniques (DES, AES, contemporary symmetric ciphers, public key cryptography and RSA); message authentication and hash functions; digital signatures and authentication protocols; IP security (IPsec); SNMP vulnerabilities; e-mail security; secure socket layer (SSL) and transport layer security; Web security; intruders; malicious software; and firewalls.
This course covers technologies for securing e-commerce Web applications against vicious hacker attacks in both business-to-client (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) environments. Server-side topics include Web server security, Web service security, secure transactions, intrusion detection, access control, firewall management, log analysis, SSL, digital certificate generation, and defense against attacks such as denial-of-service. Client-side topics include the applet sandbox security model, digital certificate management, cookie management, and defense against attacks like virus and JavaScript-enabled spoofing. Data security topics include cryptography basics, non-repudiation, dematerialized moneys, virtual purses, EDI and its security, and defense against various e-commerce frauds.
This course provides a general overview of the theory and application of information warfare and forensic computing. The background information on information warfare highlights the inherent problems in today’s computing environment and indicates the necessity of forensics to complement computer security. The course focuses on information warfare arsenal and tactics, defensive strategies, and causalities; network surveillance tools for information warfare; fundamentals of computer forensics; computer forensics services and technologies; search and seizure; data recovery and identification and digital evidence collection, duplication, and preservation; computer image verification and authentication; reconstruction of past events; legal issues; and advanced topics in forensics.
This course discusses information security from organizational and managerial perspectives. For an organization, information security is a continuous management process. Security technology alone cannot facilitate this process without security professionals being aware of the tradeoffs and various policy issues embedded in this process. This course will provide students with a background in managing information security in organizations. Topics include risk identification and assessment, security policy and planning, personnel and security, privacy, security auditing, and legal issues.
The field of mobile forensics has expanded over the past few years as more of our lives are captured on smartphones and other mobile devices. This course will provide students with an overview of cellular networks and the various devices that operate on these networks. Moreover, an in-depth analysis of the file systems and operating systems, including the iOS and Android platforms will be explained. Students will have the opportunity to use professional mobile forensic tools utilized to examine mobile telephones, SIM cards, media cards and synced data on paired computers in a forensic manner. The course will introduce students to professional investigation techniques, legal procedures and reporting standards necessary to build a successful case. Other topics in the course will include investigations involving tablet computers, digital cameras, multimedia players and Global Positioning System (GPS) electronics.
Network Administration Courses (12 credits)
This course covers the most important issues and topics in computer and network security. Topics include encryption techniques (DES, AES, contemporary symmetric ciphers, public key cryptography and RSA); message authentication and hash functions; digital signatures and authentication protocols; IP security (IPsec); SNMP vulnerabilities; e-mail security; secure socket layer (SSL) and transport layer security; Web security; intruders; malicious software; and firewalls.
Cloud computing involves running applications on infrastructure other than your own. By going on the cloud, businesses decrease the expense involved in maintaining and managing their own data centers, not only in terms of hardware and software but also personnel.
This course will cover fundamental topics such as IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, virtualization, and multi-tenancy. Students will learn common cloud platforms, tools, and technology with a focus on Google App Engine. They will do hands-on app development locally on their machine using Python programming language and, when ready, upload their apps to Google data centers.
Knowledge of programming is assumed but Python will be covered from the beginning.
Principles of managerial accounting, financial analysis and project management are introduced and applied to the planning, implementation and operation of telecommunications systems.
This course develops foundational understanding of networking fundamentals and advanced concepts with hands-on practice and simulations to develop student’s skills with real-world application of modern telecommunication problems plaguing today’s corporations. The Introduction to Networks component of this course provides a comprehensive overview of networking; from fundamentals to advanced applications and services. This course emphasizes theoretical concepts and practical application, while providing opportunities for students to gain the skills and hands-on experience needed to design, install, operate, and maintain networks in small-to-medium businesses, as well as enterprise and service provider environments. The Routing and Switching component of the course describes the architecture, components, and operations of routers and switches in simple networks. Students learn how to configure and troubleshoot routers and switches for basic functionality.
Capstone Project (3 credits)
All students are required to complete the Capstone Project course as the culmination of their MSIT.
In this project-oriented course, student teams develop real-world computer information systems for actual customers. Students learn the importance of a systematic approach in the process of developing robust computer information systems, the management of projects, how to interact with customers and conduct requirements analysis, and the technical and soft skills required. Emphasis is placed on developing skills and knowledge in technical areas that have real value in the workplace.
