University Bulletin (2019-2020)

In 1992, the Rabb School of Continuing Studies was named in honor of Norman S. and Eleanor E. Rabb in recognition of more than four decades of support for Brandeis.

With four divisions — Graduate Professional Studies, the Summer School, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Brandeis, and Brandeis Precollege Programs — the Rabb School seeks to serve lifelong learners by supporting the university in its mission of providing open inquiry and outstanding teaching in a world of challenging social and technological transformation.

In 1997, the Division of Continuing Studies, now the Division of Graduate Professional Studies, was established in the Rabb School specifically to extend the opportunity for excellent, applied professional education at the graduate level to a more diverse, part-time, working-adult population. All degree programs in the division are professionally oriented, applied in nature (combining requisite theory with the practical application of learned material), and taught by expert adjunct faculty who are practitioners of their subject matter in their professional lives.

Programs in applied, professional fields are offered in the Division of Graduate Professional Studies of the Rabb School and are overseen by the Rabb School Council, made up of faculty representing the other schools in the university and chaired by a full-time faculty member.

New programs, as well as substantive changes to the curriculum, are reviewed for approval by the Rabb School Council and as necessary by both the Council of the Graduate Professional Schools and the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees.

Currently, the Division of Graduate Professional Studies in the Rabb School offers master's degree programs requiring 10 three-credit courses, and a graduate certificate requiring 5 three-credit courses, in applied fields:

• Master of Software Engineering (est. 1997)
• Master of Science in Bioinformatics (est. 2002)
• Master of Science in Project and Program Management (est. 2003)
• Master of Science in Technology Management (est. 2005)
• Master of Science in Information Security Leadership (est. 2008)
• Master of Science in Health and Medical Informatics (est. 2010)
• Master of Science in Strategic Analytics (est. 2013)
• Master of Science in Learning Experience Design (est. 2014)
• Master of Science in Digital Marketing and Design (est. 2015)
• Master of Science in User-Centered Design (est. 2015)
• Graduate Certificate in Learning Analytics (est. 2015)
• Master of Science in Digital Innovation for FinTech (est. 2016)
• Master of Science in Robotic Software Engineering (est. 2018)

GPS offers an opportunity for students to earn two master's degrees, sequentially, transferring up to two courses, if appropriate, from the first master's program to the second. If a graduate certificate and master's degree are sought sequentially (as opposed to two master's degrees), the student may transfer up to one course from the first program to the second.

Given the Rabb School’s commitment to making graduate, credit-bearing and professionally oriented academic resources at Brandeis available to as many qualified part-time students as possible, the division offers all programs completely online.

In addition, GPS collaborates with corporate partners in offering credit-bearing courses to special student groups at corporate sites or welcoming corporate-sponsored students in its courses. There are no programs offered through sites other than the Brandeis campus.

How to Apply

Admission policies and procedures for graduate programs in the Division of Graduate Professional Studies are described in detail in both the GPS website and the Student Handbook located on the Web site. Standards of admission to all programs are clear, consistent and simple. Applicants to graduate programs in the Rabb School generally hold bachelor’s degrees from regionally accredited U.S. institutions or equivalent.

All formal applications for admission are evaluated by a faculty/staff committee. Applications and admission decisions are made on a rolling basis, with entry points at the beginning of each of the four standard 10-week sessions (July, October, January and April).

Academic Standing

Prior to filing a formal application, students may take up to two graduate courses, thereby determining whether a commitment to both the chosen field and program is appropriate for them. It is standing policy that a course graded below B – may not be applied toward a degree, regardless of when it is taken. Students are allowed a maximum of 12 courses to complete a 10-course master's degree, and a maximum of 7 courses to complete a 5-course graduate certificate.

Given the part-time nature of all the programs, and recognizing that working people frequently encounter unanticipated life experiences, students may take up to five years to complete a 10-course program. (Most students complete their master's degrees in less than three.) Students may take up to three years to complete a 5-course graduate certificate.

Requirements for the Degrees

Detailed information about the requirements for the programs offered by the Division of Graduate Professional Studies, can be found in a later section of this Bulletin or on the GPS website. Please refer to these pages for the requirements and expected learning outcomes for specific degrees.

Auditing Courses

All regularly enrolled, full-time graduate students at Brandeis are eligible to audit by the Division of Graduate Professional Studies courses without a fee. Part-time degree students and non-degree special students may audit a Graduate Professional Studies course but will be charged the same rate as a course taken for credit. No courses may be audited without the permission of the instructor and the student's program chair. Auditors may not take examinations or expect evaluation from the instructor. No credit is given for an audited course. Graduate Professional Studies students are eligible to audit courses of IBS, GSAS and Heller, abiding by their policies.

Course Drops

A student may drop a course after the start of the second course week and up until the close of the sixth week of the term. A “W” will be noted on the student’s transcript to reflect the withdrawal from the course. (Refer to the full refund policy noted in the Student Handbook.)

A student may drop the same required course no more than twice, and a student may drop no more than six courses during the course of completing their program requirements. After the fourth drop, the student will be placed on academic warning.

Incompletes

Incompletes are granted in exceptional cases, arranged between the student and the instructor and documented, including specific closure date, in the division’s office. Unaddressed incompletes become failures after the established deadline. (Refer to the full incomplete policy noted in the Student Handbook.)

Transfer of Credit

Rabb School degree candidates are not permitted to cross-register either in other graduate programs on campus or in programs elsewhere. Up to two courses not previously counted for any degree program may be considered for transfer into a Rabb School degree. This assessment is made as part of the admissions process.

International Students

Applicants whose first language is not English or who have not graduated with a bachelor’s degree from an English-speaking institution in Australia, Belize, the British Caribbean and British West Indies, Canada (except Quebec), Great Britain, Guyana, Ireland, Liberia, New Zealand, or South Africa must take and submit scores for the TOEFL, IELTS or PTE. Test scores should be no more than five years old.

Rabb School Academic Calendar

Fall 2019

Fall 1 Registration Wed Jun 19 - Fri Jul 12

Fall 1 First Day of Instruction Wed Jul 17

Fall 1 Last Day of Instruction Tues Sept 24

Fall 2 Registration Wed Jun 19 - Fri Oct 4

Fall 2 First Day of Instruction Wed Oct 9

Fall 2 Last Day of Instruction Tues Dec 17

Spring 2020

Spring 1 Registration Wed Dec 11 - Fri Jan 10

Spring 1 First Day of Instruction Wed Jan 25

Spring 1 Last Day of Instruction Tues Mar 24

Spring 2 Registration Wed Dec 11 - Fri Apr 3

Spring 2 First Day of Instruction Wed Apr 8

Spring 2 Last Day of Instruction Tues Jun 16

The following tuition and fees are in effect for the 2019–2020 academic year. These figures are subject to annual revision by the Brandeis University Board of Trustees.

Payment of tuition occurs per course registration and must be completed in full in order for the registration to be official and for students to attend the first online course module. Except under rare, prearranged circumstances, students not paid in full are not permitted to enter courses.

• Tuition per three-credit course: $3,535

Other Fees

• Course materials fee (dependent on course needs): $25-100
• Application fee for admission to a degree program: $75
• Application to graduate fee: $100

Refunds

Students who wish to cancel their registration and receive a tuition refund must state their intention to withdraw by withdrawing from their course. Tuition will be refunded according to the following schedule:

• Withdrawal before the first day of the term, 100 percent refund
• Withdrawal in the first course week (between the first and seventh day of the term), 75 percent refund
• Withdrawal in the second course week (on or after the eighth day of the term), no refund

The Division of Graduate Professional Studies complies with all applicable refund policies of the state where an online learning student resides. The Division of Graduate Professional Studies will calculate any applicable refunds in accordance with such state regulations as listed below. For those states that are not listed here.

In compliance with federal law, special refund arrangements apply to students receiving federal financial aid under Title IV (i.e. Federal Direct Stafford and PLUS Loans). Special refund arrangements also apply to Department of Defense Tuition Assistance funds. Contact the Office of Student Financial Services for additional information.

Financial Aid

The Division of Graduate Professional Studies offers no scholarships, grants, or assistantships.

Federal Loans

Only the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan is available to Graduate Professional Studies students. Applicants must file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to qualify for this loan. Graduate students may borrow up to a maximum of $20,500 a year, not to exceed the cost of attendance, with an aggregate maximum of $138,500, with no more than $65,500 in subsidized loan funds. For the academic year 19-20, the interest rate on the Stafford Loan will be a fixed rate of 6.08 percent and the origination fee will be 1.062 percent.

Repayment of a Stafford Loan begins six months after the borrower ceases to be enrolled at least half-time. The standard repayment period is 10 years, during which time interest is charged. (Please go to www.studentloans.gov for information about alternate repayment plans.) Students are required to pay the interest during the in-school period, or have it capitalized and added to the loan balance, for the unsubsidized loan.

The terms for the above loan programs are subject to federal legislation, regulations and other guidance, and may change. Students wishing to apply for loans should contact the Office of Student Financial Services for application materials. The Graduate PLUS Loan is a federal loan that allows graduate students to borrow up to their total cost of education less any financial aid received. The student must pass an independent credit review. For the 19-20 academic year, the PLUS Loan will be a fixed interest rate of 7.08 percent and an origination fee of 4.248 percent. Go to www.studentloans.gov to apply for this loan.

Borrowers of the Federal Direct Stafford Loan, and the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan must complete the required promissory notes and entrance counseling online at the beginning of their entering semester upon receipt of correspondence from the Office of Student Financial Services. Anticipated credits on a student's account will be cancelled if all required steps are not completed.

Additional Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirement for Students Receiving Financial Aid

Federal regulations require that a student receiving federal assistance make satisfactory academic progress in accordance with standards set by the university. The Division of Graduate Professional Studies is responsible for monitoring academic progress within its graduate programs. To receive federal funding, a student must successfully complete two courses (B- or higher) in each semester in which he or she receives federal loans. If he or she fails to successfully complete two courses in a semester in which he or she receives federal loans, he or she will be allowed to receive federal loans for the next semester but will be placed on probation. If he or she fails to successfully complete two courses during the probationary semester, he or she will lose eligibility for federal loans from this point forward. A student may submit an appeal if there are extenuating circumstances that prevented him or her from successfully completing coursework for two subsequent semesters.

Students enrolled in a graduate certificate are not eligible to receive federal loans.

Financial Regulations

Failure to discharge financial obligations includes, but is not limited to, an overdue balance with the university or the delinquency of a borrower in repaying a loan administered by the Office of Student Financial Services and the inability of that office to collect such a loan because the borrower has discharged the indebtedness through bankruptcy proceedings.

