A Few Reasons Why You Should Turn Tartan!
Reputation: Prepare to Be Amazed
As an INI student, you become a part of Carnegie Mellon’s globally-recognized academic community, renowned for cutting-edge leadership in tech and beyond.
The INI is an integral part of the world-class College of Engineering, ranked #4 for graduate engineering by U.S. News & World Report. Our program is interdisciplinary, which means our students also take courses across the university's many other top-ranked schools and colleges:
U.S. News & World Report Graduate Rankings
Engineering: #4 Computer: #4 |
Computer Science: #2 Artificial Intelligence: #1 |
Business: #19
Full-time MBA: #16Part-Time MBA: #7 Supply Chain/Logistics: #6 Information Systems: #2 |
Public Affairs: #19Information and Technology Management: #1Public Policy Analysis: #8 Environmental Policy and Management: #5 |
| Times Higher Education World University Rankings, 2023 Ranked September 2022 United States: 21 Global: 28 |
World Rankings by Subject, 2023 Ranked October 2022 Computer Science: 5 Engineering and Technology: 22 Business and Economics: 28 |
Did you know?
- We've got almost 35 years of experience in graduate education! The INI was founded in 1989 as the nation's first research and education center devoted to information networking.
- Wi-Fi was born at the INI. In 1989, the INI's first director, Alex Hills, created the first Wi-Fi campus network, Wireless Andrew, and brought higher education into the 21st century.
- Our MSIS program is turning 20 this year. The INI launched one of the first cybersecurity degree programs in the nation in 2003.
- Research opportunities abound. We're partnered with CyLab, Carnegie Mellon's security and privacy institute. Our director, Dr. Dena Haritos Tsamitis, is a founding member of CyLab.
- We love to compete. Carnegie Mellon University’s hacking team, the Plaid Parliament of Pwning (PPP) has won DEF CON seven times, with INI students and alumni contributing to the team.
- Say hello to Scotty. Andrew Carnegie, CMU's founder, kept a Scottish terrier as his pet. Today, the Scotty Dog is our mascot.
"I decided to join INI as I loved the interdisciplinary course structure and the small class size. Additionally, the practicum for MSIT-IS will help me put theoretical knowledge into practice."
Sanjnah Ananda Kumar, MSIT-IS Student
"With courses I take at CMU, I can better apply my iOS knowledge in an industry environment and make a career here. I’ll never regret this decision of joining CMU and being a part of the INI family."
Kuixi Song, iOS Software Engineer at LinkedIn
"I would like to discover something in computer technology that would impact people in the most optimised way. INI has all the resources and the best people to help me get there."
Kanishka Bandaru, MSIN Student
"INI has had a great influence on my career ahead. I have always been an entrepreneurial person after I founded my company when I was 17—joining INI has only fostered and fueled my spirit."
Harshvardhan Chunawala, 2023 INI graduate,
"INI provides flexible study options to students like internship, practicum and research thesis. So I can choose the one that fulfills my goals for the graduate program."
Yuwei Li, MSMITE Student
Rigorous Curriculum, Flexible Pathways
With the ability to customize your education with technical, business and policy courses from across the university, you’ll create a specialized education that aligns your passions with your career goals.
Hands-on Learning Opportunities
Here, the work you do in the classroom could turn into a groundbreaking research project, an innovative start-up company, or even the next great technology powerhouse.
Flexible Study Options
INI's study options afford students more flexibility to design a graduate experience that best suits their needs and goals. Learn more
An Inside Look at Life at INI
INI 2023 Orientation Boat Cruise
Fall Orientation 2023 Great Race Around Campus
Stellar Outcomes: Internships & Employment
Today’s INI students are tomorrow’s leaders and innovators. We're here to equip you with the tools to build your future.
See where our students go after graduation
Meet Rachel Amos - Your Career Services & Employer Relations Director
We’re one of few departments at CMU that offer in-house, customized career services to support you throughout your internship and job search.
Our alumni achieve competitive salaries in leading organizations, making significant contributions to cutting-edge research and innovation.
2023 Employment Destinations
Information Networking
(MSIN)
Google
Meta
Amazon
DoorDash
Information Security
(MSIS)
Sandia National Labs
Airforce
AWS
Cisco
Oracle
Palo Alto Networks
Information Technology
(MSIT-IS)
Amazon
Meta
Adobe Systems
Apple
Google
Mobile and IoT Engineering
(MSMITE)
Amazon
Salesforce
Microsoft
Apple
2023 Starting Salaries
Information Networking
(MSIN)
Information Security
(MSIS)
Mobile and IoT Engineering
(MSMITE)
Information Technology
(MSIT-IS)
Internship Snapshots
PlayStation
spent the summer as an Application Security Intern at PlayStation. He was part of the threat prevention and proactive defense teams.
