Master of Arts
Information Technology
The
Master of Arts in Information Technology program is intended to prepare professionals in the broad field of Information Technology. In particular, the program prepares graduates to interact professionally with technologists, write about IT, manage impacts of IT on organizations or society, or evaluate IT-oriented data.
The goal of the MA in Information Technology program is to prepare someone in a non-technical position to interact effectively with the technical staff and customers. Students in the program acquire a broad range of skills including:
- The concepts, tools, and practices of information technology management
- The analysis phase of the software development life cycle
- The fundamentals of networks for voice and data communications and for the integration of voice and data streams
- The methods and problems associated with technology-triggered business transformation
- The basics of database design
- The fundamentals of project management for software systems
- The skills to acquire and analyze data
Learn more about admission to this program.
Online Learning Options
This degree can be completed entirely online. CDM online degrees are delivered mostly through
COL-enabled courses, although other delivery technologies are also used. If a course is COL-enabled, any student registered in the course has access to the course playback. Students are strongly encouraged to utilize the COL resource wherever available. To complete this degree a student may take any combination of online and on campus courses. For more information on online learning at CDM visit the
Online Learning page.
Course Requirements
Prerequisite Phase
The goal of the prerequisite phase is to give students the background necessary for starting the graduate program. These prerequisite phase requirements can be fulfilled in one of three ways:
- The student takes the course and earns a grade of B- or higher
- The student takes a Graduate Assessment Exam (GAE) to test out of the course
- The faculty advisor waives the course because of equivalent academic background or work experience.
All students are blocked from enrolling in Graduate Phase courses prior to completing their prerequisites. Students must submit an online Change of Status request (through myCDM) when the Prerequisite Phase is completed to inform the Student Services offices that the block can be removed.
| IT 130 |
| IT 223 |
| IT 230 |
| TDC 361 |
Foundation Phase
| CSC 423 |
| HCI 445 |
| HCI 440 |
| CSC 451 |
| IS 511 |
| IS 556 |
| ECT 455 |
Students in the Foundation Phase may register for a maximum of four Advanced Phase courses.
Advanced Phase
The Advanced Phase provides opportunities for breadth and depth in IT, and allows for specialized interests. Students must take
5 elective courses from the list below. A minimum of
2 courses must be taken at the 500-level.
| CSC 424 |
| CSC 428 |
| CSC 449 |
| ECT 480 |
| ECT 556 |
| ECT 565 |
| ECT 585 |
| ECT 586 |
| ECT 589 |
| HCI 450 |
| HCI 454 |
| HCI 460 |
| IPD 499 |
| IS 425 |
| IS 570 |
| IS 456 |
| IS 482 |
| IS 483 |
| IS 505 |
| IS 512 |
| IS 540 |
| IS 560 |
| IS 433 |
| IS 577 |
| IS 578 |
| IS 596 |
| ITS 560 |
| SE 430 |
| SE 477 |
| TDC 463 |
| TDC 464 |
| TDC 476 |
| TDC 511 |
| TDC 569 |
Culminating Thesis
Note This is a two-credit hour course. Students must register for this course a minimum of two times and must continue to enroll in the course in every quarter after the first quarter until the thesis is completed to the satisfaction of their supervisor. A maximum of four credit hours will apply for degree credit.
The Culminating Thesis is an independent research article that demonstrates a student's ability to integrate both technical expertise and IT domain knowledge. Normally, it is undertaken during the student's final year in the MA program.
In this work, the student is guided and assessed by a Thesis supervisor. The thesis must represent an original contribution, and may include system evaluation, empirical studies, or theoretical work. The scope and the details of the research project will be determined by the supervisor, and must be approved by the student's academic advisor.
Degree Requirements
Students in this degree program must meet the following requirements:
- complete a minimum of 52 credit hours (generally 13 courses) beyond the Prerequisite Phase
- earn a grade of B- or better in each Prerequisite Phase course
- earn a grade of C- or better in all graduate courses beyond the Prerequisite Phase
- maintain a graduate level GPA of 2.50 or higher while pursuing their degree
- achieve a graduate GPA of 2.50 or higher at the completion of all other requirements
Students with a GPA of 3.9 or higher will graduate with distinction.
For DePaul's policy on repeat graduate courses and a complete list of academic policies see the DePaul Graduate Handbook in the Course Catalog.