School of Information Technology and Engineering
Administrative Units
- Department of Applied and Engineering Statistics
- Department of Computer Science
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Department of Information and Software Engineering
- Department of Operations Research and Engineering
- Department of Systems Engineering
- Program in Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering
Introduction
The School of Information Technology and Engineering (IT&E) at George Mason
University is concerned primarily with study areas that involve integrating the information
basis for modern engineering with the more conventional physical and materials science
approach. The careful integration of these areas results in a unique academic experience
for highly motivated students.
The School of IT&E offers 13 degree programs that concentrate on important
contemporary technological issues and needs. Four bachelor's degree programs are
offered: computer science, electrical engineering, systems engineering, and urban
systems engineering. A minor in information technology and a minor in computer science
are also available. A bachelor's degree in computer engineering is planned for 1998-99.
Eight master's degree programs are available: computer science, electrical engineering,
information systems, operations research and management science, software systems
engineering, statistical science, systems engineering, and urban systems engineering.
A single cross-disciplinary doctoral program is offered in information technology.
Undergraduate certificates are offered in applied statistics and operations research
and engineering. For graduate students, certificate programs are offered in command,
control, communications, and intelligence; communications and networking; computational
modeling; systems engineering for computer, information, and software-intensive systems;
federal statistics; information engineering; information systems security; military
operations research; signal processing; and software systems engineering.
The undergraduate degree programs prepare graduates to enter directly into professional
employment or to continue studies at the graduate level. The requirements for the
bachelor's degrees include required and elective courses in mathematics, humanities,
and general education, and specialty courses in computer science, electrical engineering,
systems engineering, and urban systems engineering. Each program strongly emphasizes
English composition and communication.
Students also have the opportunity to develop interest areas in other fields within
the School of IT&E that offer undergraduate courses but do not now have undergraduate
majors. The Bachelor of Individualized Study (B.I.S.) degree program may appeal to
mature students who have completed a substantial portion of their studies at other
institutions.
Administration
Lloyd Griffiths, Dean
Andrew P. Sage, Founding Dean Emeritus
Carl M. Harris, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies
E. Bernard White, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Studies
John P. Wenzelberger, Director, Commonwealth Graduate Engineering Program
URL: http://ite.gmu.edu
Bachelor of Science
Degree Requirements
The following general requirements for a bachelor of science degree must be completed
by all undergraduate students who receive bachelor's degrees through majors in IT&E:
- Completion of at least 120 credits of academic work
- Completion of at least 6 credits of English composition and 6 credits of literature
- Completion of at least 12 additional credits in the humanities and social sciences;
6 of these credits must be chosen from the social science areas of anthropology,
economics, geography, government, history, linguistics, psychology, and sociology
- Completion of the requirements for the major as listed under the curricula for
computer science, electrical engineering, systems engineering, or urban systems engineering
- Completion of an acceptable plan of study formulated by the student and his or
her advisor
Freshmen who are undecided about their specific majors within the School of IT&E
may select IT&E Undeclared as their major. Sample schedules that fulfill degree
requirments for individual programs within IT&E departments are available from
the departments. With approval of departmental advisors, some courses may be taken
out of the indicated sequences, particularly in the case of English, literature,
humanities, and social sciences courses.
Students should consult the Baccalaureate Degree Requirements section under Academic
Policies in this catalog for detailed information concerning requirements for graduation,
curricula, English composition and literature, core courses for the selected major,
residence, and academic quality for graduation with a major in computer science,
electrical engineering, systems engineering, or urban systems engineering. Students
should also consult the Academic Policies section of this catalog for additional
university requirements for minor programs. The portion of the catalog that concerns
the Office of Academic Affairs discusses the requirements for the B.I.S. degree.
The requirements for the computer science, electrical engineering, systems engineering,
and urban systems engineering undergraduate degree programs are provided in the sections
associated with the academic departments offering the degree.
Writing-Intensive Requirement
The university requires all undergraduate students to successfully complete a
course, or combination of courses, designated "writing intensive" in their
majors at the 300 level or above. To determine the specific writing-intensive course
requirements for your degree, please refer to the major program descriptions in the
following sections.