"I'm humbled to be given the chance to work with such a talented group of professionals at PlayStation. I would like to thank Playstation recruiting team for a very smooth recruitment process and amazing interview experience."
Apple
INI students had the opportunity to connect with Apple CEO Tim Cook at an intern Q&A event.
Feiyang Wang spent his summer at Google as a Software Engineering intern. He gained experenice in onboarding Google development tools and writing easy-to-read code; Java; C++.
Adobe
Adrian Jenkins interned at Adobe as a Software Engineer (Reliability Engineering). He enjoyed improving his familiarity with CI/CD process and skills in Python programming as well as playing basketball on the rooftop court at the San Jose.
Amazon
joined Amazon as a security engineering intern at the Sunnyvale office. She was part of the product security team.
Palo Alto Networks
Leon Feldmann spent his summer at Palo Alto Networks as a Product Security Intern focusing in
cloud security and application security. He enjoyed activities like virtual escape rooms, CTFs, Hackathons, murder mysteries and getting to know company leadership.
Meta
Xinyi Hu landed a Meta Software Engineer Internship. She loved the open art store on the Meta campus and being able to play video games throughout the day.
CrowdStrike
joined CrowdStrike as a Software Engineer Intern this summer. He worked with the Fusions Workflow team under the Data Platform Product group. He got to "dive into exciting projects, collaborate with brilliant minds, and contribute to the cutting-edge work happening at CrowdStrike."
Discover Your Passion: Research and Projects
Carnegie Mellon stands out among the world’s best research universities. We’re home to experts who lead their fields and create new ones.
As an INI student, you’ll join that culture of collaboration and discovery as a Research Assistant (RA) or by completing a thesis project, practicum or independent study.
Sampling of Student Research
|
Designing a Decentralized Data Marketplace on Blockchain |
Kernal Fuzzing for Linux
|
Control of a Passively Steered Rover |
Objection Detection Models for Autonomous Driving |
|
Activity Detection Using RF & Sensor Data Fusion |
Deepfake / Synthetic Media Detection |
Pipeline Parallelsim | Mixture-of-Experts (MoEs) |
|
Designing an Open Contracting Program to Modernize Public Procurement |
Trusted Execution Enviornments (TEEs) | Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) | Automated Test Case Generation |
"The most rewarding part of the program was getting the privilege to learn from and network with the leaders and future leaders in my field of study."
Keane Lucas, Pursuing a PhD at CMU focused on Adversarial Machine Learning supported by the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship
Student Services: Supporting You Along the Way
An unparalleled student experience is what sets the INI apart from other graduate programs.
From our in-house career and enrollment advising to your dedicated faculty advisor, you’ll find the support you need in our tight-knit community.
"My time at INI helped me expand my limits, and grow as a person and a professional. Be it the midnight Pictionary or service opportunities with Women@INI, I loved each and every moment I spent at INI".
Meenakshy Balachandran, Security Engineer at Google
A Welcoming Community for All
We believe that culture matters, and we're committed to ensuring our teaching and learning environment is inviting and supportive for all students.
Our two student organizations – Women@INI and Graduate Organization@INI – cultivate a sense of community through social and cultural events, service opportunities and a student-led forum called “Don't Struggle Like I Did," which assists incoming students with acclimating to grad school life.
You'll find your home away from home at the INI. Our recently renovated building features a dedicated student space for INI's community to study, collaborate, and socialize.
"For INI students, Dena is their lifeline, their person, the one they can turn to celebrate their successes, discuss challenges, grieve over losses and look to for guidance."
Joyce Brocaglia, CEO of Alta Associates and founder of the Executive Women’s Forum (EWF) on INI's director Dena Haritos Tsamitis
Alumni Community: Nurture Your Network
No matter how far you go, you’ll always have a home at the INI.
Graduates from the INI join an incredible global network of over 2,700 + alumni. Our INI alums go on to serve high-powered companies, tech start-ups and government agencies. They return to INI to recruit, mentor and inspire current students to follow their path to success.
INI Alumni Spotlight
Tyelisa Shields
Sr. Information Security Compliance Program Manager at
Tyelisa is currently a Sr. Information Security Compliance Program Manager where she d
Ryan Shaw
SVP - Security Director - Cloud and Application Attack Surface Management at PNC
Ryan has been the recipient of multiple leadership awards, including the INI Leadership Award and IEEE Student Branch Student Leader of the Year. In his spare time, Ryan programs and studies embedded electronics, performs ethical penetration testing, and flies drones.
Wayne Tung
Managing Director at Sendero
Through more than 20 years of consulting and industry experience, Wayne has successfully delivered numerous consulting engagements for energy, manufacturing, and government clients, primarily involving large outsourcing initiatives with offshore components, spend optimization, technology implementations, and technology migrations.