A student who defaults in the payment of indebtedness to the university shall be subject to suspension, dismissal and refusal of a transfer of credits or issuance of an official transcript. Brandeis University may refer delinquent accounts to a collection agency. Students are responsible for paying the collection agency fee, which may be based on a percentage at a maximum of 40 percent of any delinquent account, together with all costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees, necessary for the collection of any delinquent account. Delinquent accounts may be reported to one or more of the national credit bureaus.

Every student is required to complete a Financial Responsibility Agreement at least once each academic year. Any student who fails to complete this agreement prior to the start of classes will be denied the privileges of attending classes and using university facilities.

Degree of Master of Software Engineering

The Master of Software Engineering prepares students to participate fully in integrated teams of software developers, software acquirers and software end users.

Students have the necessary software engineering skills and knowledge to ensure the delivery of reliable software to increasingly large, complex and international end-user markets.

Program of Study

The Master of Software Engineering consists of 10 courses, 30 credits. There are 6 required courses, and 4 elective courses.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Apply a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the cost-effective and secure development, operation, and maintenance of software systems to the satisfaction of their beneficiaries, while adopting software engineering best practices.
• Build solutions using different technologies, architectures and life-cycle approaches in the context of different organizational structures, with demonstrated programming expertise.
• Demonstrate a cross-section of skills necessary to collaborate throughout the phases of software development including requirements, design, implementation, testing, and release management.
• Apply foundational software engineering skills to support specialization in focused disciplines such as web & mobile development, design, cloud computing, and databases.
• Communicate effectively and think critically about a wide range of issues arising in the context of working constructively on software projects.

Degree of Master of Science in Technology Management

The Master of Science in Technology Management prepares students for knowledgeable leadership in the broadest scope of application of information technology.

By understanding information technology’s importance to an organization and its use in a global economy, students will acquire the skills and knowledge to direct the development and deployment of high quality online information systems.

Program of Study

The degree of Master of Science in Technology Management requires six required courses and four electives, totaling 10 courses (30 credits).

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Make operational and strategic decisions that align with measurable business objectives.
• Assure the quality of information as well as its value to those who will ultimately use it for decision-making.
• Develop objectives and strategy for technology management that align with the organizational objectives and strategy and identify, prioritize and select projects and investment opportunities to realize the strategy.
• Lead change management and the planning, development and implementation of technology solutions through proactively building a partnership with all business and technology stakeholders.
• Establish strong relationships with vendors and service providers in order to create value beyond what is achievable only through internal resources.
• Think, write and speak cogently and persuasively about ongoing or anticipated work with colleagues, end-users and corporate leadership, and listen carefully to feedback.

Degree of Master of Science in Project and Program Management

The Master of Science in Project and Program Management provides current and potential project managers with an integrated understanding of a broad scope of business functions at the upper-middle, team-leading level of corporate operations, combined with the technical skills and knowledge to analyze, organize and manage the expression of projects, on time and on budget.

Program of Study

The degree of Master of Science in Project and Program Management requires seven required courses and three electives, totaling 10 courses (30 credits).

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Lead successful projects and manage the project lifecycle in all its phases in a way that assures the delivery of the negotiated scope and quality level, while meeting time and budget constraints.
• Effectively communicate the project/program status, issues, expectations and risks, both verbally and in writing, to project and program stakeholders and team members.
• Demonstrate and communicate how projects contribute to an organization’s ability to realize its strategic goals and business benefits.
• Exercise leadership, management, and facilitation skills in the conduct of programs and projects of various size, scope and complexity that may be global in nature.
• Effectively manage the roles, communications and expectations of project stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of the project.

Degree of Master of Science in Bioinformatics

The Master of Science in Bioinformatics brings together disciplines including biology, computer science, statistical data modeling and information technology.

Students must develop an understanding of and be able to contribute directly to the analysis of biological data, the design of databases for storage, retrieval and representation of biomolecular data and the development of novel computational tools.

Students’ work will support better understandings of biological systems, human disease and drug development, ultimately affecting the practice of modern medicine.

Program of Study

The degree of Master of Science in Bioinformatics requires six required courses and four electives, totaling 10 courses (30 credits).

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Process and clean, store, analyze and model large volumes of biological data from multiple sources.
• Independently and collaboratively provide insights into complex biological systems through data synthesis, experimental design, and application of a wide range of computational biology approaches.
• Effectively communicate and present bioinformatics concepts to multidisciplinary project teams.

Degree of Master of Science in Information Security Leadership

In the Master of Science in Information Security Leadership program, students gain a combination of technology and management expertise that will enable them to make educated technical decisions in order to support enterprise-wide security objectives. The program is unique in its emphasis on the policy, management and technology aspects of information security and risk management. The program aims to develop students’ abilities to influence an organization’s senior management team and develop business cases in support of effective security and risk management practices.

Program of Study

The degree of Master of Science in Information Security Leadership requires six required courses and four electives, totaling 10 courses (30 credits).

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Lead teams to effectively manage risk to business objectives.
• Assess risks to the security of critical information systems in an organization and communicate the business impact.
• Understand the technical, organizational and human factors associated with these risks.
• Evaluate information technology controls designed to protect against threats facing organizations.
• Assess the impact of security policies on existing complex systems and organizational objectives while simultaneously considering compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, including global compliance.
• Oversee the information assurance lifecycle of an organization, including planning, acquisition, development and evolution of secure infrastructures.

Degree of Master of Science in Health and Medical Informatics

Health and medical informatics is the application of principles of computer and information science to the effective organization, analysis, management, and use of information in health care. With evolving health care reform, the development, implementation, evaluation, and management of information technology solutions are critical, and core technologies and standards must be addressed.

The Health and Medical Informatics addresses the growing need for professionals who need to possess both analytical skills and business acumen with the goal of improving health care delivery systems through information technology.

Program of Study

The degree of Master of Science in Health and Medical Informatics requires that students complete seven core courses and three electives, totaling 10 courses (30 credits).

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Develop and implement information technology data solutions, for both clinicians and administration, that improve healthcare outcomes and organizational performance.
• Interface between the data systems developers and the user community to ensure safe and effective data governance of patient electronic health records and analytics in decision making.
• Design and implement security policies and procedures of all patient medical information to ensure data/information adheres to HIPAA and HIE regulations and requirements and meets or exceeds best practice standards.
• Effectively manage institutional IT portfolio, vendor selection & management, interoperability of systems and applications, information security solutions, and strategic planning for transformation to and continued support of value-based care.
• Demonstrate proficiency in the language of healthcare and in-depth knowledge of the U.S. healthcare system with regards to health information and population health.
• Effectively utilize healthcare analytics for decision support, knowledge management, and reporting.
• Lead and manage projects that advance change to ensure quality processes meet industry standards and enable development of innovative practices.

Degree of Master of Science in Strategic Analytics

Strategic Analytics are critical to the strategic management of any business or organization. The management, analysis, and use of the large sets of data that form the foundation of any business operation are what drive the strategic decisions that increase revenue and reduce costs for the organization.

The Strategic Analytics program offers a comprehensive study of these two components: the data itself and its business application, analyzed through a specific set of tools and techniques. Through the study of predictive, descriptive and prescriptive analytics, students will learn to identify patterns and trends within data to interpret and communicate the results in valuable and practical terms.

Program of Study

The degree of Master of Science in Strategic Analytics requires that students complete seven required courses and three electives, totaling 10 courses (30 credits).

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Identify and assess the opportunities, needs and constraints for data governance, collection, measurement, tracking, analysis, reporting and overall management within a strategic organizational context.
• Communicate the value of strategic analytics as it relates to an organization’s bottom line through both revenue increase and expense reduction.
• Identify ways in which data can be analyzed, interpreted, reported and applied to solve or prevent existing or new business problems.
• Bridge the gap between data and business by effectively communicating analysis results to drive strategic decisions and direction.
• Lead analytics teams and projects and assess the value and effectiveness of their work.
• Integrate leadership and communication skills with information technology, information management, and data science to maximize business intelligence and decision making.
• Leverage technology to evaluate and apply analytic tools and techniques to manage large sets of data, distributed data, and cloud-based data.
• Design innovative, cross-functional data analytics solutions for applied business strategies.

Master of Science in Learning Experience Design

Learning Experience Design, a professional practice grounded in a convergence of instructional design and user-centered design methodologies and techniques, prepares students to design learner-centered experiences, courses, educational programs, and professional training. Graduates of our MS in Learning Experience Design program should feel equipped to solve a variety of learning challenges; to evaluate and use technology and multimedia tools; to design usable learning interfaces, and ultimately to create and deliver high-quality programs and interactive learning experiences in a variety of industry and educational settings.

Program of Study

The degree of Master of Science in Learning Experience Design requires that students complete seven required courses and three electives, totaling 10 courses (30 credits).

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Apply adult learning theories, UX and UI design methodologies, learner and front-end analyses, and design thinking to the development of outcomes-based learner-centered educational experiences.
• Design and curate learning resources that enhance learners’ retention of concepts and application of skills and align to the principles of universal design for learning, standards of accessibility, and utilize sound visual design techniques.
• Develop adaptive and accessible digital learning environments using the various methodologies and tools of instructional design and user-centered design practices.
• Evaluate the efficacy of learning experiences and resolve educational challenges utilizing data analytics, learner and contextual analysis, and assessment of interface design.
• Apply leadership and collaborative skills and processes to the strategic design and development of learning experiences.

Degree of Master of Science in Digital Marketing and Design

The marketing industry has changed. Businesses once relied primarily on paid media attention, and to some extent on earned media attention. With the advent of digital marketing, businesses are coming to rely on a converged media marketing model, which includes owned media attention (leveraging a channel created and controlled by the business, e.g. blogs, twitter feed, etc). The success of an individual business depends on the ability of the digital marketing specialists to understand and exploit these new models.

The Master of Science in Digital Marketing and Design program blends principles of design, tactics, and analysis across digital marketing, with a practical and applied focus. This program will cover the design and development of interactive media for use in digital marketing, the tactics necessary to deploy digital marketing initiatives, and the analytical frameworks to assess what is working and what is not in order to grow and optimize digital marketing campaigns. Students will gain a solid foundation in current web, media, and interface design practices across multiple platforms. Armed with the skills that inform what is technically, possible, students will then explore techniques to envision, plan, manage, and analyze digital marketing campaigns. Candidates will exit the program with a rich toolkit suitable for bringing a sound digital marketing approach to a variety of industries and companies.

Program of Study

The degree of Master of Science in Digital Marketing and Design requires that students complete seven required courses and three electives, totaling 10 courses (30 credits).

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Determine and develop the digital marketing strategy to impact and align with a company’s marketing goals
• Develop and actively manage digital marketing campaigns across social media, website and mobile platforms
• Build, design, manage, drive and direct effective content for digital audiences.
• Evaluate results of digital advertising through analytics tools and use the data to inform marketing decisions
• Optimize the customer journey and ensure alignment with organizational goals
• Communicate the value of digital marketing as it relates to an organization’s overall marketing strategy.

