M.S. in Data Analytics and Database Systems

Explores current issues in designing, managing, and securing complex, organized information systems.

For industry professionals, recent computer science graduates, as well as newcomers to the industry.

Career options include:

• Database Administrator

• Database Analyst

• Database Manager

• Database Engineer

• Database Consultant

Program Requirements

M.S. in Data Analytics and Database Systems Required Courses

MSIN 615

Database Management and Administration

This course provides students with a solid foundation in database management and design concepts and related skills. The course will explore database design techniques such as Entity Relationship modeling, normalization, database modeling/design tools such as Microsoft Visio or MySQL Workbench and UML, database implementation techniques using SQL Server Express. Students will learn how to examine user requirements and design and implement a database that supports the requirements and helps enforce the business constraints. Students will utilize various techniques to identify and correct errors that exist in proposed database designs. Students will design and implement databases and use SQL to construct simple and nested queries and inner joins to retrieve and manipulate data. Students will become familiar with SQL Server Management Studio, using it to implement and populate databases and test queries written in SQL.
Prerequisite: WMMN 607 or equivalent
3 Credits

MSIN 616

Advanced Database Management

Building on Database Management and Administration, the course explores additional data modeling techniques, concepts of database integrity and transaction management, stored procedures, user-defined functions, database programming, query optimization, performance and tuning, and other advanced SQL topics.
Prerequisite: MSIN 615
3 Credits

MSIN 620

Database Administration

This course combines lectures with hands-on labs to teach students necessary skills to administer SQL Server instances and databases. Topics covered in the class will include System Databases, Data Files, Log Files & Check Points, Memory CPU and Disk Redundancy Discussions, Functions, Stored Procedures, Triggers, indexing and query optimization, Database backup and restoration, Log Shipping, Database Mirroring, Database Replication, Database Snapshots, Security, Policy Based Management, SQL Agent & Task Scheduling/Automation, Database Maintenance Plans, Monitoring, Alerting & Tuning, New Features, Blocking Transitions & Dedicated Administrator Connection.
Prerequisite: MSIN 616
3 Credits

MSIN 626

Database Security

This course explains why database security is becoming increasingly important and critical to businesses and individuals. It demonstrates different methods/approaches that can be used to compromise the data in a database and what types of remedies can be applied. It addresses the underlying concepts of security and shows how database security can be realized by implementing Windows OS security, network security, SQL Server security and Web application security. It describes how auditing is used to help implement database security. It illustrates how a robust backup and recovery plan can help secure a database. Students will implement database security using Windows OS and SQL Server.
Prerequisites: MSIN 615 & MSIN 616
3 Credits

M.S. in Data Analytics and Database Systems Elective Courses

MSIN 623

Database Concepts for Financial Systems

Focuses on the intersection of global financial markets and database concepts. The course considers the various business processes involved that affect investors, savers, borrowers, and corporations and how global financial markets rely on data and information. Activities explored include trading, risk management, and portfolio management, among others, and the essential database concepts and data content required to support these functions.
Prerequisite: MSIN 615
3 Credits

MSIN 628

Special Topics in Databases

Explores in-depth theoretical and practical issues of advanced database management systems. The main focus is on the introduction of specific concepts, methodologies and techniques related to advanced database topics, which may include database application development, storage and indexing, transactions, query management and optimization, concurrency control, and recovery.
Prerequisite: MSIN 615
3 Credits

MSIN 630

Web Database Application Development

Introduces the principles and practice of implementing and designing medium-sized web database applications. Students learn to apply web programming technology and tools for database implementation to the web, including server-side scripting, session management, and authentication. Students also investigate Internet database application issues including database design, human computer interface (HCI) techniques, and evaluation criteria for designing good web database applications.
Prerequisite: MSIN 615
3 Credits

MSIN 632

Enterprise Data Analytics and Database Systems

The course covers conceptual understanding of the database architecture and how its components work and interact with one another. Students learn how to create an operational data warehouse and the various tools provided by Oracle to define data structures and execute SQL queries as well as stored procedures. Data warehousing concepts such as star schemas and dimensional modeling will be covered in detail. Students will also be introduced to MySQL and perform some various administrative functions using the phpMyAdmin interface for MySQL.
Pre- or Corequisite: MSIN 616
3 Credits

