Software and Information Systems

 

Software and Information Systems

Location: Cameron Applied Research Center 305

704-687-4770

http://www.sis.uncc.edu

 

Degree

M.S.I.T., Graduate Certificates

 

Coordinator

Dr. William J. Tolone

 

Graduate Faculty

Professors

Bei-Tseng "Bill" Chu

Yuliang Zheng

 

Associate Professor

William J. Tolone

 

Assistant Professors

Gail-Joon Ahn

ByungHoon “Brent” Kang

Seok-Won Lee

Zhaoyu “Alex” Liu

Anita Raja

Yongge Wang

David Wilson

 

Adjuncts

J. Foley, T. Inskeep, T. Kitrick, F. Williams,  J. Zhao

 

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

 

The objective of the information technology program leading to the Master of Science degree is to provide advanced skills and knowledge in the planning, design, implementation, testing, and management of applications of computing and communication technologies for business, industry, government, and other organizations.

 

The primary areas of interest are: information security and privacy, information and infrastructure assurance, information integration, software engineering, intelligent information environment and pervasive computing applications, and knowledge management.

 

Additional Admission Requirements

1)       In addition to the general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, the program requires applicants to have completed undergraduate course work, or equivalent, in an object-oriented programming language (e.g., C++ or Java) and in data structures with a minimum grade average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

2)       Students must have an undergraduate grade point average of at least 2.8 (on a 4.0 point scale) and a junior/senior GPA of at least 3.0.

3)       A satisfactory score on the aptitude portion of the Graduate Record Examination or Graduate Management Admission Test is required.

 

Degree Requirements

A total of 30 graduate credit hours are required.

 

Required Courses

MBAD6121   Business Information Systems

ITIS5160        Applied Databases (please note that ITCS 6160 can be a substitute for ITIS 5160)

ITIS6177        Systems Integration

ITIS6342        Project Management

 

One of

ITIS 6112       Software System Design and Implementation

MBAD6202   Business Information Systems Development

 

One of

ITIS 5166       Network-based application development

MBAD6125   Business Data Communications

 

*Important prerequisite considerations for required courses:

ITIS 6177 requires ITIS 5166 and ITIS 5160 as prerequisites.

MBAD 6124 requires MBAD 6121 as a prerequisite.

 

Concentration Requirement

Each student must also complete a three-course (nine credit hours) sequence in an approved concentration area. Other concentration areas are possible with the approval of the MSIT Program Coordinator. In addition, the MSIT Program Coordinator can approve substitution of courses within approved concentrations. Details on concentration requirements are available on the department website and at the department office. Current concentrations include:

1)       Advanced Data and Knowledge Discovery

2)       Financial Service

3)       Information Security and Privacy

4)       Information Technology Management

5)       Management

6)       Marketing

7)       Software Systems Design and Engineering

 

Master’s Thesis Option

Students may elect to complete a master thesis (6 credit hours).

 

Assistantships

Financial assistance for qualified students is available on a competitive basis in the form of graduate teaching and research assistantships. The deadline for graduate teaching assistantship applications is March 31 for the following academic year.

 

Practica

Students can elect to participate in a practica (ITIS 6198).

 

CERTIFICATE IN INFORMATION SECURITY AND PRIVACY

 

The purpose of the Certificate in Information Security and Privacy is to meet the needs of persons who are interested in pursuing a career in this important area of Information Technology. The proposed certificate program may also serve the education needs of IT-related professionals in the Charlotte area seeking more advanced knowledge of this fast growing field. The certificate requires 12 hours of coursework. The certificate may be pursued concurrently with a related graduate degree program at UNC-Charlotte.

 

Admission Requirements

For admission into the certificate program, applicants must meet the following requirements:

1)       Applicant should hold a Bachelor's degree in a computer science, IT, mathematics, scientific, engineering, or business discipline.

2)       Applicant must demonstrated knowledge of a modern object-oriented programming language such as C++ or Java, and a background in data structures.

