Ms in Information Technology at Arizona State University

Colleges and Universities A-Z Arizona State University
1

I recently received an admit for Masters in Information Technology at Arizona State University for Fall’17.
However, I applied for MS in Computer Science.

How is the Information Technology department in ASU? I am software developer by profession and my interest lies in Computer security and networks. I am sceptical whether MS in Information Technology will change my career path from software development to software configuration and maintenance.

Please help me figure out whether the IT major is good for me. If not, please tell me how to change the major from IT to CS?

Also, is there a way to change your major? or if you can choose some of the CS subjects as electives while pursuing MS in IT?

2

There are a couple of red flags here:

  1. I think your concerns regarding CS vs IT are valid. Many companies these days use software looking for key words on resumes and if they are seeking candidates with MS in CS, a resume with MS in IT may get kicked out regardless of the classes in CS you may have taken. Personally, I would not do the MS in IT if I was really interested in doing master’s level CS work.

  2. According to their website

https://explore.engineering.asu.edu/graduate-degrees/

the MS in IT is a degree only offered at the Polytechnic Campus. In general, changing majors at any school at the MS level is difficult because you are accepted directly into a specific department. This would be further complicated by the fact that this degree is at a different campus (Polytechnic) than Tempe which has the MS CS degree. Developing any kind of rapport with the CS department to change majors or even taking CS electives at the Tempe campus may be difficult.

3

I second the concern. IT is nothing like CS when it gets down the the details. A software developer should be getting a degree in CS (or SE where offered, though I would still recommend CS).

4

If you’re cyber security specialist, You could try UTSA. It offers a nationally ranked master’s in IT security, which has turned San Antonio into the biggest cyber security hub next to the pentagon.