Degree of Master of Science in User-Centered Design

The Master of Science in User-Centered Design program prepares students to guide a human-centered perspective in such areas as User Interface Design, Human Computer Interaction, Human Factors, User Experience (UX) and related specializations. The program provides students with the opportunity to develop a portfolio of artifacts that demonstrate their knowledge and ability to apply innovative thinking and a human centered approach to design as well as the leadership skills needed to implement and advocate for design thinking to foster innovation.

Program of Study

The degree of Master of Science in User-Centered Design requires that students complete seven required courses and three electives, totaling 10 courses (30 credits).

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Master interaction design and information architecture tools and techniques, including prototyping at various levels of fidelity.
• Understand and apply the human factors (including physical and psychological principles) that impact user interactions with digital products and technologies.
• Conduct and leverage qualitative and quantitative research to inform design decisions and evaluate designs.
• Adapt user experience processes and methods to a range of organizational contexts and settings.
• Develop design thinking, collaboration, and leadership skills necessary to plan and drive UX strategy for products and organizations.

Degree of Master of Science in Digital Innovation for FinTech

“FinTech” (Financial Technologies) is financial industry composed of businesses that use technology to provide financial services and make financial systems more efficient. The Master of Science in Digital Innovation for FinTech develops professionals by offering graduate level courses that cross multiple disciplines including finance, software, analytics, entrepreneurship, and user-centered design. Students develop skills to create innovative technology solutions in application areas such as online investing, crowdsourcing and mobile payments.

Program of Study

The degree of Master of Science in Digital Innovation for FinTech requires that students complete seven required courses and three electives, totaling 10 courses (30 credits).

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Develop financial solutions that use technology in innovative ways.
• Explain all aspects of a financial technology solution clearly and concisely to stakeholders, including why a certain technology would be relevant to a financial organization, and demonstrate awareness of the effect it might have on business.
• Use entrepreneurial, analytical and decision-making skills to solve problems encountered by businesses and investors.
• Resolve ethical issues in the context of financial markets and institutions.
• Learn and apply financial theories to solve a variety of problems encountered by businesses and investors.
• Analyze the complexities of the global economy and their impact on financial decisions.

Master of Science in Robotic Software Engineering

In traditional definitions, a roboticist is as an individual who designs, constructs, develops computer systems and programs for the operation of robots, and experiments with the use of robots. Robotics is, therefore, a highly interdisciplinary field, requiring expertise in a number of disciplines including computer science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, physics, human–computer interaction and interaction design. For the purposes of this program, a Roboticist is someone who designs and implements programmatic solutions and software systems that drive the underlying hardware platform.

This program will ensure students develop these skills, which are in high demand for prospective roboticists. The ideal student has good analytical, problem solving skills and an engineering mindset. This program will expose them to the core problems that have to be solved when developing smart robots: robots that perceive and react to the world around them. Students will be able to identify the challenging problems and design programmatic solutions that address those problems. The program takes a hands-on approach to learning and will involve software development in C++/Python utilizing some of the popular software stacks used in Robotics such as OpenCV, ROS, PCL and more. Graduates will be able to take published state-of- the-art research advances and, using their own creativity, craft solutions.

Program of Study

The degree of Master of Science in Robotic Engineering requires that students complete eight core courses and two electives, totaling 10 courses (30 credits).

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Design and implement programmatic solutions to enable robots to function autonomously
• Develop modern C++ software to build end-to- end robot software systems
• Understand and use design and architectural patterns that are prevalent in Robotic software systems
• Effectively use tools in ROS, Gazebo, and analytic dashboards to drive engineering of the robot software system
• Understand and use the technology stack required to make an autonomous robot. This stack typically consists of sensing, perception (vision and speech), planning, manipulation, execution, and feedback control.
• Acquire the skillset required to transition robotics research to practice, while incorporating elements of good software design

Graduate Certificate in Learning Analytics

The online Graduate Certificate in Learning Analytics draws from two existing Brandeis GPS master's degrees: Strategic Analytics and Learning Experience Design. Cross disciplinary in nature, the program arms students with the necessary tools for breaking down the influx of available education data. Students receive a strong foundation in the toolsets and theory around business intelligence, data analysis and instructional design management. By developing an understanding of the technologies used to evaluate and catalog student behavior and experience, students who complete the certificate are well-positioned to play a pivotal role in supporting student success.

Program of Study

The Graduate Certificate in Learning Analytics is a 15-credit, five-course program.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Apply analytic tools and techniques to collect and manage large sets of learning data.
• Analyze different types of learning data and use the resulting insights to inform instructional approaches.
• Apply the principles of business intelligence and strategic analytics to improve student retention and performance.
• Evaluate the legal and ethical implications of using learner performance data to inform organizational decision making.

Listed below are courses of instruction for the Rabb School of Continuing Studies, Division of Graduate Professional Studies. Online courses are presented in 10 discrete weekly modules.

Courses are available to all students qualified to take them. Course prerequisites are listed on the GPS website. When course prerequisites are not met, access to some courses may be provided following instructor or program chair approval.

Generally, a course is offered with the frequency indicated at the end of its description. The frequency may be designated as every semester, every year, every second year, every third year or every fourth year. The university reserves the right to make any changes in the offerings without prior notice.

This course is a high-content introduction to scripting and programming with applications in bioinformatics. It is appropriate for students with little previous programming experience. The course covers the fundamentals of working with Linux systems, using bioinformatics tools, and manipulating biological data files. The focus will be on scripting with Bash and Python. The course will also touch on topics such as how to interact programmatically with SQL databases and RESTful web services, and how to work with distributed compute systems to perform large calculations.

In this intensive course students will investigate the interrelationships existing amongst protein sequence, structure, and function through the lens of a structural bioinformaticist. Topics covered range from analysis of protein structure to domain classification, phylogeny, structural modeling, interaction site prediction, kinetics and thermodynamics of biomolecular interactions, and structure-based drug design. Throughout the course students will be exposed to software tools utilized by structural bioinformaticists in their daily work.

This course covers concepts of classic genetics, from Mendelian inheritance to quantitative and complex traits, associations and population genetics. It addresses the anatomy and function of genomes from humans and model organisms, and how individual components form signaling pathways. Using the Human Genome Projects as an example, sequencing and mapping technologies are covered. Basic sequence analysis methods are introduced, along with techniques to navigate genome browsers and other relevant databases. Cloning and methods for genetic manipulation, including CRISPR, are introduced.

There are high expectations for bioinformatics to contribute to drug discovery. This course explores issues faced during drug discovery and development. Topics include the drug discovery process, its major players and its origins; scientific principles behind drug properties and actions; target product profiles; disease and drug target selection, sources of drug-like molecules; assays and screening; medicinal chemistry; pharmacology; toxicology; and clinical trials.

Computational systems biology is a field that aims to provide an integrative, system-level understanding of biology through the modeling of experimental data. The course covers interacting systems by defining the basic structures of the biological network that allow a living cell to maintain homeostasis under different conditions and perturbations.

This course provides a foundation in biological sequence analysis, including methods for handling next-generation sequencing data. Topics include genomic assembly and variant detection using short reads, methods for homology detection, functional annotation of sequences, and use of databases and visualization tools.

This course covers modeling at the molecular level, with a focus on topics relevant to protein-ligand binding and cheminformatics. The first half of the course will cover topics in basic macromolecular structure and thermodynamics relevant to prediction and analysis of macromolecular interactions, and includes crystallography, energetics of hydrogen-bonding and hydrophobic interactions, and structure-based docking. The second half of the course will introduce the basics of cheminformatics, covering chemical structures, chemical descriptors, and methods for clustering and similarity-searching for compounds.

This course is an advanced mathematics and applied statistics course that will introduce students to data analysis methods and statistical testing. It provides a foundation for Biological Data Mining and Modeling (RBIF 112) and Design and Analysis of Microarray Experiments (RBIF114). The course covers R (a statistical programming language) to introduce students to descriptive and inferential statistics, basics of programming, common data structures and analysis techniques. The course covers methods important to data analysis such as t-tests, chi-squared analysis, Mann-Whitney tests, correlation and regression, ANOVA, LDA, PCA, tests of significance, and Fisher's exact test.

The development of new bioinformatics tools typically involves some form of data modeling, prediction or optimization. This course introduces various modeling, prediction, and machine learning techniques including linear and nonlinear regression, principal component analysis, support vector machines, self-organizing maps, neural networks, set enrichment, Bayesian networks, and model-based analysis.

Microarrays are routinely used in genomic studies to detect changes in mRNA expression levels and have been key in developing biomarkers for several diseases. These experiments have fundamental statistical and data processing challenges associated with them. This course covers the statistical aspects of experimental design, biological and technical replicates, preprocessing, quality assessment, parametric and non-parametric statistical tests, multiple-hypothesis testing, P-value correction and false discovery rates, visualization techniques (e.g. heatmaps, volcano plots), and biological significance (e.g. functional annotation, pathways, hypergeometric tests, gene set enrichment). The course also covers the increasing role of molecular profiling in disease treatment, particularly in oncology.

This course covers methods in statistical genetics used to detect disease or quantitative trait loci in experimental and human populations. Basic concepts in Genetics, Genomics and Genetic Epidemiology are reviewed, with an emphasis on the statistical and practical issues involved in genetic analysis. Both linkage and association approaches will be covered, with a focus on applications in the human genome wide association (GWAS) setting for both SNPs and CNVs. Approaches to extracting and enriching GWAS through genotype imputation, GSEA, meta-analysis and genetics of gene expression analysis will also be covered, along with topics relevant to pharmacogenetics and techniques to analyze next generation sequencing data in a population setting.

This course introduces students to basic research in computational biology. The student and instructor will propose a novel research project with the goal of publishing their findings in a peer-reviewed journal. The scope of the project will be well defined and will be completed within two terms. The instructor will oversee all aspects of the project and will provide appropriate scientific guidance and mentorship. The student will perform the research and will present their research to faculty at the end of each term. Research topics include but are not limited to scientific programming, software development, genome analysis, structural bioinformatics, evolution, drug discovery, and systems biology.

The field of Bioinformatics is continually evolving. New biologic research as well as legal, ethical, and regulatory habits and practices around the world are subject to rapid and potentially wide-reaching change. New technologies are continually introduced that may foster new research capabilities. This Bioinformatics Special Topics course facilitates the introduction of cutting-edge practices and technologies as they are introduced in the industry.

This is a foundational course and a prerequisite for Machine Learning and Robot Manipulation for those who do not have recent experience using these mathematical skills. Common mathematical concepts required in robotics will be covered including high-level calculus, probability, Bayesian/Markov tools, fundamentals of graph theory, and linear algebra.

