May 27, 2026

Graduate Catalog | 2026-2027

Information Technology, M.S.

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The Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) program is designed to equip students with advanced skills and knowledge in the planning, design, implementation, testing and evaluation, deployment, maintenance, and management of applications and systems that embody information and communication technologies for their proper functioning. These skills form necessary foundations for solving practical problems that arise in business, industrial, governmental, and other organizations, as well as for pursuing doctoral studies in information technologies.

The current areas of concentration include: Advanced Data and Knowledge Discovery, Emerging Technologies, Human-Centered Design, Information Security and Privacy, Information Technology Management, Software Systems Design and Engineering, and Web Development.

Students entering the MSIT program are required to have completed a baccalaureate degree from a college or university accredited by an accepted accrediting body and have acquired experience in studying, applying, or developing information and computing technology. Such experience may be developed by completing an undergraduate major in a discipline related to information technology or computing. For applicants who have an undergraduate major not directly related to computing, the experience may be acquired through work, professional training, or further education such as post baccalaureate studies. For those without such experience, they will be required to register for bridging coursework and demonstrate prior knowledge, as determined by the Graduate Program Director.

Admission Requirements

Admission requirements specific to the MSIT program Students applying for this program are expected to have knowledge of computer systems and programming. Students without undergraduate prerequisite knowledge in programming or computer systems will be required to register for bridging coursework or demonstrate prior knowledge, as determined by the Graduate Program Director.

Students must have an undergraduate grade point average of (or equivalent to) at least 3.0 (on a 4.0 point scale) and a Junior/Senior GPA of at least 3.0.

Student admission will be based on:

Prerequisite Requirements (equivalent work experience in relevant field will be considered)
- Data Structures
- Object oriented programming in C++, C#, or Java.
Undergraduate academic record
TOEFL, IELTS, and Duolingo (for international students)
GRE - Applicants who completed undergraduate degree outside of the United States may voluntarily submit GRE test scores and they will be reviewed as part of the holistic application consideration. Please note, the GRE requirement is optional.
Statement of purpose
Letters of recommendation

Early Entry Program

Exceptional undergraduate students at UNC Charlotte may apply for the Early Entry Program and begin work toward the graduate degree before completion of the baccalaureate degree. See the Undergraduate Catalog for details and requirements. Also see the Degree Requirements and Academic Policies section of the Graduate Catalog for more information about Early Entry Programs.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science in Information Technology degree requires a total of 30 graduate credit hours with a minimum GPA of 3.0, together with a capstone or culminating experience. Additionally, the following requirements must be met:

No more than 12 credit hours of coursework may be taken from outside of the courses offered by the Department of Software and Information Systems
At least 15 credit hours must be taken from 6000-level or above courses
No more than 3 credit hours may be taken for Individual Study
A maximum of 9 graduate credit hours may be transferred from other institutions

For those without a computing background, you may be required to take ITIS 5101 Foundations of Programming , and ITIS 5135 Web-Based Application Design and Development as a way to acquire the necessary understanding of how to produce software.

The 30 credit hours of coursework comprise the following three parts:

Core Courses (15 credit hours)

Advanced Programming Courses

Select one of the following:

Software Systems Courses

Select one of the following:

Databases and Data Science Courses

Select one of the following:

Principles Courses

Concentration Courses (9 credit hours)

The MSIT program offers the following concentrations:

Advanced Data and Knowledge Discovery
Emerging Technologies
Human-Centered Design
Information Security and Privacy
Information Technology Management
Software Systems Design and Engineering
Web Development

Each student is required to select one concentration and complete 3 courses selected from the list of approved courses for the specific concentration. Among the 9 credit hours for a concentration, 6 may be substituted with a master’s research thesis. The topic for the research thesis must fall within the area of concentration. A core course cannot be double-counted toward a concentration. Subject to the approval of the MSIT Program Director, a course from outside of the approved list for a concentration may be taken as a substitute for a course for the concentration.

