2024-2025

Information Technology, Master of Science

School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems

College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences

Information Technology plays a critical role in our daily life controlling most aspects of our digital communication, banking, social media, investments, research, and so much more.  Information Technology governs the organization and setup of the infrastructure that our computer networks rely on, the database warehousing systems that enable our access to our data, the cybersecurity processes that are needed to ensure the safety of our information and systems, and the programming that is necessary to put our modern systems of knowledge together quickly and effectively.

The Master of Science in Information Technology program will enable students to build mastery in information technology, cybersecurity, programming, and database design and management.  Graduates will be prepared to contribute to a wide variety of IT areas in both academia and professional practice.

  • To receive a master’s degree at Northern Arizona University, you must complete a planned group of courses from one or more subject areas, consisting of at least 30 units of graduate-level courses. Many master’s degree programs require more than 30 units.

    You must additionally complete:

    • All requirements for your specific academic plan(s). This may include a thesis.
    • All graduate work with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0.
    • All work toward the master's degree must be completed within six consecutive years. The six years begins with the semester and year of admission to the program.

    Read the full policy here.

In addition to University Requirements:

Students may be able to use some courses to meet more than one requirement. Contact your advisor for details.

Minimum Units for Completion 30
Major GPA 3.0
Additional Admission Requirements

Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.
Research Individualized research may be required by chosen emphasis or offered as an option.
Additional Fees/Program Fees Required
Progression Plan Link View Program of Study

Purpose Statement

This Master of Science in Information Technology (IT) will prepare you to enter or continue in the information technology workforce, building core skills that are widely applicable to many areas of IT, science, engineering, industry, business, and research.

This degree is flexible and is designed to help students to build both broad skills and specialization in the areas of information technology, cybersecurity, programming, and database design and management. The students will be able to take foundational courses in each of these four areas and then be able to further customize their degree by taking additional electives in the focus area of their choice.  The degree will culminate in a capstone course experience where students will be able to apply their new knowledge to real design challenges in Information Technology.

This program is designed for students with STEM backgrounds, including engineering, information technology, information systems, or computer science, gained through the successful completion of an undergraduate degree or other professional experience.

As a graduate, you will be prepared to contribute to a wide variety of IT areas in both academia and professional practice including areas of network administration, cloud computing, cybersecurity, programming, and database design and management.