This course will provide an introduction to Modern C++ with emphasis on template metaprogramming, C++11 idioms, shared pointers, etc. This course will also introduce the ROS framework and all of its core components. It will provide a tour of common libraries such as Boost, and Eigen and their use in ROS-based software development.

This course will focus on the tools of the trade required to deal with large quantities of data from sensors and unstructured data streams. Students will learn the common data science tools used in the robotics industry.

The software that drives robots is typically distributed and asynchronous. Numerous frameworks exist, and this course will provide a practical introduction to these frameworks, discuss the underlying design and architectural patterns, and examine how to build complex software systems in a distributed environment. At the end of the course, students will be able to: Be able to break a complex software implementation problem by recognizing common design/architectural patterns Develop distributed applications while cognizant of common pitfalls

Python is growing to be the defacto language among the varied scientific communities. This course will introduce the language and provide a tour of some of the common libraries such as numpy, scipy, pandas, matplotlib, JUPYTER notebooks, in the context of robotics and AI applications. Students will also learn about interfacing C++ and Python.

This course provides an introduction to Computer Vision and AI, with several topics relevant to robotics such as SLAM, 3D Geometry, 3D Reconstruction, Object recognition, speech recognition, classification, RANSAC, etc. Students will connect to and use real sensors (2D, 3D) using common open frameworks.

This course will focus on computational aspects of design and algorithms used when robots interact with a human to increase the collaboration and overall productivity of both.

Data driven learning is key to modern autonomous systems. This course will focus on the theory and algorithms in Machine Learning. Regression, Neural networks, Deep learning, Classification, Random forests, Support vector machines, PCA, clustering, EM and more.

This course focuses on the algorithmic and mathematical concepts when dealing with robot planning, manipulation and control. Topics covered include kinematics and dynamics, as well as path planning algorithms. Simulations will be performed to test the related algorithms.

This is a case-based course focusing on the system-level view of full robot systems. Use cases include aerial robots, self-driving cars, medical robotics, home robots, agricultural robots, and other application areas, with integration of all robotics sub-systems and simulations.

Students design and implement software for a robot for a real-world robotics problem (via simulation) using the tools learned from this course.

Prerequisite: RBOT 280. Students design and implement software for a robot for a real-world robotics problem (via simulation) using the tools learned from this course.

The field of Robotic Software Engineering is exciting and dynamic. New methods and uses are constantly evolving. This Special Topics course facilitates the introduction of cutting-edge robotic software engineering practices as they are introduced in the industry along with topics not covered by the required and elective courses.

This course enables students to build on their critical thinking skills and apply oral and written communication strategies to solve organizational problems and drive organizational change. Students will develop, execute, and measure strategies applicable to a wide range of industries. Topics include negotiation and facilitation; crisis communications and public relations; virtual and global communications; and stakeholder management.

This course introduces students to the inner workings and challenges facing our global economy, and considers the ways that technology impacts these issues. Students explore the financial crisis of 2008 and how it led to the emergence of the FinTech industry. Students analyze current events in the global economic environment with respect to causes, responses and what can be learned. Students identify and examine the major global economic challenges of the near future, and identify potential technology solutions.

This course addresses the evolution of the financial industry landscape, the challenges and opportunities this new era presents, and the drivers behind the change. Students analyze case studies of well-known FinTech companies and discuss/debate value propositions, competition, business models and technology. Students examine recent trends and explore areas that are ripe for disruption in the industry.

Professionals in the FinTech sector must be versed in the domains and vocabularies of their business. This course will examine the various components of financial accounting and reporting, how this information is used, as well as what elements are reported and why. Students examine various accounting reports and financial statements to identify risks. Students identify technology pitfalls and solutions regarding financial reporting and interpretation.

This course introduces students to the exciting world of FinTech innovation and FinTech startup financing options. Students explore the options of venture capital investments (crowdsourcing, self-funding, etc.) and develop the skills needed to pitch their products. They learn how to identify competitors and develop the skills necessary to make sound financial decisions. Students come to understand financing from the perspective of both the investor and the entrepreneur.

This course focuses on developing and implementing business strategies for the technology industry. Students use case studies to assess the internal and external environments of both established and emerging firms; incorporating economic, technological, sociopolitical and legal trends to evaluate a firm’s opportunities and threats. Students debate firms’ strategic decisions in the context of a technologically innovative ecosystem, and analyze how those strategies represent or do not represent a fit between the external environment (e.g., industry, competition, etc.) and a firm’s internal capabilities/competitive advantage. Students learn how to develop competitive advantage and assess competitive positioning.

This course involves programming and problem-solving using Python. Topics include procedures and functions, iteration, recursion, arrays and vectors, strings, an operational model of procedure and function calls, algorithms, exceptions, object-oriented programming, and GUIs (graphical user interfaces).

This capstone course provides students the opportunity to exhibit their cumulative knowledge, skills and creativity related to FinTech, allowing them to pitch their products to business leaders.

This course introduces current topics impacting the world of FinTech, such as the advent of “RegTech,” a small cohort of startups/companies that are focused on providing solutions to compliance and/or regulatory related issues might be discussed. The course may also include guest speakers from the FinTech world introducing new concepts and or trends. Specific topics vary by offering.

The Digital Marketing Strategy course is set up as a strategic and practical guide to diagnosing marketing gaps and opportunities for organizations from high-growth B2B technology and SaaS companies to budding consumer brands. The course is designed to teach the fundamentals of Marketing the Future -the new ways brands connect with their customers and make a ripple in their markets — marketing based on trust, authority (expertise + reputation) and consistency. Included in the foundational topics covered in this class are the three stages of marketing: Marketing of the Past, or the “Mad Men” era; Marketing of the Present (1980 to 2000), or the Infomercial era; Marketing of the Future (2000+), or the “Agile/Always in beta” era. In addition, this course will look at the principles of paid, owned, and earned as converged digital marketing, and the role of expertise and authority for community recognition, engagement and following. The practical aspects of the course — covered in Weeks 6-9 — will entail diagnosing , within groups of 3/4 students, a company of choice across 5 key marketing areas: 1. Positioning and messaging (via specific website and competitive analysis framework) 2. Diagnosis of paid and earned opportunities within search and social platforms 3. Understanding and assessment of market buzz 4. Identification of popular domain themes and topics 5. Prioritization of marketing channels This course is intended as a comprehensive digital marketing primer — equipping students with the core skills to be successful in joining a marketing team and making an impact at the strategy or specific divisional level.

Provides an overview of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) including organic, local, and paid results. Course content investigates applications to both B2C and B2B businesses with a focus on technical considerations for achieving high search results and effective return on investment (ROI) for paid listings. Special topics covered include keyword development, landing page optimization, programmatic advertising, implications of AI and Machine Learning, and the future of Search.

This course provides detailed information about how to write copy and messaging for various digital formats. Special attention is given to differences in form factor, audience targeting, and SEO (search engine optimization) implications of various types of content. Content marketing tactics are explored in detail.

The Multichannel Marketing Campaigns course is set up as a strategic and practical guide to designing, conducting and measuring multichannel marketing initiatives – for B2B and B2C brands. The course is designed to teach the fundamentals of 21st Century Digital Marketing – based on creating on-going, seamless customer experiences across digital and traditional channels. Included in the foundational topics covered in this class are the three stages of marketing: The New Customer Journey, and Why the Marketing Campaign is dead; Developing customer journeys – the fundamentals; Content, Channels and Measurement for Consumer Journeys. In addition, this course will look at the principles of paid, owned, and earned as converged digital marketing, and the role of diagnosing the channels for acquiring new customers.

Digital marketing is a broad field that encompasses more than just acquiring new customers to your product or service. In Conversion Rate Optimization, you will learn how to improve the customer journey and reduce friction throughout the funnel. You will learn best practices to streamline signup flows, improve onboarding, nurture leads, and increase customer lifetime value. At the end of this course, you should have a better idea of how to handle digital touchpoints for both prospects and customers that have raised their hands to express interest in your product or service.

Digital Imaging, Video and Media Production introduces students to the basics of digital and audio production. By engaging students around concepts of digital storytelling, this course examines how brands are using digital media across online platforms — from social media to blogs and websites — to tell stories that engage audiences and convert consumers. Through lectures and hands-on projects, students will gain competency in digital imaging and video editing and learn how to apply these skills to design, and build compelling creative for brand and performance marketing campaigns.

This course presents ethical dilemmas in digital marketing and works through the implications of various actions, such as tricking search engines (typically called “black hat” techniques), posing as customers in social media, making false or exaggerated claims, and using questionable or sneaky channels (e.g. popups and plugins). In this course, we will explore several issues or concepts in depth, first introducing the facets and aspects of the topic, then utilizing that knowledge to develop our principles and values through dialogue and the examination of multiple perspectives.

The field of Digital Marketing is continually evolving. New technologies, methods and platforms are continually introduced and evolving that may foster new marketing capabilities. The Digital Marketing & Design Special Topics course facilitates the introduction of cutting-edge practices and technologies as they are introduced in the industry.

This course serves as an introductory course in the Health and Medical Informatics curriculum. The focus is on health and medical informatics as a discipline and includes the coverage of major healthcare policies and standards that affect the health information industry, patient care systems (computerized patient records, delivery and monitoring systems), and modeling concepts and applications. Students will explore the impact of Information Technology (IT) on healthcare and analyze real applications of health informatics. Other topics include: healthcare system reform/accountable care, mobile health devices, telehealth and HIEs. This course also provides the opportunity for students to explore their own interests in sub-specialties of health informatics through a research project that will be shared and reviewed by other students in the class at the end of the semester.

This course is designed to provide current and aspiring health/medical IT professionals with an understanding of the challenges of collecting and maintaining electronic health data. The course focuses on issues specific to health data and the systems implemented to collect and store it. This includes an overview of various types of hospital systems; methods used to interface between systems; and operations issues typical of hospital systems. The course also includes a study of controlled medical vocabularies typically used to define various types of health data as well as a survey of existing and evolving government driven standards and regulations.

This course addresses security, privacy, and compliance issues as they impact health information systems. The course explores and evaluates the moral and ethical concepts of information security. Students will explore security issues including restricted access and physical security of hardware/software along with the evaluation of information security tools. The course covers health data integrity, risks, and audit ability techniques along with regulatory compliance, confidentiality and privacy of patient data. The overall goal of the course is the evaluation and implementation of security in health information systems.

This course is designed to familiarize students with the different types of healthcare data, assure the quality of the data and how to understand and communicate the information provided in support of effective decision making by the various stakeholders of the healthcare system. Study and discussion topics will include how to choose the correct information for different decisions and communicate its meaning to users. Students will evaluate statistical methods and tools. The difference between research databases and operational databases will be covered along with techniques to effectively communicate quantitative healthcare data using tables and graphs. Methods for choosing the right medium will be explored in depth.