3)       Applicants must either be enrolled and in good standing in a graduate degree program at UNC Charlotte, or have an undergraduate overall GPA above 2.8 (on a 4.0 scale) and a junior/senior GPA above 3.0.

Applicants are required to submit a brief (one-to-two page) statement of educational and work experiences. Application for this certificate program is made through the Office of Graduate Admissions. (Note: the admission process for the Certificate is separate from the admission process for the MS degree.)

 

Coursework Requirements

1) Take the following core course:

ITIS6200        Information Security and Privacy (3)

2) Take three courses from the following elective courses1:

ITIS5250        Computer Forensics (3)

ITIS6210        Access Control and Security Architecture (3)

ITIS6220        Information and System Assurance (3)

ITIS6230        Information and Infrastructure Protection (3)

ITIS6240        Applied Cryptography (3)

ITIS6362        Information Technology: Ethics, Policy and Security (3)

ITIS6167        Information and Network Security (3)

ITIS6140        Software Testing and Quality Assurance (3)

ITIS6198        IT internship projects

One of

ITIS5166        Network-based Application Development (3)

ITCS6166       Computer Communication Networks (3)

1 Other course options may be available, please contact the program coordinator.

 

All requirements must be completed within four years from enrollment in the first certificate course. Courses taken in one certificate program may not be counted toward a second certificate.

 

CERTIFICATE IN MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

 

The Certificate in Management of Information Technology meets the demand for a growing number of individuals who are working in an IT related discipline and are interested in acquiring some formal IT training for career or educational purposes. The Certificate requires 15 hours of coursework. Some of the courses (indicated by asterisks) require substantial programming prerequisites.

 

Additional Admission Requirements

For admission, applicants must hold a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution and meet the admission requirements of the UNC Charlotte Graduate School. Applicants must have an undergraduate overall GPA above 2.8 (on a 4.0 scale) and a junior/senior GPA above 3.0. Applicants must also have working knowledge of applications of Information Technology. (Note: the admission process for the Certificate is separate from the admission process for the MS degree.)

 

Core Requirements

Both of the following courses are required:

ITIS6342        Information Technology Project Management (3)

ITIS6362        Information Technology: Ethics, Policy, and Security (3)

 

One of the following courses is required depending on student interests and/or background:

HADM6152   Information Resource Management (3)

MBAD6121   Business Information Systems (3)

MPAD6160    Information Systems in Public Administration (3)

 

Two electives from the following list is required:

ITIS6200        Principles of Information Security and Privacy (3)

ITIS6230        Information and Infrastructure Protection (3)

ITIS6112*      Software System Design and Implementation (3)

ITIS5160*      Applied Database (3)

ITIS5166*      Network Based Application Development (3)

GEOG6615   Advanced Seminar in Spatial Decision Support Systems (4)

INFO6352     Electronic Commerce (3)

MBAD6122   Technology-Enhanced Decision Making (3)

MBAD6202   Business Information Systems Development (3)

* Requires knowledge of object-oriented programming language (e.g. Java), and data structures.

 

All requirements must be completed within four years from enrollment in the first certificate course. Courses taken in one certificate program may not be counted toward a second certificate.

 

Courses In Software And Information Systems

ITIS 5156. Computer-Aided Instruction. (3) Prerequisite: consent of the department. History of CAI; study of current CAI systems; development of man-machine dialogue; programming tools for CAI; information structures for computer-oriented learning. Advantages/disadvantages/costs of CAI. (On demand)

 

ITIS 5160. Applied Databases. (3) Prerequisites: full graduate standing, or consent of department. Identification of business database needs; requirements specification; relational database model; SQL; E-R modeling; database design, implementation, and verification; distributed databases; databases replication; object-oriented databases; data warehouses; OLAP; data mining; security of databases; vendor selection; DBMS product comparison; database project management; tools for database development, integration, and transaction control. (Fall) (Evening)

 