Combined B.S./M.S. Programs
Each of the B.S. degree programs offered within the School of IT&E may be
packaged together with some of the M.S. degree programs below in ways that reduce
the total number of credits required. Details may be found in the individual sections.
Minor in Information Technology
The information technology (IT) minor is designed primarily for those non-IT&E
majors who desire to augment the knowledge gained through their major-related courses
with additional computer and information technology knowledge and skills to improve
their attractiveness to employers in the high-technology community. The IT minor
requires 11 credits of core courses. Beyond these requirements, the student is free
to define a technical focus area. The focus area must be composed of a cohesive set
of at least two courses (six credits) that relate to a common technological theme.
Elective courses selected for the technical focus area must be approved by the School
of IT&E program advisor for the IT minor.
Core Courses (11 Credits)
INFT 100 Information Technology in Action (1)
CS 103 Introduction to Computing (3)
CS 112 Computer Science (4)
ECE 101 Introduction to Information Technology (3)
To enroll in CS 112, the student must take the mathematics placement test offered
through the Testing Center and meet the qualifications for enrolling in MATH 108
or MATH 113, or the student must have earned a grade of C or better in MATH 105.
Students from nontechnical backgrounds with no previous programming experience are
advised to take CS 103 and CS 161 before taking CS 112. Note that CS 161 is not a
requirement for the IT minor.
Master of Science
Degree Requirements
The School of IT&E offers eight master of science programs in its six academic
departments. Policies regarding admission and degree requirements are provided in
the sections associated with the respective academic departments that follow.
| M.S. Degree |
Department/Program |
| Computer Science |
Computer Science |
| Electrical Engineering |
Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| Information Systems |
Information and Software Engineering |
| Operations Research and Management Science |
Operations Research and Engineering |
| Software Systems Engineering |
Information and Software Engineering |
| Statistical Science |
Applied and Engineering Statistics |
| Systems Engineering |
Systems Engineering |
| Urban Systems Engineering |
Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering |
Doctoral Degree
The School of IT&E offers a Ph.D. in Information Technology, a program that
builds on a fundamental core and emphasizes cross-disciplinary efforts between the
eight master's programs in IT&E, as well as with related units at George Mason
University. Specific entrance and degree requirements of the doctoral program are
found in the Information Technology section.
Nondegree Graduate Program
Admission to graduate study in nondegree status is available for those individuals
who do not wish to pursue a degree but are interested in taking graduate courses
offered by IT&E. To be admitted to nondegree status, a student must meet the
following requirements. For routine admission, a student should have a 3.000 GPA
or higher and a B.S. degree (preferably in a discipline in the potential degree area
of interest), and must have met the course prerequisites as listed in the various
departments. Admission criteria for students with a GPA below 3.000 or those with
a nonengineering background are varied, and applications are reviewed in the department
on an individual basis.
Nondegree students may take up to 12 credits and are required to have an approved
Course Request Form before registering each semester. Approval of a specific course
does not imply that the course section will be open at the time of registration.
Students who later choose to seek admission to one of the IT&E graduate degree
programs must reapply for admission to a degree program and supply the additional
required materials with the new application. If admitted to the degree program, the
student may request that up to 12 credits taken in nondegree status be approved for
transfer for a degree. Admission to nondegree status does not automatically guarantee
admission to the degree program at a later date. Applicants may obtain more information
by contacting the School of IT&E Student Services Office, Room 160, Science and
Technology II, (703) 993-1511, or by contacting the individual departments.
University Computing Capability
Academic computing capability is provided by laboratories offering a large number
of individual student computers, as well as campuswide networked timesharing facilities.
All laboratories are networked and include access to local and remote servers as
well as the Internet. Equipment includes personal computer stations (MS-DOS compatible)
and UNIX-based workstations from Sun Microsystems and other manufacturers, as well
as a large DEC 5900 UNIX-based system, which supports the entire campus.
Software includes compilers for a variety of programming languages and software
tools supporting engineering design, graphics, neural networks, and high-performance/parallel
computing. Specialized facilities are available for artificial intelligence, software
engineering, image processing and computer vision, and parallel and distributed computing
research. Applied and Engineering Statistics
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