Serving the profession

I am truly grateful for the interest I have seen in our professional MS degree program. It is serving the computing profession by producing graduates equipped for professional careers.

Evidence of the impact of the program is that we have nearly two hundred members in our Linked In group; this represents "organic growth" accomplished without promotion. When I created the group I had hoped it would become a forum to keep in touch with alumni. Many of the members are alumni; the group is one way to let them know how the program is moving forward. However, our members are not just alumni and I appreciate their requests to join so that they too can become more aware of our professional degree program and participate in the many open forums we conduct for the community.

Last year the MS in Computing degree program was moved up to #11 in the US News analysis of online MS programs in computer and information technology. In answering their questionnaire this year we collected data indicating that we had more the 80 students and 30 graduates during the prior academic year. Among the graduates were

• More than 1/3 women
• COSMIC students who accomplished a career change into computing through special tuition assistance from an NSF STEM grant. These individuals have taken the risk and made the transition into new and promising careers
• Our cyber security program has led to Marquette being recognized as a national center of academic excellence; it continues moving forward to fill the pipeline of qualified cyber security workers and is reaching out across campus to help all Marquette students increase their cybersecurity awareness
• Our specialization in Big Data and Data Analytics has answered the call for data science and analytics. Our students serving in this growing area have developed a confidence in their knowledge. skills and abilities that has led to significant internships and full-time employment.

The program has the benefit of adjunct faculty who believe in educating the next generation. The blend of practicing professionals in our adjunct ranks and a research faculty that believes in producing trained professionals is critical to us. This blend allows us to fill the gap between traditional computer science and business school programs. The concept of "People, Process and Technology" guides our program considerations and this is a message that our graduates take with them. The blend of instructor perspectives also allows us to deliver on our intent to provide professionals with the foundation knowledge to remain relevant in the ever-changing world of technology.

The MS in Computing program degree program has led the way in providing professionals with the most needed knowledge and skills in areas such ethics, data science and cybersecurity.