The Big Data Analytics specialization will provide the graduates of the MSIS degree program with the essential in-depth knowledge of technologies relevant to big data management. Coursework will cover the design and maintenance of infrastructure to efficiently store, easily access, and transfer over wide area networks extremely large amounts of data. However, the volume and diversity of data make it extremely challenging to store, retrieve, analyze, and utilize this information. As society will soon be routinely trying to use petabytes of data stored in multiple formats across different platforms, experts are needed who have the skills and knowledge to design, develop, and deploy complex information systems and applications that deal with multi-terabyte data sets.
The following requirements are in addition to the course requirements of the general MSIS degree.
Big Data Analytics Required Courses
Students in the Big Data Analytics specialization must take the following three required courses:
- INFSCI 2140 - INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL
- INFSCI 2160 - DATA MINING
- INFSCI 2595 - MACHINE LEARNING
Big Data Analytics Electives
Students in the Big Data Analytics specialization must take two electives from the following list:
- INFSCI 2125 - NETWORK SCIENCE & ANALYSIS
- INFSCI 2410 - INTRODUCTION TO NEURAL NETWORKS
- INFSCI 2440 - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
- INFSCI 2750 - CLOUD COMPUTING
- INFSCI 2801 - GEOSPATIAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS)
- INFSCI 2809 - SPATIAL DATA ANALYTICS
Additional Approved Electives
Students may select two courses from the department’s standard graduate course offerings, including independent study and practicum experiences.
Students may also pursue opportunities that fall outside of the department’s standard graduate course offerings such as the Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education cross-registration, doctoral seminars, courses offered in other Pitt graduate departments, or undergraduate upper-level coursework in information science or computer science (1100-1999). These opportunities may not exceed six credits and require advisor approval prior to enrollment.