MSIN 633

Database Applications

Introduces the details of various database structures in several Data Analytics and Database Systems in common use in today's market, such as Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, Sybase, and DB2. The course covers the implementation of database features including indices, keys, foreign keys, triggers, cursors, stored procedures, concurrency and transaction management, among other topics. Rudimentary proprietary extensions to SQL are also studied and compared.
Pre- or Corequisite: MSIN 616
3 Credits

MSIN 634

DB2 System Administration I

Discusses the implementation of many typical database concepts using Microsoft's SQL Server database. Some basic computer science data structures and operating system concepts are covered, as well, in the context of SQL Server internals.
Pre- or Corequisite: MSIN 616
3 Credits

MSIN 637

Principles of Data Analysis

This course is a hands-on introduction to the field of Data Science where students will learn the concepts and tools needed throughout the analysis process from formulating the research question to obtaining, cleaning, and collating data to making inferences and publishing results. The students will learn these skills by attempting to answer an important financial question: Amongst the various investment strategies promoted by financial advisors, which ones are effective and under what conditions. In the process of answering this question, the students will learn how to formulate the research question in “data terms” so that it can be analyzed and identify the limitations imposed by the available data. Students will learn the basics of R programming language including data types, control structures, functions, and debugging tools. They will learn how to acquire data, clean it up by removing inconsistencies and get it into a format that can be analyzed by statistical tools. Students will study how to apply R's powerful statistical and graphical capabilities to create reproducible research. Each student will complete a final project in which he/she will analyze one investment strategy using historical financial data. This will allow students to apply their newly acquired skills to solve a meaningful problem and that can also be used to showcase their skills to potential employers.
Corequisite: MSIN 616
3 Credits

MSIN 675

Professional Internship Experience

The student will work in a professional environment, for a minimum of 480 hours over a period of at least two semesters. Students may secure an internship independently or may work with the GST Department of Career Services. Weekly logs and examples of work are required for the successful completion of the internship, and are reviewed by the Faculty Internship Coordinator, upon completion of the internship. The purpose of the internship is to provide students with practical, hands-on experience in their chosen field of expertise to complement their coursework. The Internship must be approved in advance by the program chair.
Pre- or Corequisite: Permission of the Program Chair
3 Credits

Any Other Elective Approved by the Dean

Data Analytics and Database Systems Preparatory Courses

Students with insufficient background in computer science or information systems degree, will be required to complete some or all of these courses:

MSIN 411

Computer Concepts Tutorial

The IT Essentials (ITE) curriculum emphasizes practical experience to help students develop fundamental computer and career skills. ITE helps students prepare for entry-level career opportunities in ICT and the CompTIA A+ certification. The course also provides a learning pathway to Cisco CCNA.
1 Credit

GCO 147

Computer Hardware, Software and System Security

This course provides an introduction to the computer hardware, software, and security skills needed to meet the growing demand for entry - level information technology (IT) professionals. It covers the fundamentals of PC computer technology, networking, and security with emphasis on the software portion of the CompTIA A+ 220-802 certification examination. Students develop working knowledge of how computers operate, how to assemble computers, how to troubleshoot hardware and software issues, and implement computer system security.
3 Credits

GCO 141

Introduction to Programming

This course introduces students to problem solving techniques used in programming. Students will learn object-oriented and event driven programming concepts including language constructs, logical structures, file management and error trappings. Students will program in the Alice 2.3 3-D Programming Language Environment that was specifically developed to make learning programming more accessible and exciting to students. Students will learn how to create and use objects and their properties and methods, as well as how to write code for custom object methods. Students will utilize programming control structures such as loops, selection structures, methods, and classes.
3 Credits

WMMN 607

Database Concepts and Design

This course covers the database concepts that are the foundation and building blocks of sound database design and management. It explains why good database design is critical to the accurate and efficient storage and retrieval of data. The course will explore database design techniques such as database models, database modeling/design tools using Microsoft Visio. The course identifies the functions provided by a database management system to help insure the integrity of data. It teaches students how to design a database that maximizes data integrity using normalization techniques. Students will use MS Access interface to create and populate a database. It also covers the use of SQL to create and populate tables, retrieve and update data.
3 Credits