ITIS 5166. Network-Based Application Development. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing or consent of the department. This course examines the issues related to network based application development. Topics include introduction to computer networks, web technologies and standards, network based programming methodologies, languages, tools and standards (Spring) (Evening)

 

ITIS 5250. Computer Forensics. (3) Prerequisite: Enrollment in MS IT or Consent of the Department. The identification, extraction, documentation, interpretation, and preservation of computer media for evidentiary purposes and/or root cause analysis.  Topics include techniques for discovering digital evidence; responding to electronic incidents; tracking communications through networks; understanding electronic media, crypto-literacy, data hiding, hostile code, and Windows™ and UNIX™ system forensics; and the role of forensics in the digital environment. (On Demand)

 

ITIS 6112. Software System Design and Implementation. (3) Prerequisite: consent of the department. Introduction to the techniques involved in the planning and implementation of large software systems. Emphasis on human interface aspects of systems. Planning software projects; software design process; top-down design; modular and structured design; management of software projects; testing of software; software documentation; choosing a language for software system. (Fall) (Spring) (Evenings). This course is cross-listed with ITCS 6112.

 

ITIS 6130. Software Requirements Engineering for Information Systems. (3) Pre-requisite: Full graduate standing, or consent of the Department. Introduction to requirement engineering methodologies. Topics include: requirements elicitation, specification, and validation; structural, informational, behavioral, security, privacy, and computer user interface requirements; scenario analysis; application of object-oriented methodologies in requirements gathering; spiral development models; risk management models; software engineering maturity model. (On demand)

 

ITIS 6140. Software Testing and Quality Assurance. (3) Prerequisite: ITIS 6112 or consent of the Department. Methods for evaluating software for correctness and reliability including code inspections, program proofs and testing methodologies. Formal and informal proofs of correctness. Code inspections and their role in software verification. Unit and system testing techniques, testing tools and limitations of testing. Statistical testing, reliability models. Software engineering maturity model. (On demand)

 

ITIS 6148. Advanced OO Design and Implementation. (3) Prerequisites: ITIS 6112, or equivalent courses. This course focuses on issues related to the design, implementation, integration, and management of large object-oriented systems. Topics include: object models, object modeling, frameworks, persistent and distributed objects, and object-oriented databases. (Spring) (Alternate Years) This course is cross-listed with ITCS 6148.

 

ITIS 6162. Knowledge Discovery in Databases. (3) Prerequisite: ITCS 6160, full graduate standing, or consent of the department. The entire knowledge discovery process is covered in this course. Topics include: setting up a problem, data preprocessing and warehousing, data mining in search for knowledge, knowledge evaluation, visualization and application in decision making. A broad range of systems, such as OLAP, LERS, DatalogicR+, C4.5, AQ15, Forty-Niner, CN2, QRAS, and discretization algorithms will be covered. (Summer) (Evenings)

 

ITIS 6163. Data Warehousing. (3) Prerequisite: ITCS 6160 or equivalent. Topics include: use of data in discovery of knowledge and decision making; the limitations of relational databases and SQL queries; the warehouse data models: multidimensional, star, snowflake; architecture of data warehouse and the process of warehouse construction; data consolidation from various sources; optimization; techniques for data transformation and knowledge extraction; relations with enterprise modeling. (On demand) This course is cross-listed as ITCS 6163.

 

ITIS 6164. Online-Info Systems. (3) Prerequisites: ITCS 6114 or consent of the department. The fundamental concepts and philosophy of planning and implementing an on-line computer system. Characteristics of on-line systems; hardware requirements; modeling of on-line systems; performance measurement; language choice for on-line systems; organization techniques, security requirements; resource allocation. (On demand)

 

ITIS 6167. Network and Information Security. (3) Prerequisite: ITCS 6166 or ITIS 5166 or equivalent. This course examines the issues related network and information security. Topics include concepts, security attacks and risks, security architectures, security policy management, security mechanisms, cryptographic algorithms, security standards, security system interoperation and case studies of the current major security systems. (Fall) (Evening)

 

ITIS 6177. System Integration. (3) Prerequisite: ITIS 5166 and ITIS 5160, or equivalents. This course examines the issues related to system integration. Topics include: data integration, business process integration, integration architecture, middleware, system security, and system management. (Fall) (Evening)

 

ITIS 6198. IT Project. (3) Prerequisite: consent of the department. Complete a team-based project that is originated from an IT organization and approved by the department.

