Release Date: Friday, April 20, 2001

E-DEGREE: NEW GRADUATE PROGRAM IN INTERNET TECHNOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF REGENTS

ATHENS, Ga. — E-commerce is now an academic pursuit at the University of Georgia.

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents on Wednesday approved a one-year master's degree in Internet technology that could become a popular career move for people looking to join the management ranks of an electronic commerce venture or Internet software developer.

Three departments at UGA will share responsibility for the new graduate program. Thirty-two credit hours over two semesters will be needed to graduate, with required courses taught by the Department of Management Information Systems, the Department of Computer Science and the New Media Institute.

"Many of the people who are working as Web developers are self-taught and limited by their experience," said Andrew Seila, a professor of management information systems (MIS) in UGA's Terry College of Business. "The Master of Internet Technology program will teach them how to develop more advanced applications, and it will give them the conceptual foundation for lifelong learning in Internet technologies. We think the investment in time and money will pay off in terms of higher salary and greater job satisfaction."

Seila said other universities around the country have developed Internet training programs or added e-commerce as a specialty within existing degrees, such as an MBA. But based on the faculty's review of those programs, "they tend to concentrate on either the computer programming methodology or the business strategy aspects, but not both. Our program is designed to provide a balance between these," he said.

The Computer Science Department will teach basic Internet programming technology; the New Media Institute will teach courses in Web site design, development and production; and the MIS Department will teach electronic commerce business strategy and information systems technology.

"Splitting the curriculum exploits the special strengths of each partner," Seila said.

The MIT program will begin immediately to accept applications for fall semester through UGA's Graduate School. At present, the degree will be offered only on a full-time, lock-step basis.

"All students will take the required courses in the same sequence," Seila said. "That's because many of our classes have team assignments and coordinating these activities would be impractical with part-time students."

During the program's second semester, six credit hours will be spent completing a team project in which students develop an Internet-based solution to a real business problem for a client.

The departments hope to enroll 30 graduate students this fall and expect the program to grow to about 100 students within three years. Along with the usual Graduate School application materials, including taking the GRE, the program's only other prerequisite is an introductory course in Java programming.

"An undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university is, of course, required, but we want to encourage students from a variety of academic backgrounds to apply," Seila said. "It's not just a program for business or computer science students. It's open to student with liberal arts, engineering and other backgrounds as well."

For more information, go to the Master of Internet Technology Web site at: http://ebiz.terry.uga.edu/mit

###