OverviewDirector's Welcome
In the mid-1990s, as now, technology was moving at a rapid pace. For IT practitioners, there was a need not only to keep up with the latest technologies, but also to manage those technologies and to understand the business principles behind corporate decision-making. While business schools were teaching core management and financial principles, and engineering schools were conducting in-depth technological research, few programs were able to bridge the worlds of technology and business.
Dr. C. C. Lee, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Northwestern University, realized the need for a graduate program that could fill this gap between what IT practitioners needed and what graduate schools were providing. Through discussions with students and his consulting work with major technology companies, it became apparent that there was a need and a demand for a graduate program that could teach core engineering and technology principles while teaching students the fundamental business knowledge they would need to better manage technology. This led to the creation of the Master of Science in Information Technology program, which enrolled its first class of students in Fall 1996.
Information Technology (IT) has become critical for almost every industry and has enabled the creation of entirely new businesses. The importance of IT is expected to continue to increase as rapid developments in the underlying technology create new opportunities for the creation, acquisition and processing of information. The MSIT program is a professional Master’s Degree aimed at training working professionals in the IT area to become leaders in their field. It is a technical program covering computer and networks technology as well as key business elements involving finance, marketing, and project management. Since IT is pervasive in all industries, the Program enrolls professionals from the finance, health care, education, manufacturing, telecommunications, consulting, and insurance areas to name a few.
With an innovative 70% technical/30% business curriculum, the MSIT has maintained its belief that in order to manage information technology successfully, one must understand first how that technology works. Because the engineering principles behind any technology remain unchanged, courses such as Telecommunications Engineering and Communication Networks are the backbone of the program. Newer courses such as Law of IT, Virtualization and Nanotechnology reflect the efforts of the MSIT to meet the evolving needs of its students and of industry.
Since its inception, the MSIT has graduated more than 360 IT professionals now spread across the U.S and internationally. Our students come from all industries, all types of positions and all educational backgrounds. What ties them together is a common interest in learning how to connect the technical needs of an organization with its overall business strategies and the desire to better manage technology by understanding how it works.
Sincerely,
From the Director
Abraham Haddad,
Director, M.S. in Information Technology (formerly MITP)
Henry and Isabelle Dever Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