 

ITIS 6200. Principles of Information Security and Privacy. (3) Prerequisite: Consent of the department. Topics include security concepts and mechanisms; security technologies; authentication mechanisms; mandatory and discretionary controls; basic cryptography and its applications; intrusion detection and prevention; information systems assurance; anonymity and privacy issues for information systems. (Fall, Spring) (Evening)

 

ITIS 6210. Access Control and Security Architecture. (3) Prerequisite: ITIS 6200. This course discusses objectives, formal models, and mechanisms for access control; and access control on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) systems. This course also examines the issues related to security architectures and technologies for authorization. Topics include cryptographic infrastructure, distributed systems security architectures, Internet security architectures, network security architectures and e-commerce security architectures. (Spring) (Evening)

 

ITIS 6220. Information and System Assurance. (3) Prerequisite: ITIS 6200. This course examines the issues related to information and system assurance. Topics include security policy, security threats/vulnerabilities/risks/incidents, assurance requirement, assurance class, evaluation methods and assurance maintenance. (On demand) (Evening)

 

ITIS 6230. Information Infrastructure Protection. (3) Prerequisite: ITIS 6200. This course discusses methodologies, tools, and technologies that are important for protecting information systems and information infrastructures. Topics covered include: techniques, processes and methodologies for information security risk assessment and management, tools and technologies for critical infrastructure protection, methodologies for continuous operation and recovery from disasters. (On Demand)

 

ITIS 6240. Applied Cryptography. (3) Prerequisite: Full graduate standing or consent of the department. This course provides students with an understanding of modern cryptographic techniques, algorithms and protocols that are of fundamental importance to the design and implementation of security critical applications. The course not only covers standard cryptographic techniques, but also exposes students to the latest advances in applied cryptography. Topics include secret and public key ciphers, stream ciphers, one-way hashing algorithms, authentication and identification, digital signatures, key establishment and management, secret sharing and data recovery, public key infrastructures, and efficient implementation. (On demand)

 

ITIS 6342. Information Technology Project Management. (3) Prerequisite: Consent of the department. Introduce the student to problems associated with managing information technology projects involving, particularly, integration of systems, development of client-specific solutions, and project justification. The course will move beyond the classic techniques of project management and integrate communication software/systems, multi-site, multi-client facilities projects, cultural issues involved with managing interdisciplinary teams, and the effect of rapid technological obsolescence on project justification, funding and continuance. (Offered: Spring)

 

ITIS 6362. Information Technology Ethics, Policy, and Security. (3) Prerequisite: HADM 6152 or MBAD 6121 or MPAD 6120. Management of Information technology involves understanding the broader issues of ethics, Policy and Security. The growth in Internet usage and E-commerce require IT professionals to consider issues pertaining to data protection, regulation, and appropriate use and dissemination of information. The course is designed to be team-taught by professionals in the field. (Offered: Fall)

 

ITIS 6880. Individual Study. (1-3) Prerequisites: At least 9 graduate ITCS/ITCS hours and consent of department. With the direction of a faculty member, students plan and implement appropriate objectives and learning activities to develop specific areas of expertise through research, reading, and individual projects. May be repeated for credit. (On demand)

 

ITIS 6991. Graduate Master Thesis Research. (1-6) Prerequisite: HADM 6152 or MBAD 6121 or MPAD 6120. Management of Information technology involves understanding the broader issues of ethics, Policy and Security. The growth in Internet usage and E-commerce require IT professionals to consider issues pertaining to data protection, regulation, and appropriate use and dissemination of information. The course is designed to be team-taught by professionals in the field. (Fall)