Message from the Director - Craig A. Piercy
The Master of Internet Technology Program began in 2001, just as the "dot-com bust" was getting started. As the market values of many new Internet companies plummeted, there were predictions of the demise of the Internet and Internet technology. Despite these dire predictions, the reality has been quite the contrary. The Internet and its associated technologies have become an important part of the infrastructure of our economy and a near indispensable part of our daily lives. Business Week, in its May 12, 2003 issue, pointed out that business use of the Internet has grown faster than even the most optimistic predictions. For example, in 1999, it was predicted that by 2003, we would see $1.3 trillion in business to business use of the Internet. In 2002, this figure was already $2.4 trillion and growing. In it's report "Riding the Waves of Web 2.0" the Pew Internet and American Life Project reports that the number of U.S. adults who use the Internet has hit an all-time high. Their report states: "While the percentage of Americans who say they use the internet has continued to fluctuate slightly, our latest survey (fielded February 15 - April 6, 2006) shows that fully 73% of respondents (about 147 million adults) are internet users, up from 66% (about 133 million adults) in our January 2005 survey."
The acceptance of the Internet as a strategic conduit among business partners, customers, and employees has resulted in an increasing need to instill business skills into technical Internet developers and technical skills into information systems managers. Currently there is a high demand for such uniquely skilled people. This integration is not easy to accomplish, as it requires people who have a holistic and rich understanding of how IT can support and enable the various value chain activities and business strategies. The Master of Internet Technology Program at The University of Georgia meets this challenge by providing its students with a strong and well-rounded education in both the technology and business skill sets.
The MIT Program is multidisciplinary, with a mix of advanced software development, interface aesthetics and usability, and business strategy and project management courses. Faculty have adopted a common teaching approach and mission, and are dedicated to developing students who will have a balance of business and technical skills.
The MIT Program has been very successful since its inception. The program has been kept small, graduating a total of 48 students in its first two years and currently hosting a class of 27 students. Each year, several major Internet based projects have been completed for businesses such as UPS and 401K Toolbox, community organizations such as the Anglican Parish Association and the Taskforce for Child Survival and Development, and for UGA. Current projects are being conducted for Acuity Brands, Plaid, and the Autism Society of America. Past and current students from the program have done very well, accepting new jobs from employers such firms as E*Trade Financial, Accenture, Bearing Point(KPMG), Deloitte and Touche, Siemens Energy and NCR.
Our current program is offered by the MIS Department at the Terry College of Business as a self-supporting, part-time program at Gwinnett University Center. We are excited about this opportunity to offer the program in the Atlanta metropolitan area, which has a rich Internet Technology history. This part-time format has allowed us to sequence the courses better we could in our previous one-year format. We feel that this has resulted in a strong curriculum.
Thank you for your interest in the MIT Program. Please browse through our site to learn more about the Master of Internet Technology program, UGA and the faculty. As you browse this website, you will probably have some questions about the program. I encourage you to write to me at mit@uga.edu. I look forward to working with you to achieve your educational goals.