Wayne also brings to the table deep experience in global strategic sourcing, outsourcing optimization, technology strategy, technology assessment & implementation, business process transformation, mergers & acquisitions, and post-merger integration.
Luza Jaramillo
Director, Security GRC (Governance, Risk and Compliance) at Electronic Arts (EA)
Founder LAtINiTY (Latin American Women in Technology Conference)
Amit Zavery
VP/GM and Head of Platform, Google Cloud
Roseanne Silva
SVP, Security Director at PNC
She is responsible for technology infrastructure strategy, execution, and governance for Corporate & Institutional Banking, Wealth Management, Enterprise Data Management, and Enterprise Innovation. Rose received the Carnegie Mellon University 2019 Alumni Service Award.
Erye Hernandez
Senior Security Engineer at Google
Erye is an experienced security researcher with a demonstrated history of working in the computer and network security industry. She is also a powerhouse member of CMU's Plaid Parliament of Pwning (PPP), participating in seven “World Series of Hacking,” competitions at DefCon.
Yen-Ming Chen
Senior Manager at Apple
Yen-Ming has over 15 years of technical and management experience in Risk, Security and Compliance covering various technologies, countries and industrial regulations. He has also sponsored practicum projects for INI and served on the INI's Alumni Leadership Council.
Deboshree Dutta
Founder & CEO, Criya (YC W22) || ex-PayPal Head of Product
Deb is currently a Group Product Manager at PayPal, where she leads a global team of experienced product managers and engineers. As an active advocate for women in tech, she serves as a founding member and San Francisco Bay Area chapter lead for Women in Product, a platform that connects like-minded women from around the world. In 2019, Dutta joined Forbes Councils, an organization of selected industry experts who share their insights on Forbes.com. In 2023 she joined the a
Rohit (Ro) Antao
PwC Partner | Executive Board Member | Cloud & Digital Lead, Australia
As a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Rohit Antao is on the bleeding edge of helping companies grow in the digital era. Rohit co-leads PwC’s Digital Transformation Practice, advising clients in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors on optimizing their organizations.
Zhiyuan Zoe Lin
Senior Software Engineer at
Zhiyuan Zoe Lin interned at LinkedIn working on the groundwork of automating the Apache Spark tuning recommendation. As a recent alum -Zoe has presented at the Grace Hopper Celebration. "I still remember my first time at GHC as a first-year master's student at the INI. It's where I got my LinkedIn Spark internship! I thought to myself: one day I hope to give a talk here. And I couldn't believe that one year after graduating from INI, I've made it!"
Daniel Tunitis
Cyber Warfare Officer at United States Air Force
Daniel is a recent graduate of the INI. During his time as a student, Daniel led a team of over 20 problem developers to create 121 cyber security CTF challenges for picoCTF 2019. PicoCTF is a free, online cybersecurity competition created by security experts in Carnegie Mellon University’s CyLab. The competition is widely known as the largest hacking competition in the world, having drawn over 150,000 participants. He also served on the GOINI board - INI's graduate student organization.
Emma Guo
Co-Founder & CEO at Offsyte
A top female founder -Emma is a software engineer turned engineering manager turned founder. Offsyte helps teams host fun remote events from magic shows to mixology. “One of the most important things I learned from INI was the ability to learn things quickly,” she said. “Because throughout my career—whether as an engineer, or manager or now as a founder—there’s always things you don’t know, and I feel like I’m learning every day. The ability to figure out how to handle the task at hand is important.”
Samuel Edoho-Eket
President and founder of PrismSix Technologies
Samuel Edoho-Eket is president and founder of PrismSix Technologies and a certified, leading cybersecurity, telecommunications, and project management expert. He has over 20 years of experience supporting both the Department of Defense (DoD) and commercial sectors.
Samuel is the SFS 2024 Hall of Fame Recipient. The SFS Hall of Fame recognizes the accomplishments of SFS alumni working as cybersecurity professionals for a Federal, State, local, tribal, or territorial government organization, or those working in the private industry after completing their service requirement.
Devika Yeragudipati Devarakond
Security Engineer at Apple
Devika Yeragudipati Devarakond has had a profound impact as a leader and passionate advocate for inclusion and diversity initiatives involving women in tech. Her dedication and willingness to share her knowledge and real-world experiences have made her a valuable mentor to many aspiring professionals in the security field.
Devika is dedicated to furthering women’s advancement in the tech industry and volunteers her time with the intent of making it more welcoming to historically marginalized communities, receiving recognition as one of Google’s Women Techmakers and McKinsey’s Next Generation Women Leaders. She was named a 2023 Recent Alumni Service Award honoree.
Vishakha Gupta
Founder and CEO at ApertureData
“The INI not only provided us with the critical skills we needed to start our company after graduating, but also with access to the network and mentorship critical to our early success.”
Hooman Radfar, Co-founder + CEO at Collective; Co-founder of AddThis (acquired by Oracle)