Student Learning Outcomes

Information Technologies
  • Demonstrate the ability to apply the practices of network management, data management, software engineering, programming, and cybersecurity to information technology design and management.
    • Concepts: Network management, virtual LAN, file share services, raid, access control, reliable systems, round robin, cloud computing, the server environment, application of mathematical models for decision-making, and resource management.
    • Competencies: Students will be able to evaluate and analyze how aspects of information technology relate to design and practice. Students will be able to analyze how these choices impact the function of an information technology system and be able to integrate information technologies to create solutions to common and novel environments. Students will also understand the ethical implications of information technology design of systems and describe how these provide the guiding principles of practice.
    • Assessment Methods: Similar to the continuous improvement process used in other programs in the College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences, courses are identified as supporting the learning outcome, strongly supporting the outcome, or marked as a culminating experience. Four courses are currently marked as supporting the outcome directly, three courses are marked as strongly supporting the outcome, and one class is marked as a culminating experience. Required (core) courses are specifically noted - the rest of the courses are electives. Strongly supporting coursework includes Information Technology Networks (core course), Systems Administration, and Information Security, while supporting courses also include Cloud Computing and Web Technologies. The capstone (core course) is a culminating experience for this learning outcome. Student artifacts are identified for assessment and scored according to a faculty-designed rubric. Student performance is periodically assessed by a faculty curriculum and continuous improvement committee. Course learning outcomes and program objectives are assessed periodically by both faculty and an industrial advisory board.
    • Measures: Students will complete, across several courses, multiple homework projects and oral presentations of their work, in addition to the standard testing used to score mastery of learning objectives.
Cybersecurity
  • Identify, analyze, and implement cybersecurity solutions using industry-recognized best practices and standards.
    • Concepts: Information security, access control, vulnerability and penetration testing, blockchains, cryptography, mobile/cloud/web security, threat characterization, and secure protocols (SSH, TLS, DNSSEC).
    • Competencies: Students will be able to understand common information security standards, the tools to implement them, and the vulnerabilities they address.
    • Assessment Methods: Similar to the continuous improvement process used in other programs in the College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences, courses are identified as supporting the learning outcome, strongly supporting the outcome, or marked as a culminating experience. Five courses are currently marked as supporting the outcome directly, three courses are marked as strongly supporting the outcome, and one class is marked as a culminating experience. Required (core) courses are specifically noted - the rest of the courses are electives. Strongly supporting coursework includes Information Security (core course), Blockchains, and Applied Cryptography, while supporting courses also include Network System Administration and High-Performance Cluster Administration. The capstone (core course) is a culminating experience for this learning outcome. Student artifacts are identified for assessment and scored according to a faculty-designed rubric. Student performance is periodically assessed by a faculty curriculum and continuous improvement committee. Course learning outcomes and program objectives are assessed periodically by both faculty and an industrial advisory board.
    • Measures: Students will complete, across several courses, multiple homework projects and oral presentations of their work, in addition to the standard testing used to score mastery of learning objectives.
Programming
  • Identify, explain, and implement foundational programming and web technology concepts.
    • Concepts: website development, WWW, Dynamic HTML, CSS, PHP programming, Python Programming, Django, Ajax, C Programming, Data Structures, Principles of Languages, cloud computing, high-performance computing.
    • Competencies: Students will be able to implement foundational programming techniques in web development, standalone application, and high-performance computing settings.
    • Assessment Methods: Similar to the continuous improvement process used in other programs in the College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences, courses are identified as supporting the learning outcome, strongly supporting the outcome, or marked as a culminating experience. Four courses are currently marked as supporting the outcome directly, three courses are marked as strongly supporting the outcome, and one class is marked as a culminating experience. Required (core) courses are specifically noted - the rest of the courses are electives. Strongly supporting coursework includes Web Technologies (core course), Introduction to Data Structures, and Introduction to Principles of Languages, while supporting courses also include Cloud Computing. The capstone (core course) is a culminating experience for this learning outcome. Student artifacts are identified for assessment and scored according to a faculty-designed rubric. Student performance is periodically assessed by a faculty curriculum and continuous improvement committee. Course learning outcomes and program objectives are assessed periodically by both faculty and an industrial advisory board.
    • Measures: Students will complete, across several courses, multiple homework projects and oral presentations of their work, in addition to the standard testing used to score mastery of learning objectives.
Databases
  • Describe and apply the basic and advanced principles behind the design, implementation, and use of relational databases.
    • Concepts: relational databases, data warehousing, data normalization, Data Definition Language, Data Manipulation Language, SQL, pattern recognition, text mining, AWS, cloud computing, Hadoop.
    • Competencies: Students will be able to design relational databases, deploy these databases on local or cloud systems, and efficiently access data within these databases using retrieval queries. They will be able to compare and contrast different database platforms, discriminating between the advantages of each, and recommending an appropriate solution based on the use case.
    • Assessment Methods: Similar to the continuous improvement process used in other programs in the College of Engineering, Informatics, and Applied Sciences, courses are identified as supporting the learning outcome, strongly supporting the outcome, or marked as a culminating experience. Four courses are currently marked as supporting the outcome directly, three courses are marked as strongly supporting the outcome, and one class is marked as a culminating experience. Required (core) courses are specifically noted - the rest of the courses are electives. Strongly supporting coursework includes Databases (core course), Data warehousing, and Text Mining, while supporting courses also include Cloud Computing. The capstone (core course) is a culminating experience for this learning outcome. Student artifacts are identified for assessment and scored according to a faculty-designed rubric. Student performance is periodically assessed by a faculty curriculum and continuous improvement committee. Course learning outcomes and program objectives are assessed periodically by both faculty and an industrial advisory board.
    • Measures: Students will complete, across several courses, multiple homework projects and oral presentations of their work, in addition to the standard testing used to score mastery of learning objectives.

Graduate Admission Information

  • The NAU graduate online application is required for all programs. Admission to many graduate programs is on a competitive basis, and programs may have higher standards than those established by the Graduate College.

    Admission requirements include the following:

    • Transcripts.
    • Undergraduate degree from a regionally accredited institution with a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale ("A" = 4.0), or the equivalent.


    Visit the NAU Graduate Admissions website for additional information about graduate school application deadlines, eligibility for study, and admissions policies.

    Ready to apply? Begin your application now.

    International applicants have additional admission requirements. Please see the International Graduate Admissions Policy.

Additional Admission Requirements

  • Individual program admission requirements over and above admission to NAU are required.

    • A Bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related STEM field.
    • Personal statement outlining the prospective student's professional goals.
    • Two letters of recommendation from recommenders who are familiar with the prospective student's qualifications.
Master's Requirements

  • This Master’s degree requires 30 units distributed as follows:

    • Required Information Technology and Computing Coursework (15 units)
    • Electives (15 units)

    Take the following 30 units:
Additional Information

  • Be aware that some courses may have prerequisites that you must also successfully complete. For prerequisite information, click on the course or see your advisor.

  • Program Fee Information

  • Program fees are established by the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR). A program fee of $450 per semester has been approved for this program.