Carnegie Mellon University

Core Courses

Core courses establish the necessary background and a common competence level in each of the four thematic areas. Students must take at least one core course option from each of the Concentration areas below for a total of forty-eight units minimum.

Data Analytics 

    • Option 1: 10-601/10-701 Introduction to Machine Learning (fall/spring)
    • Option 2: 17-685/17-801 Dynamic Network Analysis (spring)
    • Option 3: 05-834/11-663 Applied Machine Learning (fall/spring)
    • Option 4: 17-634 Applied Machine Learning (spring 1st half mini) AND 17-644 Applied Deep Learning (spring 2nd half mini)

For students who need to brush up on foundational mathematical or computational skills, 11-637 (summer/fall) OR 10-606 AND 10-607 (summer/fall 1st and 2nd half minis) are recommended prior to DA core course options 1-3 but not required.

Note: Students in the Data Analytics Concentration may not take Options 2 or 3 to fulfill their requirement; Students may not take options 3 or 4 AND 10-601/701.

Politics and Strategy 

  • Option 1: 84-605 The Future of Warfare (fall) 
  • Option 2: 84-674 An Introduction to Technology and War (fall)
  • Option 3: 84-687 Remote Systems and the Cyber Domain in Conflict (spring)
  • Option 4: 84-650 A Strategist's Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
  • Option 5: 84-663 Click. Hack. Rule: Understanding the Power and Peril of Cyber Conflict

Information Security 

  • Option 1: 17-631 Information Security, Privacy, and Policy (fall)
    • Note: Recommended for students with little to no prior exposure to IS
  • Option 2: 18-631/14-741 Introduction to Information Security (fall/spring)
  • Option 3: 18-730 Introduction to Computer Security (fall)

(Note: Students may not take any of the above options as concentration or elective courses) 

Software and Networked Systems 

  • Option 1: 15-640 Distributed Systems (fall/spring, prerequisite 15-513)
  • Option 2: 15-641 Networking and the Internet (fall, prerequisite 15-513)
  • Option 3: 18-741 Computer Networks (fall)
  • Option 4: 17-635 Software Architecture AND 17-632 Software Project Mgmt (spring 1st half minis)
  • Option 5: 17-636 DevOps: Engineering for Secure Development and Deployment (spring)

(Note: Students in the Software and Network Concentration may not use Options 4 or 5 for their core requirement. The courses may be used toward concentration requirements.) 

Policy Seminar: 84-791(B) and 84-792 (B)
The Carnegie Mellon Institute for Security and Technology (CMIST) will host several lectures and speaker series that address topics spanning the intersection of security and technology, international relations, political science, and more. We will bring senior leaders to the CMU community who are experts in these fields and have made remarkable contributions to these and other fields. CMIST graduate students will enroll in the three-unit Policy Seminar each semester and be expected to participate in and reflect on their interactions throughout the CMIST-hosted lectures and roundtable discussions. The Policy Seminar courses are only open to CMIST graduate students. Students in the MS IRP should register for Section A of the course; MITS students please register for Section B.