This course will provide an in-depth and real-world understanding of modern day healthcare data analytics. Students will be able to understand the business goals and objectives as to why various types of healthcare organizations and emerging models of care use and depend on this data. Students will be able to understand the importance of the various types of electronic healthcare systems and integration models to ensure accurate and reliable data in providing effective and efficient healthcare analytics. Through assignments, case studies and class exercises, students will be able to understand the tools and techniques used to evaluate key components of healthcare analytics, including operations, financial, quality, utilization, care retention, policy and contract management. Furthermore, the understanding of payer claims data and various types of healthcare data standards will be an integral part in understanding the foundational elements in providing healthcare analytics. Finally, students will not only be able to analyze and interpret various categories of healthcare data analytics, they will also be shown the most effective ways to illustrate and present data to a number of different types of key stakeholders in various healthcare organizational settings.

The healthcare delivery system in the U.S. is complex and in order to navigate it successfully students must have a fundamental understanding of the events and policies that have shaped the current environment in which they will be working. In addition to providing an overview of how the U.S. system has developed, this course will place a substantial focus on how healthcare data has developed over time and the ways in which it has informed the changes to the delivery system.

In today’s dynamic healthcare IT environment, emerging technologies represent a critical and exciting field of study. Advances in technologies across all aspects of healthcare promise to make dramatic impacts in terms of the efficiency and efficacy of care with major implications for clinical quality and cost. This course introduces students to a number of emerging classes of healthcare information technologies. The course also considers the unique challenges that the healthcare industry presents in terms of planning, implementation, and adoption of new technologies. While the content of the class is dynamic and continually evolving, emerging technologies are broad enough to split into static categories. The categories present emerging technologies that represent the major fields within health and medical informatics, including: Health/medical information systems (including hospital-based information systems, billing, scheduling, etc.). Clinical/decision support systems, including standardized language lexicon Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Health Information Exchange (HIE) technologies including integration issues and standards. E-health, telemedicine, connected health, location-based technologies, personalized medicine. Interdisciplinary integrations: bioinformatics (biomedical informatics), etc.

This course offers students an opportunity to understand a historical perspective of health law, including how to assess liability in the workplace, the impact of information management and healthcare records, medical malpractice, risk management, current ethical and legal dilemmas in the practice of healthcare. We focus on some of the legal issues encountered in creating electronic interfaces between patients and the healthcare system in a variety of ways in which healthcare data is being utilized to support and enhance patient care (including documenting medical encounters) and serving as a benchmark of provider quality. Topics covered will include statutory and case law applicable to medical records and the developing regulatory infrastructure for such records. We will discuss the importance of electronic data in medical practice, institutional healthcare information systems, and the inter-institutional record systems. We will also cover the risks, benefits and challenges related to this data, including how to manage risk of the employer and patient through the use of health information management medical records and how to determine personal risk and how to recognize potential litigious issues. At the end of the course, students will be able to: Develop an understanding of how state and federal regulations must be taken into account during the creation and review of healthcare data retention policies to support effective decision making. Define an appropriate procedure in alignment with industry practices for storage of information and to properly destroy media containing PHI when it is no longer needed. Implement a Litigation Response Plan for electronic health information to ensure institutional preparedness. Institute a HIPAA Compliance program with the utilization of audit trails and privacy and security software to ensure federally mandated compliance. Identify inappropriate use of health information that impacts ethical and legal standards and policies.

This course is an introduction to healthcare business systems and models with a particular emphasis on the value of IT to the organization. This includes departmental design and management, capital and operating budgets, the budget planning process, and infrastructure design and strategic planning. Other topics include evaluation of vendors, vendor selection, purchase agreements and contracts, writing an RFP, analyzing an RFP response, clinical administration systems, and the design and management of integrated delivery networks.

This course will focus on the challenges facing the healthcare CIO/director with respect to organizational structure, alignment with enterprise strategy, portfolio management and regulatory compliance. In addition the course will look at how the application of IT can transform healthcare delivery in the current environment.

The U.S. healthcare system is in the midst of a period of unprecedented change. Population health management (PHM) focuses on the improved management of groups of patients through the assessment of various levels of risk and the development of care management frameworks to improve outcomes and reduce expenses. This course will examine the impacts of PHM on healthcare IT systems including: engaging primary care physicians in the hospital workflow; data interoperability both inside and outside of the enterprise; patient engagement; analytics for risk assessment and operational efficiencies; EHR workflows for PHM; and tools for long term care management.

This course is designed to introduce the student to risk management in the enterprise with a focus on the specific needs and challenges of the healthcare industry. This includes an overview of how risk is identified and planned for in healthcare organizations, how risk is financed, the basic principles of insurance, and what metrics allow risk to be measured and monitored.

The purpose of this course is to provide students an opportunity to demonstrate mastery of a core competency in the health and medical informatics field. Students will write an in-depth research paper that summarizes and reflects their work. Prior to registering for this course, students must have an agreement for supervision from an instructor and an approved statement of intent that includes an abstract of the project along with its objectives and preliminary milestones. Categories of suitable topics include: Evaluation of administration practices in a health/medical organization. Research in support of an organizational goal. Exploration of current developments within the profession. Evaluation of national and global IT policies and practices that affect the delivery of healthcare services. Exploration of the legal and ethical issues related to IT and their implications on practice for the healthcare administrator. At the end of this course, students will be able to: Initiate, plan, manage and deliver a complete paper. Investigate and interpret information relevant to the problem. Demonstrate originality and independent thinking in the application of knowledge gained. Demonstrate critical judgment in the evaluation of research results. Present the results in an appropriate professional manner.

The field of Health and Medical Informatics is continually evolving. New health care research as well as legal, ethical, and regulatory habits and practices around the world are subject to rapid and potentially wide-reaching change. New technologies are continually introduced that may foster new technological capabilities. The Health and Medical Informatics Special Topics course facilitates the introduction of cutting-edge practices and technologies as they are introduced in the industry.

Foundations of Information Security provides an understanding of the fundamental elements and technology “building blocks” of information assurance and computer security. The objective of the course is to provide coverage from the ground up on applied security concepts and technologies related to IT infrastructures, along with the attacks, threats and vulnerabilities currently faced by organizations. This course will expose students to fundamental security technologies and concepts in the areas of access control, cryptography, telecommunications and network security, application development security, and physical (environmental) security. This course provides the foundation for the remaining courses in the Information Security program.

Foundations of Information Security Management will expose students to higher-level security concepts, infrastructures, standards, protocols and best practices that are necessary for today's Information Security professional. Building on the knowledge of fundamental security technologies covered in Foundations of Information Security, students will develop an understanding of the fundamental tenets of information assurance solutions for businesses, government agencies and enterprises which require the establishment of a comprehensive security strategy and execution plan. This course will expose students to key concepts and principles in security operations; security architecture and design; information security governance and risk management; business continuity and disaster recovery planning; and topics in legal, regulations, investigations and compliance.

This course covers the concepts and practices of using user access control techniques and mechanisms to appropriately address security requirements such as confidentiality, integrity, authentication, authorization, and accountability. Concepts explored include common IT security challenges; the role of cryptography; access control principles, mechanisms, and techniques related to user identification and strategies for enabling stronger authentication using Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI), smartcards, and biometrics; enterprise identity management concepts; and industry standards for enabling identity provisioning, single sign-on, and federation.

This course covers both the principles and practice of digital forensics. It investigates the societal and legal impact of computer activity including computer crime, intellectual property, privacy issues, legal codes; risks, vulnerabilities, and countermeasures; forensic tools and techniques to uncover illegal or illicit activities left on disk and recovering files from intentionally damaged media; specific manifestations of cyber crime, including hacking, viruses, and other forms of malicious software; methods and standards for extraction, preservation, and deposition of legal evidence in a court of law. The course maps to the objectives of the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists (IACIS) certification to provide credible, standards-based information.

This course covers applied security concepts, technologies, techniques, patterns, best practices and checklists intended for securing Web based applications, XML Web services and SOA. The course illustrates the real-world security challenges in IT applications and drills down on strategies for identifying security threats and risks; adopting a security design methodology; implementing security architecture using patterns and best practices; and performing security testing and production deployment.

This course presents methods to identify vulnerabilities and take appropriate countermeasures to prevent, mitigate, and manage information failure risks for an organization. The course provides a foundation in disaster recovery principles, addressing concepts such as incident response; disaster recovery planning; risk assessment; policies and procedures; roles and relationships of various members of an organization; implementation of the plan; testing and rehearsal of the plan; and actually recovering from a disaster to insure business continuity.

Cloud computing is ubiquitous. Understanding Cloud and adding value in the migration, implementation, auditing and management of Cloud solutions and service models is the frontier of today’s security leader. Increasingly our role is demanding advisory guidance and insight to groups such as Legal, Procurement, and Senior Executives. Being conversant in SaaS, PaaS, IaaS is no longer an option but is now a requirement, and integrating Cloud knowledge into a security program and security leadership will demand a multifaceted understanding of the technical, the managerial, and the business objectives. The focus of this course is to provide insight into: • Cloud definitions and service models • Cloud risk assessment and auditing • Cloud security and controls • Data governance and management • Cloud contract management and managed service provider management • Legal and regulatory considerations Our goal is a comprehensive view on Cloud that will enable the security leader to become fluent in assessing, negotiating, managing, controlling and reporting upon Cloud value and Cloud data protection in their organization.

Your focus will be to understand how to perform information security risk assessments and how to communicate your findings to executives and the Board. Awareness of the information security risks related to confidential information, intellectual property, and the consequences of disruptions to our business objectives is increasing. We are also seeing Board’s beginning to take notice and ask questions, expecting that they will be reported to by information security just as they would Risk, Audit, Compliance and others. This course will review practical information security risk assessment frameworks and methods for quantifying uncertainties related to business decisions about information security.

This course appraises vulnerabilities and threat vectors associated with Mobile Computing Devices. Specific emphasis on mitigation techniques including security configurations as well as security software. Topics will include the following: Mobile Computing Overview, Wireless Communications Infrastructure Vulnerabilities, Wireless Communications Infrastructure Vulnerabilities Mitigation Techniques, Mobile Platform Vulnerabilities, Mobile Platform Vulnerabilities, Mitigation Techniques, Mobile App Vulnerabilities, Mobile App Vulnerabilities Mitigation Techniques, Mobile Device Vulnerabilities, Mobile Device Vulnerabilities Mitigation Techniques, and Organizational Mobile Device Security Policy Requirements.

Network security is a broad term that can refer to the security of devices that comprise the network infrastructure, the traffic sent over that infrastructure, the hosts (clients and servers) attached to the infrastructure, the applications that utilize the network, the user community and the policies that govern usage of that network. In this course, we will use the first four layers of the OSI protocol stack (physical, link, network, and transport) to introduce many aspects of network security. In particular, we will consider how devices at each layer provide “defense in depth” by securing communications traffic as well as preventing unauthorized access. Our examination will be enhanced by using various security tools to observe network traffic that illustrates how security can be applied throughout today’s enterprise.

