According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment opportunities in information technology (IT) will be among the fastest growing in the U.S. for many years to come.

KU's Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS) is now proudly offering a new Master's of Science in Information Technology (MSIT). The new program is motivated by the above statement and is a direct response to the opportunities and challenges presented by the ever expanding information technologies as it relates to economic growth of the Kansas City metropolitan area.

The MSIT program will uniquely blend graduate courses in computer science (e.g., database management systems, information retrieval, programming languages), Internet engineering, information security, and software engineering/management to offer advanced education (combined with applied research opportunities) in contemporary information technology (IT) - a kind of hybrid knowledge and expertise that is essential in making important IT decisions and contributions.

The program is aimed both at practitioners seeking to enhance and upgrade their technical knowledge, and at recent graduates in computing sciences, business information systems, and other information technology related disciplines who wish to pursue advanced studies.

The educational opportunities offered by the new degree will help the recent graduates and existing high-tech practitioners gain advanced knowledge, hence improved productivity and enhanced competitiveness. In the long-term, the educational varieties and its related applied research opportunities will help the area industries to more effectively retain their existing IT infrastructures and encourage their expansion.

The new degree reflects the KU mission statement and its commitment to offer the high quality professional and graduate programs to serve the workforce, economic and community development needs of the region.