Graduate

Masters of Science in Information Technology

DEGREE INFORMATION

Priority Admission Application Deadlines

Fall Semester: February 15
Spring Semester: October 15
Summer: No admit

International applicant deadlines

Minimum Total Hours: 30 (non-thesis)
Level: Masters
CIP Code: 11.0103
Dept Code: EIT
Major/College Codes: ITC / EN
Approved: Spring 2014

Also offered as an Accelerated Major

Computer Engineering (BSCP) / Information Technology (MSIT)

CONTACT INFORMATION

College: Engineering
Department: Computer Science and Engineering
Contact Information

MAJOR INFORMATION

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering offers a non‐thesis option for the degree of Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT). The MSIT graduate will demonstrate strong information technology skills as well as problem solving skills needed for the deployment of technology solutions to achieve business and organizational goals. The degree is available in an hybrid mode (online and face to face), and provides students with a broad and integrative understanding of both technology and operational and strategic business and organizational applications. There is considerable freedom in the choice of the courses.

The breadth of subjects which are part of information technology together with the immense diversity of its applications, make it imperative that students in the Master's major maintain close contact with the Graduate Program Director, in order to achieve a coherent plan of study directed towards a specific goal. In particular, election of courses should only be made with prior consultation and approval of the Major Professor or the Graduate Program Director.

ADMISSIONS INFORMATION

Must meet University requirements (see Graduate Admissions) as well as requirements for admission to the major, listed below.

  • The GRE is required for all MSIT applicants. For GRE tests taken after August 1, 2011, we require a minimum of 161 on the Quantitative portion (81 percentile) and a minimum of 150 (44 percentile) on the Verbal. The GRE will be waived for MS degree applicants with an undergraduate degree from an ABET-accredited United States program or for those applicants that show a minimum of 3 years of relevant and recent full-time professional experience in the U.S.
  • Minimum grade point average (GPA) of "B" (or equivalent) for all coursework completed during the last two (2) years of undergraduate major.
  • Submission of TOEFL scores with an Internet-based score of 79 or higher for applicants from non-English speaking countries. If consideration of an assistantship is desired, the speaking score component of the TOEFL must be 26 or above. The TOEFL requirements for admission may be waived if the applicant meets one of the following conditions:Three (3) letters of recommendation.
    • Has scored 500 or higher on the GRE Verbal Test (Old Scores) or 153 with the New GRE scoring.
    • Has earned a college degree at a U.S. institution of higher learning.
    • Has scored 6.5 on International English Language Testing System,(IELTS).
  • Three (3) letters of recommendation. 
  • Statement of purpose.
  • Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or a closely related field; or a bachelor's degree in another field, plus satisfactory completion of the courses listed below under "Undergraduate Prerequisites."
  • Evidence of completion of a defined subset of the required core courses found in the University of South Florida's Bachelor of Science in Information Technology degree program or their equivalent (see "Undergraduate Prerequisites" below).

Undergraduate Prerequisites

To be successful in this major, an applicant should have certain base knowledge in the discipline demonstrated from undergraduate-level pre-requisite courses including:

  • COP 2512 Programming Fundamentals for Information Technology
  • COP 2513 Object-Oriented Programming for Information Technology
  • COP 3515 Programming Design for Information Technology
  • COP 4703 Database Systems for Information Technology
  • CEN 4031 Software Engineering Concepts for Information Technology
  • EEL 4854/4935 Selected Topics: IT Data Structures & Algorithms for Information Technology

The student should have taken these courses or their equivalent prior to beginning graduate coursework. All prerequisite courses are available online. Professional experience in information technology is typically focused on specific projects or systems, and is not as broad as the treatment of a topic one receives in a course. Therefore, except in unusual circumstances, professional experience cannot substitute for any of the above prerequisite courses.

CURRICULUM REQUIREMENTS

Total Minimum Hours: 30 hours
Core Requirements Hours: 9 hours

CEN 6084 Advances in Object Oriented Programming for IT 3
CIS 6930 Selected Topic: Penetration Testing for IT (Previously named Ethical Hacking for IT) 3
ISM 6218 Advanced Database Management 3

Electives

Select seven (7) of the following courses, or other graduate course as approved by the Graduate Program Director. With prior permission from the Graduate Program Director, students can take a maximum of three (3) hours of Independent Study or Internship and up to 12 credit hours outside of the major, as follows: three (3) credit hours from the MSCS/MSCE majors; three (3) credit hours outside of the Department (e.g. EE, IE, Math); three (3) credit hours on business practice, project management, leadership, entrepreneurship, or similar; and three (3) credit hours on big data, data analytics, data mining or similar.

CAP 6663 IT Robotics Applications 3
CGS 6842 IT & Systems for E-Business 3
CIS 6930 Selected Topics: Software Development for Mobile Devices 3
CIS 6930 Selected Topics: Human Computer Interaction 3
CIS 6930 Selected Topics: Cloud Computing for IT 3
CIS 6930 Selected Topics: Networks II 3
CIS 6930 Selected Topics: Practical Cybersecurity 3
CIS 6930 Selected Topics: Introduction to Hadoop and Big Data 3
CIS 6930 Selected Topics: Software Development for Mobile Devices 3
ISM 6136 Data Mining 3
ISM 6137 Statistical Data Mining 3
ISM 6145 Seminar on Software Testing 3
ISM 6155 Enterprise Information Systems Management 3
ISM 6266 Software Architecture 3
CIS 6900 Independent Study 1-19
CIS 6946 Internships/Practicums/Clinical Practice 0-3

Note: ISM prefix courses are offered by the Department of Information Systems / Decision Sciences (College of Business).

Comprehensive Exam

The requirement for a comprehensive exam is satisfied by the successful completion of the comprehensive exam, an exam that students will take in the semester prior to the semester in which they intend to graduate.

Thesis / Non-Thesis

This is a non-thesis major.

Graduation Requirements

Students must obtain a letter "B" or better in the core graduate courses, have a GPA of 3.00 or better, and pass the comprehensive exam.

See USF Course Inventory