This course covers key topics in Information Security, Privacy and Compliance. In an era of cheap computing in the cloud, unprecedented attacks from professional hackers and nation-state actors and stricter regulatory enforcement, balancing the needs of the enterprise while keeping its digital assets safe has become more challenging than ever. The course will cover the basic topics of information security from both Policy and Technical perspectives and will also address the soft skills needed to become an information security executive and build a security mindset. Course concepts will include cost vs. risk balancing and risk-based decision making, administrative and technical methods for security, privacy and compliance, Privacy regulations and IT compliance.

A recent study published two interesting facts: 1. 85% of board members [surveyed] believe that IT and security executives need to improve the way they report to the board. 2. 59% of Board members [surveyed] say that one or more IT security executive will lose their job as a result of failing to provide useful, actionable information. This course prepares new student leaders to communicate effectively to senior leaders and Board members on matters such as; IT security metrics and requirements, security risk management and data privacy topics, IT policy and regulatory matters. Student leaders will develop and practice skills necessary to report and elicit budget and financial impact on plans and department, qualitatively and quantitatively characterize and report upon risk and security metrics, and develop written and oral presentation skills.

This course introduces students to the foundational learning experience design methodologies and models commonly utilized in the design and development of digital learning experiences, training modules, or programs. Students explore the application of evidence-based learning science to learning experiences course development through methodologies grounded in learning experience design practices. Participants examine the roles and responsibilities of learning experience designers as they relate to the online learner, instructor, subject matter expert, and others. Throughout the course, students will apply design principles and collaborate to design and create prototypes; write measurable learning outcomes and related assessments; create and curate appropriate learning resources; integrate task analyses; and design activities that foster learning communities and promote collaborative learning environments.

This course introduces students to the technologies, systems, and toolsets commonly used to support the design, delivery, and assessment of synchronous and asynchronous online learning and training. Students explore the various types of platforms that support instructional design and online learning activities, including learning management systems (LMS), personal learning networks (PLN), open learning networks (OLN), content management systems, and others. Students will explore and evaluate a broad range of open and proprietary tools to support online instructional design, including communication and collaboration tools, assessment engines, electronic portfolios, rapid e-learning authoring tools, and others. Students will assess the capabilities of various instructional technologies to determine their efficacy in resolving online instructional challenges, and will investigate new and emerging tools.

This course explores the evolving legal and ethical landscape in which instructional designers and technologists must practice. Students will examine legal issues arising from intellectual property, copyright law, including the fair use exception, the TEACH Act, and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; federal laws related to accessibility for learners with disabilities; and FERPA, a federal law that protects the privacy of education records. Students will apply laws to realistic scenarios that arise in the design setting, developing best practices to minimize the risk of liability. Students will also explore the ethical challenges that arise in practice, including the creation of instructional materials that support a diverse learner audience, implications of the “digital divide,” and conflicts of interest stemming from opportunities for personal gain outside of the employment relationship. Students will work to develop their own ethical code to guide their professional paths.

This course will introduce students to Learning Management Systems (LMS) as the primary content authoring tool for online instructional design. Students will compare the feature sets of a number of LMS platforms, and evaluate best practices and workflows for authoring within such systems. Students will explore methods for course facilitation using LMS-driven tools, and examine how the LMS can support both synchronous and asynchronous approaches to online learning. Then, as course creators, students will work in teams and use an LMS to author and build their own online course content. Through hands-on practice, discussion, and critique, students will practice applying sound instructional design practices in tool selection; effective course design; and facilitation of a collaborative and constructive learning environment.

This course will explore the theoretical underpinnings and practical applications of learning experience design. Through collaborative solution development, students will apply cognitive and learning sciences to enhance learning comprehension. They will include in their practice the incorporation of accessibility and universal design for learning (UDL) principles. Students will also examine the process and techniques for data gathering and evaluation applicable for the purpose of driving iterative decision making and will explore a number of advanced assessment techniques to evaluate achievement of outcomes and competencies. This course will emphasize strategic LXD project leadership and advanced instructional design techniques key to fostering the development of healthy online learning communities in educational or corporate settings, including formal and informal personal learning networks.

This course provides students the opportunity to apply best practices in the management of complex online instructional design projects, including the initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure of instructional development projects, including practical techniques to develop and manage scope, budgets, schedules, quality, resources. The course will explore the application and integration of both traditional and agile project management practices to existing online instructional design and development methodologies. Students will analyze and demonstrate both the project management and business analysis responsibilities associated with the instructional development project life cycle.

This practicum course provides students the opportunity to exhibit their cumulative knowledge, skills, and creativity related to online instructional design and technology. Students will demonstrate their ability to integrate design, pedagogical and technological principles and skills by applying them to a real-world project. Students will serve in a consulting capacity, and work independently or in small groups with a subject matter expert or client on a real project. Alternately, students may create a solution for an existing case study on an e-learning project that requires assessment, design, development, project management, and evaluation. Through development of an actual online instructional design project/product, the practicum allows students to experience the application of the skills and knowledge they have acquired in the prerequisite courses, and will result in the development of a high-quality portfolio project.

Project managers frequently interface with business analysts and can be tasked to take on requirements management and business analysis tasks, therefore they will be more effective if they possess key skills such as requirements elicitation, requirements analysis & documentation, and solution validation. This course covers topics and techniques that are aimed to equip the project manager with core business and requirements analysis skills that can prove critical to project success.

Adaptive and game-based elearning is a rapidly emerging trend in online learning for higher education and corporate training, as institutions and organizations transition from traditional methods of learning and assessment to more engaging, personalized, and interactive learning models. This course provides students with an opportunity to explore the tools and techniques utilized to design and develop these interactive learning experiences. Students will examine how adaptive learning techniques, technologies, and platforms can be utilized to support personalized and customized learning and training, and how traditional approaches to delivery of instructional materials and strategies can be modified and enhanced to deliver adaptive and game-based elearning in the online environment. Students will have the opportunity to apply the theories of adaptivity and gamification to the planning, storyboarding, and prototyping of an adaptive learning game or interactive module.

This course provides students with the opportunity to explore and utilize a variety of creative E-Learning authoring tools to plan, design, develop, and deploy highly interactive courseware and multimedia learning resources. Students will apply instructional design best practices to the design and integration of both static learning materials, such as data-driven infographics, slide presentations, and icons; and dynamic content, such as video, audio podcasts, animations, interactive lessons, and simulations. Students will evaluate and compare the capabilities of a number of rapid E-learning authoring tools, and harness them to create high-quality online learning resources. The course will also emphasize the development of universally accessible multimedia.

The collection and analysis of data has dramatically altered how decisions are made and resources are allocated in a variety of industries. In online instructional design and technology, learning analytics are emerging tools to improve how online students learn, and how employees are trained through data-informed course design and instructional practices. This course will provide students an opportunity to explore learning analytics and how they can be deployed in various contexts in the online instructional design and technology field. Students will explore the implications of learning analytics in their organizations, and evaluate how it relates to concepts such as educational data-mining and academic analytics. The toolsets and methodologies, ethics and privacy considerations, and the systemic impact of learning analytics on institutions and organizations will be explored. Students will evaluate the present state of data analytics for instructional design, and assess possible future directions of the field. Students will apply the concepts presented in the course to analyze, plan, and deploy small-scale learning analytics pilot projects.

The field of Learning Experience Design is continually expanding and makes the news both national and globally as institutions of higher learning and corporate training operations alike are migrating their once traditional education programs into the online education space. This Special Topics course facilitates the introduction of cutting-edge learning experience design practices—as they are introduced in the industry.

This course serves as an introductory course in the Technology Management curriculum, spanning the wide range of technologies in use in modern organizations. The course covers the major issues involved in selecting and deploying particular technologies based on the requirements of a particular project. The course provides a foundation for future study in strategic deployment of information technology in support of the business.

This course examines strategic operational issues from the perspective of the CIO or IT Director, exploring how IT organizations can best be managed. The course explores best practices for deploying limited financial and human resources for optimal results.

This course looks at strategic issues for the IT organization within the context of the larger organization and the relationship between the two. The course is designed to help current and future IT directors/CIOs effectively exploit information systems technologies within the context of a company’s business needs.

This course provides an opportunity for students to focus on leadership and the applicable skills needed to function as a leader in an organizational setting. The course looks at leadership as a process by which one person influences the attitudes and behaviors of others. It looks at leadership of organizations and groups, including teams. Concepts covered include various leadership theories and models, leadership across cultures, leadership ethics and attributes, organizational change/development, and, the role of the leader in establishing organizational culture and facilitating change. The course encourages self-assessment through group projects and leadership simulations.

This course focuses on the important legal, ethical, and societal issues associated with managing information technology resources, from multiple perspectives: technical, social, and philosophical. It examines the different ethical situations that arise in IT and provides practical techniques for addressing these issues. Concepts addressed include file sharing, infringement of intellectual property, security risks, Internet crime, identity theft, employee surveillance, privacy, and compliance.

There are significant challenges to be found in managing today’s technology professionals including the rate at which the knowledge on which they draw changes, their goals and incentives, and the way in which project teams comprised mostly of technical professionals can "age." This course focuses on issues that are of special interest to those managing technology professionals including analysts, developers, technical specialists, and infrastructure support personnel. We also discuss the importance of organizational structure, the ways it can affect performance, and the criteria upon which it should be chosen. Also included is an examination of organizational cultures, a contrast and comparison of various organizational structures, and managing stress in the constantly changing IT environment. Through assignments, case studies and class exercises, students will examine management practices and techniques regarding organizational structure, cross-functional teams, performance planning and enhancement, reward systems, recruiting, retention, and the development of knowledge workers.

In a world increasingly dependent on the effective exploitation of technologies, driving a sustainable competitive strategy is dependent upon organizations fostering a climate of innovation and creativity. This course aims to provide students with competencies and analytic skills to investigate technological challenges within dynamic organizational contexts. Students will research, evaluate and apply appropriate change management processes and innovative solutions to achieve strategic objectives and competitive advantages.

Crisis and contingency management are essential practice areas for technology leaders. Organizations have many moving parts and rely on many facets including people, processes, and technology to achieve their goals. Regardless of the perceived level of preparedness, a crisis or contingency event will affect the whole organization and that organization’s customers. How a technology leader approaches the planning, practice, and execution of crisis and contingency management may determine how quickly and completely an organization weathers such an event and can even set that organization ahead of its competition.

The field of Technology Management is continually evolving. This Special Topics course facilitates the introduction of cutting-edge practices and technologies as they are introduced in the industry.

