M.S. in Technology Leadership / Project Management

Introduces the administrative concepts, the legal and financial skills, and the social and ethical issues required to successfully manage growing, complex technology organizations.

For industry professionals seeking to join the ranks of tomorrow's technology leaders.

Career options include:

• Manager

• Project Leader

• Technology Manager

• Project Executive

• CIO: Chief Information Officer

Program Requirements

M.S. in Technology Leadership Required Courses

MSIN 610

Advanced Information Technology Project Management

This Course builds on the prerequisite MSIN 609 IT Project Management by allowing the students to utilize the Project Management Best Practices that they have learned in MSIN 609 and expand their understanding with the knowledge from MSIN 610. The objective is for the student to understand how to bring order to the otherwise chaotic world of information technology projects, by defining a set of guidelines and standards, and then adhering to them. The student will learn to view Project Management as a set of tools that are an integral part of business strategy. This course will also expand the student’s knowledge of the Project Management discipline by not only having them study the Five Process Groups and Ten Knowledge areas but also the 47 individual processes that a Certified Project Manager is required to know and understand.
Prerequisite: MSIN 609
3 Credits

MSIN 611

Leadership in the Technology Organization

Frames the nature of leadership in the technology organization. Issues to be considered will include: the nature of leadership; preparing for opportunities; practices of exemplary leadership; understanding structural dynamics in technology organizations; knowledge management; using creativity to develop the right vision and strategy; leveraging the current environment to create a dynamic and sustainable culture; bad leadership and how to avoid it; fostering collaboration and preserving integrity; vendor relationship management; evolving from the change agent of today to become the technology leader of tomorrow.
Prerequisite: MSIN 605 & MSIN 609
3 Credits

MSIN 621

Budgeting and Finance for Technology Managers

All IT professionals are competing for funding, and as managers, are accountable for properly allocating these funds and delivering business value. This course will provide the IT manager with the tools and practical knowledge to succeed in the real world of “risky business”. The course will focus first on defining the role of an IT CIO, how challenges and opportunities are identified, and then on developing and managing the IT budget to ensure success.
Pre- or Corequisite: MSIN 609
3 Credits

MSIN 622

Legal, Social and Ethical Issues in Technology

Ethical and social issues in computing are areas of great importance to the field of computer science. Unlike a typical course in computer science that focuses on technical content, the moral issues that will be discussed in this course are complicated and there are no algorithms that will enable a student to solve a moral problem as easily as a binary search. In accepting the premise that technology is value-laden, this course in designed to provide a framework for evaluating ethical dilemmas and making decisions related to technology whether it is technical, economical, political, social or personal.
Prerequisite: None
3 Credits

M.S. in Technology Leadership Elective Courses

MSIN 649

Information Security Management

Beginning with the technical aspects of information system security, this course goes on to address both formal as well as informal controls regarding the normative structures that exist within organizations. Issues considered include: the nature and scope of information system (IS) security; models for technical specifications of IS security; cryptography and technical IS security; IS risk management; corporate governance for IS security; security standards; legal aspects of IS security; and computer forensics. Case studies of actual security systems, including a selection of security system failures, are analyzed.
Prerequisite: MSIN 611
3 Credits

MSIN 657

Knowledge Management

Emphasizes the direct connection between an organization's intellectual assets and positive business results. The "knowledge component" of business activity is examined as a discrete area of concern reflected in strategy, policy, and practice at all levels of the organization. The continuously-accelerating rate of knowledge growth in general, and of technology change in particular, is viewed not only as a phenomenon posing challenges, but also as a source of opportunity.
Prerequisite: MSIN 605
3 Credits

MSIN 661

Strategic Collaboration Technologies

Trains students to identify and apply strategic collaboration technologies both within the organization and in the broader external environment. Students explore innovative collaboration technologies such as wikis, weblogs, online communities, intranets, portals, webinars, video conferencing, GPS, and internet document sharing. More traditional collaboration tools, such as forums, conferences, small and large group meetings, workshops, shared calendars, email, flowcharts, and knowledge sharing and management, are also analyzed. Students design and implement projects using a variety of collaboration tools and technologies, with a focus on their role within the organization and the role of their organization within the wider competitive, economic-minded business community.
Prerequisite: MSIN 605
3 Credits

MSIN 663

Business Process Management

Presents the activities necessary for planning, managing and monitoring the performance of business processes (e.g. the methods and techniques of designing and managing a software development environment). Students explore how the adoption of a process approach enhances the effectiveness of a quality management system.
Prerequisite: MSIN 609
3 Credits

MSIN 669

Managing and Implementing Big Data Analytics in Today's Business Environment

Examines key managerial features of big data and data analytics. Defines data science, data analytics and big data and how it differs from business intelligence. Explores how to deal effectively with big data characteristics of volume, velocity and variety. Identifies the technology infrastructure for big data systems, including data warehouses, Hadoop, MapReduce, Python, R and associated technologies, including sophisticated visualization techniques. Data as a strategic asset, including data quality and data governance including the emerging role of the Chief Data Officer. Develop skills in transforming business questions and pose them as big data analytics problems. Data-driven strategic decision-making is a major focus of discussion and work.

The course includes:

• Understand what big data is and how it drives operational performance and strategic decisions, and how it differs from business intelligence.
• Understand how to transform a business problem and pose it as a big data question and deal with big data characteristics of volume, velocity and variety.
• Assessing and discovering the data executive, data manager and the data scientists roles in big data and the support of data analytics-driven decision making and creating a functioning data science team.
• Developing skills in setting up big data driven decisions including performance dashboards.
• Developing skills in moving a firm from a Stage 1 (analytically impaired) with localized analytics to a Stage 4 (analytical competitor) which employs big data and analytics in a sophisticated manner.

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

Technology Leadership Preparatory Courses

To enroll in this concentration, you must either have an undergraduate degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Information Technology or a baccalaureate degree in any field with relevant technology experience. You may be required to take some or all of the following courses:

MSIN 411

Computer Concepts

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 232

Advanced Programming

Introduces students to more advanced programming concepts using the Java programming language. This course explores the Object Oriented Design and Programming paradigm including inheritance versus composition, polymorphism, run-time versus compile time binding, shallow versus deep copying, and exception handling. In addition, some basic Java container and GUI classes will be covered. Students will complete extensive programming assignments to develop their skills in problem analysis and program coding and testing. They will implement programs using arrays, basic searching and sorting techniques, strings, and classes.
3 Credits

WMMN 607

Database Concepts and Design

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

MSIN 640

Data Communications

Introduces students to data communications and related terminology, including LAN/WAN network components and their corresponding functions. Students learn how data flows throughout a network and how "connections" and "communications" are achieved in various network configurations. Students also develop an in-depth understanding of the functionality of the Internet and gain knowledge of data communications networking technologies.
Prerequisite: Completion of required prerequisite courses (if applicable).
3 Credits