| 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. Predictably, the reality has been quite the contrary. The Internet has become an important part of the infrastructure of our economy, much like the highway system is an important part of the transportation infrastruction. 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.
The emergence 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 great scarcity of 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 hard and softer 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.Each year, five 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. In spite of a quite difficult technical job market in general, 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, and Siemens Energy.
Like many universities in the country, the University of Georgia has experienced some financial difficulties over the past two years as state revenue has declined. A result of this decline is that the full-time MIT program has been suspended because the University chose to cease providing operating funds for it. Since the program has been very successful, the faculty have proposed to offer it in a self-supporting, part-time program at Gwinnett University Center. This proposal has been approved. We are excited about this new format because it will allow us to offer the program in the Atlanta metropolitan area, which has a rich Internet Technology history. The part-time version also allows us to sequence the courses better than the one-year program, so we feel that it will be a stronger curriculum.
Thank you for your interest in the MIT Program. Please examine all of the links down the left side of this page to learn more about the MIT 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.
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