Depending on the nature of a project, the technical skills can involve e-commerce and Internet technologies, security testing, client-server systems, especially those with Web interfaces to backend databases, relational databases, Web design and interfaces. In addition to technical skills, students develop problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, and teamwork skills. By working on real-world systems with actual customers, the students learn the appropriate skills–both technical and soft–for filling meaningful roles in the professional IT workplace.
Elective Courses (6 credits)
Students, in consultation with their advisor, may choose two courses for a total of six credits from the following list of suggested IT courses, provided they have taken the prerequisites. Alternatively, they may choose any Seidenberg School graduate course or any Lubin School of Business graduate course (MBA/MGT/MAR), provided they have taken the prerequisites and have obtained the chair’s approval.
This course introduces students to database concepts, SQL, and Web-based database design. The major goal is to provide students with an understanding of the basic concepts underlying the use of a database system. A database management system will be used as a vehicle for illustrating some of the concepts discussed in the course.
This course combines project management methods and structured systems development techniques and applies them to the complex world of information systems development. The central project management functions of planning, organizing and controlling are presented in the context of the systems development process. Topics include project planning, estimating, testing, implementation, documentation, management of change, utilization of services consultants, software houses, turn-key systems and proprietary software packages.
This course covers concepts of Web computing, layered Web architecture, website structure, and creating websites with Content Management Systems (CMS). It also addresses enabling and managing social networking features, including blogging, polling, discussion forums, and RSS publishing. For the course project, each student designs and implements an effective corporate website for a fictitious company.
This course provides an introduction to programming with Python and shows how to use Python to retrieve and visualize data. No prior programming experience is assumed. Topics include data structures in Python, control flow statements such as if-then-else and for loops, functions, accessing data from the web and from databases, and visualizing data.
Specifying web presentation structure with HTML5. Embedding contents. Working with JavaScript objects and input validation. Specifying web styles with CSS3. Working with tables. Creating dynamic and client/server features with jQuery. Implementing web service features through Node.js. Asynchronous operations using jQuery and WinJS. Communicating by using WebSocket. Supporting multimedia. Drawing using scalable vector graphics. Dragging and dropping files. Making website location-aware.
Introduction to .NET Web technologies through C# .NET for people with basic programming skill. Topics include object-oriented programming, exception handling, delegate, multithreading, graphic user interface, Web programming with ASP .NET, database programming with ADO .NET, Web services, and Microsoft Visual Studio .NET IDE.
Integrated hands-on coverage of fundamental concepts and technologies for enterprise and Internet computing. Topics include data storage; XML data specification, parsing and validation; data and language translation; networking and Web technology overview; software framework technology for controlling software system complexity; and a roadmap for the enterprise computing technologies.
While the corporate world is flooded by data, it is very rare where you see knowledge or valuable information. Data mining is what a corporation needs to generate business value, the bottom line of its existence. This course will present the techniques and tools needed to search for significant patterns and trends in large databases. The course will present Data Mining is a Knowledge Discovery methodology that involves nontrivial extraction of implicit, previously unknown, and potentially useful information from data. The course will also discuss machine learning, statistical and visualization techniques to discovery and present knowledge in a form which is easily comprehensible to humans.
The World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) extensible Markup Language (XML) has rapidly emerged as a standard that is used in a wide variety of applications related to Web and e-Commerce. This course starts with basics of XML and goes on to developing XML applications using the programming language Java. Knowledge of Java is assumed. The course also deals with using XML to pass data between distributed Java applications.
Cloud computing involves running applications on infrastructure other than your own. By going on the cloud, businesses decrease the expense involved in maintaining and managing their own data centers, not only in terms of hardware and software but also personnel. This course will cover fundamental topics such as IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, virtualization, and multi-tenancy. Students will learn common cloud platforms, tools, and technology with a focus on Google App Engine. They will do hands-on app development locally on their machine using Python programming language and, when ready, upload their apps to Google data centers. Knowledge of programming is assumed but Python will be covered from the beginning.
The field of mobile forensics has expanded over the past few years as more of our lives are captured on smartphones and other mobile devices. This course will provide students with an overview of cellular networks and the various devices that operate on these networks. Moreover, an in-depth analysis of the file systems and operating systems, including the iOS and Android platforms will be explained. Students will have the opportunity to use professional mobile forensic tools utilized to examine mobile telephones, SIM cards, media cards and synced data on paired computers in a forensic manner. The course will introduce students to professional investigate techniques, legal procedures and reporting standards necessary to build a successful case. Other topics in the course will include investigations involving tablet computers, digital cameras, multimedia players and Global Positioning System (GPS) electronics.
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