This course covers key foundational project management principles and concepts that are applicable to a wide variety of projects. Concepts covered include all phases of the project, from initiation through closure, in both traditional plan-based projects as well as agile approaches. Students will learn specific techniques that can be applied immediately for planning, estimating and reporting; management of risk, quality, resources, and communications.

Projects attempt to achieve maximum value for minimum cost, and they often compete with other projects and operations within the organization for resources and financing. This course covers recently developed methods and value based metrics that, properly applied, can significantly impact project and portfolio value and revenue. By quantifying each side of the classic Triple Constraint Triangle, the value returned by the project and its contribution to the organizational portfolio can be accurately assessed and optimized. The course focuses on the project as an investment, and addresses both the theoretical and practical skills necessary to successfully manage that investment. Techniques covered include Estimated Monetary Value of the project scope; critical path and precedence diagramming methods of scheduling; resource optimization; and decision-making processes that optimize both project performance and return on investment.

This course covers risk management processes and techniques in depth, exploring the systematic and iterative approaches that encompass risk planning, identification, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, response planning, and monitoring and control. The course addresses risk management principles consistent with the PMBOK. Techniques for building and applying a risk management toolkit are explored, as are methods to implement risk management programs within an organization.

Conflicts of interest are common in project and program management, business environments, and daily life. This course provides a framework to understand the basis of conflict, to select an appropriate conflict resolution strategy, and to employ tactics that optimize results for both individuals and organizations. Characteristics of negotiation explored include the two fundamental strategies of negotiation; frames of reference; value creation; value claiming; and the impact of both tangible and intangible factors on the negotiation process. With globalization of project management and the implementation of virtual teams, the challenges to successfully resolve conflicts become increasingly complex. Approaches to conflict resolution differ among collocated and virtual teams, and cultural differences, interests, and values influence negotiation strategy and tactics. As each element of the conflict resolution process is explored, the course highlights special considerations for virtual team members. By participating in this course you will come to recognize the pervasiveness and importance of negotiation. You will acquire a new repertoire of negotiating skills. You will develop a systematic and positive approach to negotiating with colleagues, bosses, clients, other stakeholders, and external groups of all kinds--in ways that equip you to deal also with all kinds of conditions and circumstances.

This course examines the various challenges that more often than not arise within the project lifecycle and can threaten project success. The course also examines the reasons these challenges occur, when in the lifecycle they tend to happen, and solutions for anticipating, preventing, minimizing and/or mitigating them.

Programs connect a company's strategic plans to the projects necessary to implement them. Programs frequently span many years, include multiple product releases, involve numerous and diverse stakeholder groups, and necessitate the establishment of a program office. This course covers the history, current practice, and future directions of program management. Concepts covered include program versus project, product, and portfolio management; the program manager role; the program life cycle, its phases and process groups, consistent with the PMI Standard for Program Management; themes of program management including benefits management, stakeholder management, and program governance; key program management deliverables; program office models; portfolio management concepts; and program management implementation within an organization.

This course covers the procurement process in depth, including concepts, principles and ethics, pricing methods, awards, and all phases of contract administration from both the seller and buyer perspectives. It explores the development of bids and requests for proposals; the evaluation of responses; and the capabilities and use of various types of contracts and pricing mechanisms. It addresses outsourcing (including market investigation, key risks, requirements definition and evaluations using performance based service agreements) and the evaluation and use of contract information systems.

This course examines the people-related aspects of project management across several areas, including team and stakeholder management; the role of the project manager in relation to the different levels, positions and personalities among the team and stakeholders; and the vital aspect of communications in effective project management. Also covered is the importance of project leadership vs. management, and an in-depth examination of the many people-related issues that often arise during the project lifecycle.

Agile project management techniques are being applied within a growing number of companies of various sizes and industries, from the entrepreneurial to the conservative. This course covers characteristics and delivery frameworks for agile project management. The course also explores how agile methods differ from traditional project management, along with how to recognize projects that may be suitable for agile techniques. Additional topics include the values, roles, deliverables, and practices of Scrum; additional agile and iterative methods; scalability and enterprise-wide considerations.

The field of project and program management continually evolves. Project management professional groups such as the Project Management Institute (PMI) introduce new and revised standards each year; organizations adopt novel approaches and refine existing methodologies; updated industry data and case studies on the effectiveness of project management practices become available. This Project Management Special Topics course facilitates the introduction of cutting-edge project management practices as they are introduced in the industry.

This course provides a foundation of the history, concepts, purpose and application of both data science and analytics in a business environment. This includes the methods of data collection, preparation, analysis, visualization, management, security and preservation of large sets of information. Also covered in the course are the primary methods of analytics, including predictive, prescriptive, and descriptive. The course will examine the various uses of analytics and how these methods identify and leverage competitive advantage in the era of ever-growing information requirements. The course will utilize case studies, trends, techniques, and best practices as it examines the topics of data science and analytics.

Business Intelligence can be described as the process of transforming data into knowledge. This transformation involves the use of processes and applications to extrapolate meaning from a company’s data. This meaning usually ends up on dashboards, so that senior management can monitor assumptions and key performance metrics that are part of long-term planning cycles. As Business Intelligence processes mature, they begin to focus on using data to gain new insights. We call these processes Business Analytics, and this information is the key to Strategic Decision Making. This course provides students the opportunity to develop an in-depth understanding of the modern uses of business intelligence processes. Many companies now commonly use analytics to bridge the gap between existing business intelligence processes and current day needs. Students will be able to understand the business goals and objectives driving these needs. The course also explores the importance of various types of information systems and infrastructure as a framework for business decision making.

This course presents fundamental principles of statistics in the context of business-related data analysis and decision making, including methods of summarizing and analyzing data, statistical reasoning for learning from observations (experimental or sample), and techniques for dealing with uncertainties in drawing conclusions from collected data. Topics covered include applied probability, sampling, estimation, hypothesis testing, linear regression, analysis of variance, categorical data analysis, and nonparametric statistics.

This course will focus on the topic of big data and its management, including the tools and techniques designed to effectively analyze and visualize big data for strategic advantage. The course will cover definitions and concepts related to the areas of big data, strategic analytics, and data visualization; the overall problem of big data and the tools and techniques designed to manage it; and the ways in which strategic analytics and visualization can be utilized in different fields and industries to have a strategic impact on an organization’s competitive advantage in today’s business environment. The course will also address the future path of big data management, analytics and visualization, including career options and outlook.

This course will provide an introduction to advanced analytics and measurement in the areas of social networking and media, web and marketing analytics. The topics covered include the history, tracking, performance, optimization, metrics, analysis, visualization, decision making, reporting and best practices in each of those three areas. E-commerce will also be covered as it relates to web and marketing.

This course will provide an overview of data governance, including building a governance infrastructure with organizational management, roles and responsibilities, stewardship, governance communications and risk management. Data quality will be addressed as a continuous issue in data management, along with the challenges it poses as the volumes of available data increase and the need and uses of data expand. This course will utilize case studies, trends, techniques, and best practices as it examines the role of data governance in the quality and uses of data.

This course will focus on the fundamentals of predictive analytics as it relates to improving business performance. The course will cover predictive models, key modeling techniques, scoring, non-parametric regression and classification, principal components analysis and dimension reduction, time series, quality control methods, multiple predictor variables, and decision trees. The course will utilize best practices and case studies to illustrate how predictive analytics can facilitate educated decision-making to reduce costs, increase revenues, and provide competitive advantage across a variety of industries.

Organizations are experiencing unprecedented change due to the new realities of the digital world. Data now drives decisions in organizations more than ever before. Organizations have more data than they have ever had before, and more ways to analyze it are presented every day. Yet strategic initiatives continue to fail as often as they have in the past. Clearly a new approach to this issue is necessary. This course will cover an integrated approach to strategic management decision making, incorporating a thorough and realistic treatment of its relevance and its challenges. The course also covers how to plan and adopt big data analytics solutions through comprehensive planning, strategy development, and analysis.

The security and privacy of data is of utmost concern to organizations and individuals. Data ethics is viewed as a critical topic in terms of privacy, data manipulation, data sharing and ownership, conflict of interest, and communications. This course covers the legal considerations, ethical considerations, data ownership and potential exposure considerations inherent in framing the discussion of data, its collection, and use. This course will utilize case studies, trends, techniques, regulations, and best practices as it examines the topics of data security and the ethical questions associated with dealing in data.

This course covers principles and concepts of project management in concert with the needs of analytics projects. Traditional techniques are presented and discussed within the context of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and agile project management best practices are covered. Concepts covered include process groups from initiation through closure; techniques for estimating and reporting; and management of risk, quality, resources, and communications. The dynamic nature of analytics projects, which include data warehouse implementations and business intelligence solutions, are characterized by uncertain or changing requirements and high implementation risks.

The field of Strategic Analytics is continually expanding and makes the news both national and globally every day. This Strategic Analytics Special Topics course facilitates the introduction of cutting-edge data practices—particularly around big data--as they are introduced in the industry. This course will cover new standards and practices as they are introduced, novel approaches and refined existing methodologies, and updated industry data and case studies on the most recent developments and practices in the area of Strategic Analytics.

This course explores advanced topics of Java programming language, including object- oriented programming concepts; exceptions; generic programming and annotations; collections; Java foundations classes (JFC); delegation event model; layout managers; swing components including panels, menus, toolbars, and text components; multi-threading; streams and input/output programming; networking; and Java database connectivity (JDBC).

This course provides a solid foundation of C++ with focus on object-oriented concepts and programming techniques. Concepts covered include classes, objects, abstract data types, file processing, inheritance, encapsulation, polymorphism, overloading, reuse, and templates.

This course examines Java technologies a software engineer can use to meet the challenges of software development for large-scale development projects. Large-scale systems typically support a complex system architecture, incorporate a significant amount of business logic, interoperate with a variety of back-end and partner systems, and access various data stores. This course will focus on the following major technologies that meet these challenges: Spring Framework and RESTful Web Services.

Object-oriented modeling and design form the foundation of many software projects today and are pre-requisites to developing in C++, Java, and other object-oriented programming languages. This course covers object modeling and design techniques as they are applied from the point the high-level project requirements are established, through high level and detailed design, to the point where implementation is ready to start. The course focuses on Unified Modeling Language (UML), an approach that combines previously competing object modeling theories, as well as concepts including distributed object frameworks; design patterns; existing object-oriented languages such as C++ and Java; and lifecycle and maintenance issues of object-oriented applications.

This course covers non-programming related aspects and best practices of the software development process, from requirements engineering, architectural design, and quality management to software maintenance and process improvement. Concepts addressed include software engineering tools, models, and methodologies; requirements engineering and specifications; system modeling; business process analysis; VORD and Use Case analysis; control and distribution models; estimating and scheduling; risk management; software maintenance and improvement; and ethics within the industry.

