Carnegie Mellon Institute for Security and Technology › Academics › Graduate Programs › Master of Information Technology Strategy › Curriculum › Core Courses

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)
  - 11-637 (summer/fall) OR 10-606 AND 10-607 recommended prior or concurrent but not required (summer/fall 1st and 2nd half minis)
- Option 2: 17-685/17-801 Dynamic Network Analysis (spring)
- Option 3: 05-834/11-663 Applied Machine Learning (fall)
- Option 4: 17-634 Applied Machine Learning AND 17-644 Applied Deep Learning

Note: Students in the Data Analytics Concentration may not take Options 3 or 4 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: 84-687 Technology and the Cyber Domain (spring)

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 5A: 17-636 Applied Distributed Systems (fall & spring 1st half mini/summer) AND 17-646 DevOps and Continuous Integration (fall & spring 2nd half mini/summer) - OR -
Option 5B: 17-636 Applied Distributed Systems (fall & spring 1st half mini/summer) AND 17-647 Data Intensive and Scalable Systems (spring 2nd half mini)

(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.)

MITS/CMIST Policy Seminar: 84-791(B) and 84-792(B)
The seminar encourages MITS students to explore topics outside of their coursework and relate them to real-world policy problems. Students are required to attend lectures or seminars offered by various departments from across the university and submit a memo on the issue presented and how it relates to their MITS study; this requirement comprises 3 units in the Fall and 3 in the Spring, totaling 6 units. A list of departmental event calendars can be found online.