Advanced Data and Knowledge Discovery Concentration

Select three of the following:

ITCS 5122 - Visual Analytics (3)
ITCS 6100 - Big Data Analytics for Competitive Advantage (3)
or DSBA 6100 - Big Data Analytics for Competitive Advantage (3)
ITCS 6155 - Knowledge-Based Systems (3)
ITCS 6156 - Machine Learning (3)
ITCS 6157 - Visual Databases (3)
ITCS 6190 - Cloud Computing for Data Analysis (3)
ITCS 6265 - Advanced Topics in Data Mining (3)
ITIS 5310 - Web Mining (3)
ITIS 6010 - Topics in Software and Information Systems (3) (only if topic is applicable and approved by program director)
or ITCS 6010 - Topics in Computer Science (3) (only if topic is applicable and approved by program director)
ITIS 6150 - Software Assurance (3)
ITIS 6162 - Knowledge Discovery in Databases (3)
ITIS 6163 - Data Warehousing (3)
or ITCS 6163 - Data Warehousing (3)
ITIS 6220 - Data Privacy (3)
ITIS 6318 - Personalization and Recommender Systems (3)
ITIS 6320 - Cloud Data Storage (3)
ITIS 6326 - Network Science (3)
ITIS 6362 - Information Technology Ethics, Policy, and Security (3)
MBAD 6201 - Business Intelligence and Analytics (0 to 3)
or DSBA 6201 - Business Intelligence and Analytics (3)
MBAD 6211 - Advanced Business Analytics (0 to 3)

Emerging Technologies Concentration

Select three courses from the aggregated list of courses for all the other concentrations. Students are recommended to select each course from a different concentration to maximize their exposure to the broadest range of latest knowledge in computing and information technology.

Human-Centered Design Concentration

Elective Courses

Select one course from the following list:

ARCH 7011 - Research Topic: Design Computation (4 to 6)
ARCH 7012 - Research Topic: Sustainable Building Technology (4 to 6)
ITIS 6010 - Topics in Software and Information Systems (3) (only if topic applicable and approved by program director)
or ITCS 6010 - Topics in Computer Science (3) (only if topic applicable and approved by program director)
ITIS 5353 - Social Technology Design (3)
ITIS 5355 - Accessible Design and Implementation (3)
ITIS 5358 - Physical Computing (3)
ITIS 5360 - Human-Centered AI (3)
ITIS 6214 - Usable Security and Privacy (3)
ITIS 6318 - Personalization and Recommender Systems (3)
PSYC 6216 - Introduction to Cognitive Science (3)

Information Security and Privacy Concentration

Select three of the following:

ITIS 5221 - Secure Programming and Penetration Testing (3)
ITIS 5246 - Competitive Cyber Defense (3)
ITIS 5250 - Computer Forensics (3)
ITIS 5260 - Introduction to Security Analytics (3)
ITIS 5331 - Web-Based Mobile and IoT Firmware Security (3)
ITIS 6150 - Software Assurance (3)
ITIS 6167 - Network Security (3)
ITIS 6210 - Access Control and Security Architecture (3)
ITIS 6214 - Usable Security and Privacy (3)
ITIS 6220 - Data Privacy (3)
ITIS 6230 - Enterprise and Infrastructure Protection (3)
ITIS 6240 - Applied Cryptography (3)
ITIS 6260 - Quantum Computing (3)
ITIS 6268 - Wireless Network Security (3)
ITIS 6320 - Cloud Data Storage (3)
ITIS 6330 - Malware Analysis (3)
ITIS 6362 - Information Technology Ethics, Policy, and Security (3)
ITIS 6010 - Topics in Software and Information Systems (3) (only if topic applicable and approved by program director)
or ITCS 6010 - Topics in Computer Science (3) (only if topic applicable and approved by program director)

Information Technology Management Concentration

ITIS 6342 - Information Technology Project Management (3) (if not already taken as a Core Course)
ITIS 6362 - Information Technology Ethics, Policy, and Security (3)

Elective Courses

Select 1-2 of the following, to result in 3 courses for this concentration:

ITIS 6010 - Topics in Software and Information Systems (3) (only if topic applicable and approved by program director)
or ITCS 6010 - Topics in Computer Science (3) (only if topic applicable and approved by program director)
ITIS 6177 - System Integration (3)
ITIS 6230 - Enterprise and Infrastructure Protection (3)
ITIS 6320 - Cloud Data Storage (3)
ITCS 5161 - Intellectual Property Aspects of Computing (3)
MBAD 6122 - Decision Modeling and Analysis (0 to 3)
MBAD 6141 - Operations Management (0 to 3)
MBAD 6161 - Human Behavior in Organizations (0 to 3)
MBAD 6164 - Executive Communication (0 to 3)
MBAD 6165 - Negotiation and Conflict Management (0 to 3)
MBAD 6201 - Business Intelligence and Analytics (0 to 3)
or DSBA 6201 - Business Intelligence and Analytics (3)
MBAD 6202 - Digitization of Business Processes (0 to 3)
MBAD 6207 - Business Project Management (0 to 3)

Software Systems Design and Engineering Concentration

ITIS 6112 - Software System Design and Implementation (3) (if not already taken as a Core Course)

Elective Courses

Select 2-3 of the following, to result in 3 courses for this concentration:

ITIS 5180 - Mobile Application Development (3)
ITIS 5166 - Backend Application Development (3)
ITIS 5221 - Secure Programming and Penetration Testing (3)
ITIS 5280 - Advanced Mobile Application Development (3)
ITIS 5390 - Interaction Design Projects (3)
ITIS 6150 - Software Assurance (3)
ITIS 6177 - System Integration (3)
ITIS 6210 - Access Control and Security Architecture (3)
ITIS 6260 - Quantum Computing (3)
ITIS 6362 - Information Technology Ethics, Policy, and Security (3)
ITIS 6010 - Topics in Software and Information Systems (3) (only if topic applicable and approved by program director)
or ITCS 6010 - Topics in Computer Science (3) (only if topic applicable and approved by program director)

Web Development Concentration

Select three of the following:

ITIS 5166 - Backend Application Development (3)
ITIS 5180 - Mobile Application Development (3)
ITIS 5221 - Secure Programming and Penetration Testing (3)
ITIS 5310 - Web Mining (3)
ITIS 5350 - Design Prototyping (3)
ITIS 5390 - Interaction Design Projects (3)
ITIS 6177 - System Integration (3)
ITIS 6318 - Personalization and Recommender Systems (3)
ITIS 6326 - Network Science (3)
ITIS 6362 - Information Technology Ethics, Policy, and Security (3)
ITIS 6010 - Topics in Software and Information Systems (3) (only if topic applicable and approved by program director)
or ITCS 6010 - Topics in Computer Science (3) (only if topic applicable and approved by program director)

Elective Courses (6 credit hours)

Students fulfill the remaining requirements for coursework by completing two approved elective courses from the College of Computing and Informatics. For students who are required to complete bridgework, one of these courses should be ITIS 5101 Foundations of Programming .

Part of the elective requirements may also be met by taking the following internship:

ITIS 6498 - IT Internship Project (3)

Culminating Experience (0-6 credit hours)

All students must successfully complete a culminating experience. This requirement is satisfied by completing any one of the following three:

IT Project: a 15-page written report on knowledge related to one or more courses or a programming experience (0 credit hours)
IT Internship: ITIS 6498 - IT Internship Project (3)
IT Master’s Thesis: ITIS 6991 - Information Technology Thesis (1 to 6) (6 credit hours; taken for 2 semesters)

Information Technology, M.S.

Admission Requirements

Early Entry Program

Degree Requirements

Core Courses (15 credit hours)

Advanced Programming Courses

Software Systems Courses

Databases and Data Science Courses

Principles Courses

Concentration Courses (9 credit hours)

Advanced Data and Knowledge Discovery Concentration

Emerging Technologies Concentration

Human-Centered Design Concentration

Elective Courses

Information Security and Privacy Concentration

Information Technology Management Concentration

Elective Courses

Software Systems Design and Engineering Concentration

Elective Courses

Web Development Concentration

Elective Courses (6 credit hours)

Culminating Experience (0-6 credit hours)

Degree Total = 30 Credit Hours