This course provides an introduction to theory, tools and techniques needed by software release engineers. It is intended to give students the skills to evaluate and use tools for continuous integration and delivery (DevOps).

This course provides an opportunity for students to work collaboratively on a complex software project. Organized in teams, students will analyze a software problem, develop requirements, designs, test plans, and deliver code. Students will synthesize skills learned in the core courses of the Software Engineering program to deliver a significant project, under the guidance of faculty.

This course introduces user interface design principles and concepts of user-centered design. User interface concepts for web, desktop and mobile applications are practiced in a variety of design projects. Universal design concepts, accessibility design, navigational schemas and elements of screen design are also discussed.

This course covers topics related to software testing methodology, with a focus on realistic, pragmatic steps for testing consumer and business software. Concepts covered include test cycles; testing objectives; testing in the software development process; types of software errors; reporting and analyzing software errors; problem tracking systems; test case design; testing tools; test planning; test documentation; and managing a test group.

This course provides hands-on experience with functional programming—a style of programming that has seen increasing popularity due to its ability to work with complex concepts through highly adaptable models. Functional programming supports higher-level abstractions, customizable data structures, as well as concurrency and parallelism inherent in cloud computing and big data analytics. Students will use functional extensions of Java and a popular functional programming language Scala to apply functional programming approach to a variety of design, modeling and implementation challenges.

The course provides an extensive examination of client and server side technologies used in developing web applications. On the client side, we learn how to create attractive and well-functioning web pages using XHTML, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), JavaScript, and jQuery. The server side web development focuses on web development with Servlets, JavaServerPages (JSP), JSP Expression Language (EL), and JavaServer Pages Standard Template Library (JSTL), JavaServerFaces (JSF), Ajax with Servlets and jQuery. Web applications, built with these technologies, access and interact with databases using Java Data Base Connectivity (JDBC).

Design Patterns form an advanced area in object oriented design and architecture. Design patterns focus on solutions to problems commonly found in design of object oriented programs. The first part of the course examines the fundamentals of the core patterns: creational, behavioral, structural, and system patterns. The second part of the course examines patterns of enterprise applications. Enterprise applications handle display, business operations, and database interaction of large amount of often complex data. Examples include financial systems, reservation systems, supply chain system, and many others that run modern business. Enterprise applications are structured in layers. Discussions of layers of enterprise architecture is followed by design patterns that are used in each layer.

This course examines major aspects of the Microservices Architecture and Development. It teaches you how to build microservice-based applications using Java and the Spring platform. You’ll learn to do microservice design as you build and deploy your first Spring Cloud application. Throughout the course, carefully selected real-life examples expose microservice-based patterns for configuring, routing, scaling, and deploying your services. You’ll see how Spring’s intuitive tooling can help augment and refactor existing applications with microservices. The course will provide insights and project experiences with Microservices Architecture and Development examining the following topics: Introduction to Microservices Spring Boot as the technology that simplifies applications configuration and deployment. Docker as a container used to organize and develop microservices Spring Cloud as the technology that enables developers to quickly create applications that implement common patterns Building Microservices with Spring Boot Microservices configuration with Spring Cloud Configuration Server Services discovery and registration with Spring Eureka Service Client resiliency patterns with Spring Cloud and Netflix Hystrix Service routing with Spring Cloud and Zuul Microservices security Event-driven architecture with Spring Cloud Stream

This course covers data modeling, including relational, object-oriented, and object-relational database design concepts and issues. Concepts addressed include relational theory and database design; entity relationship modeling; normalization; issues of design and implementation; issues of database integrity, security, recovery and concurrence; and object-oriented databases.

This course covers the foundations of data warehousing and data mining, and then explores how these technologies convert information into knowledge. Data warehousing is compared and contrasted with operational databases, and the use of various data mining techniques are considered in terms of a variety of problems. From a technical perspective, a special emphasis is placed on data warehouse design and the most common implementation issues.

Mobile devices are increasingly prevalent and consequently demand attention from organizations. Mobile devices are not only a telephone -- they are small personal computers including smart phones, PDAs and tablets/iPad. The devices allow the user to access the Web, as well as introduce a world of applications. The Web sites and applications used through a mobile device have serious business impact and potential. This course covers the study of hand-held mobile devices and teaches hands-on approaches to working with them. Concepts addressed include how to create responsive Web sites that take advantage of mobile devices and creating custom device-specific native applications. Assignments will give students the opportunity to create responsive web sites and Android mobile applications that they can run on simulators and/or on their own mobile devices. Having a mobile device is not required and will not impact coursework or grade.

The data center is increasingly virtual. In this class, students will explore “cloud”-based services, ranging from “Software as a Service”—using internet-based software suites such as Google Docs or Salesforce.com, through platform-based systems (PaaS) such as Microsoft’s Azure environment that make it easy to focus on developing new apps or services, to complete cloud-based infrastructure (IaaS) such as Amazon’s Web Services. The class also explores how use of the cloud also changes how we “do” IT. Cloud-based services are especially well-suited to Agile development and Lean Startup thinking. This leads to new ideas such as DevOps and “continuous deployment.” In addition, use of SaaS security systems changes how we integrate systems, how we handle identity and access management (IAM), opening up new threats—and new opportunities—to keep data secure. Finally, we will look at how the cloud enables us to work with more data than ever before, “Big Data”—NoSQL databases and scalable infrastructure (e.g., Hadoop). Students will learn how to evaluate the various cloud-based services and how to communicate that evaluation to decision-makers in the organization. There will also be a hands-on practicum using Amazon Web Services (AWS) and exploring the most common features of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), and how IaaS, overall, differs from older paradigms of systems management and program architecture.

Agile Software Development has evolved into a flexible software lifecycle model, framework, and set of development techniques that present an answer to challenges of developing software projects under tight timelines and changing requirements. This course will use a variety of software projects and case studies to define agile software development practices and the concepts of adaptive and evolutionary refinement, and to demonstrate how they can be used to deliver software projects. The course will examine best practices in applying agile software development techniques as a flexible response to changes. SCRUM framework, a popular methodology in Agile Software Development, will be examined and used in team projects, as a flexible methodology for self-organizing teams.

The course gives students an opportunity to work with multiple JavaScript frameworks (client-side and server-side) utilizing asynchronous programming, persistence, caching, and more. This course will teach students how to design, build, and test scalable client-side and server-side applications in JavaScript. It introduces students to three popular JavaScript frameworks – AngularJS, Backbone.js, and node.js. AngularJS, a JavaScript framework created by Google, is a highly extensible set of tools that allows to create client-side code that is component-based and easily testable. Backbone.js is a JavaScript framework focused on keeping data in sync across various parts of a web application. Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built using the Chrome V8 engine. Students will explore these three advanced JavaScript frameworks through a set of projects that highlight the special features of each framework.

Special Topics are offered periodically.

The field of user experience (UX) encompasses a wide range of processes and methods for designing interfaces and products that are usable, useful, and desirable. Over the last decade, user experience has become a key driving force in successful product development. This course introduces students to user-centered design (UCD) and its associated methodologies, including user research, interaction design, and usability testing. Students will become conversant in a range of UCD approaches while gaining practical experience creating portfolio-ready deliverables. Although the course will focus primarily on screen UI design, the research and design principles mastered apply equally to emerging design challenges such as voice, service design, and Internet of Things (IoT).

This course will examine the psychological and social aspects that impact human interface interaction in both physical and virtual environments. Topics will include Signal Detection Theory, Gestalt Theory, Cognitive Load Theory, and various motivational theories, as well as the cultural and social implications of design.

Information Architecture (IA) is defined as “the art and science of organizing and labeling shared information environments (websites, intranets, online communities and software) to support usability and findability.” (source: iainsitute.org). This course balances theoretical grounding of IA with practical design work. We will cover principles of IA as a professional practice and how to design effective, research-supported, user-centered information systems. Students will understand and apply information organization concepts; design and apply appropriate assessment techniques for particular information environments; and develop strategies to effectively communicate design rationale and advocate for users.

Human-centered design depends on a deep understanding of user goals, needs, and behaviors that only user research can provide. This course will introduce students to key qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, including surveys, interviews, and usability testing. A range of research approaches will be covered, including moderated vs. unmoderated; formative, iterative, and summative; as well as lab, field and remote studies. Key statistical and ethical concepts will be explored in the context of applied research challenges.

The goal of this course is to build practical interaction design and problem-solving skills. Students will be exposed to a toolkit of methods for every stage of the design process, from brainstorming and sketching through prototyping at various levels of fidelity. Throughout the course, students will practice divergent and convergent thinking necessary to solve real world design problems within the context of a collaborative and user-centered process.

The goal of information visualization is to communicate information accurately and effectively to users, helping them to analyze and make decisions about data and evidence. The course will cover various data visualization theory and techniques, while providing students with the opportunity to apply them. Students will gain an understanding as to how humans visually perceive and make inferences from data graphics. They will experiment with various data models, graphical conventions, and tools as they design, innovate and evaluate data visualizations.

In this course students will learn the strategies for effective leadership of design teams and processes, particularly from an institutional/business perspective. Operational topics include: building effective teams; project management; cost analysis; and resource allocation. Leadership components include: models and methods of leadership within the contexts of conception, design, implementation; operational leadership for products, processes and systems; and leadership models and theories such as the Four Capabilities Leadership Framework.

This course will provide students with the industry skills and techniques required to work effectively on a user experience (UX) or product team in the context of different organizational environments. Students will explore a range of development processes (Agile, Lean, SAFe, and many others), and learn how UX design and user research fit into those processes. Coursework will focus on developing and applying communication and collaboration skills. Topics will include obtaining stakeholder and executive buy-in for UX resources, process change, and the integration of design thinking and design critique activities into product development processes.

The opportunities to develop innovative user experiences are no longer limited to web and mobile interfaces. This course will introduce students to challenges that extend beyond the digital screen, including design for services, devices, and emerging technologies. The service design portion of the course will focus on techniques for understanding context of use and designing cohesive experiences across multiple touch-points. The UI design portion will introduce tools for designing and testing specialized UIs for embedded systems, Internet of Things (IoT), voice, and immersive environments.

This seminar-style course is intended to bring together all of the prior knowledge and skills that the student has obtained. Students will work independently or in small teams to produce a prototype of a product or system. The process will be an iterative, semester-long project in which students (or small teams of students) will identify the purpose of the design; construct a set of wireframe documentation with justification for the design, capturing the up-front intentions behind the user experience; and mockup and/or prototype the UX with subsequent user testing that leads to a final prototype. With the exception of the final prototype, each part of the process will include peer reviews. A final presentation of the product will be the culminating activity, and will receive feedback from a program-curated group of industry experts.

The field of user-centered design is continually evolving. New technologies and research into human factors are continually introduced and evolving. This course facilitates the introduction of cutting-edge practices and technologies as they are introduced in the industry.