Master of Science in Applied Information Science & Information System-Connective Media

Class Profile

Class Size

25

Average Age

26

Average Work Experience

2 Years

Diversity

California:

15%

Illinois:

5%

Texas:

10%

Florida:

4%

New York:

20%

Others:

46%

Career Outcomes

Median Earnings After Graduation

$1,10,000 / year

Graduation Rate

64%

Top recruiters

Google

Microsoft

Aetna

Biogen

BAE Systems

Barbican Centre

AECOM

AEG

Trend Micro

Aerotek

STMicroelectronics

The FBI

Micron Technology

GKN Aerospace

Sallie Mae

Fees and Funding

Tuition Fees

$68,000 / year

Overall Cost

$85,000 / year

FAQs

• What can I expect to walk away with when I complete the program?

  

  “Part of what makes this degree more exciting is the project work and teamwork that happens throughout your time here. Every semester essentially, you’ll have one significant project that you’re working on, whether it’s a project for Studio in the first semester or the Specialization Project in semesters two and three or the Startup Studio project in semester four. When these all align, which happens often but not always, you will have a very strong portfolio that allows you to become a real expert in a certain area.”

• Whats an example of how I could apply what I learn in the program?

  

  “Recently, a Connective Media graduate that went to work at Twitter got in touch. He sent me a direct message on Twitter excitedly, saying, ‘Today we used something in our product that we learned in your course.’ I said, ‘What is it?’ He said, ‘It’s the strength of weak ties theory by Granovetter.’ This is dating back to the 1970s when Granovetter first articulated this social theory, which we covered in class. The graduate used the theory for the (very well-known) social media company they work for while developing a machine learning algorithm to rank social content. At the highest levels of technology, it’s not uncommon to encounter sophisticated thinking like this and it gave me satisfaction to know we’re preparing leaders who can think this way.”

• What makes this program first of its kind?

  

  “Many new computer science-based programs touch a domain like public health or industrial design or human-computer interaction (HCI), but they don’t go into the technical depth that this programs does. This program gives students a breadth of knowledge in a domain, the social aspect of computing, and also challenges students to go deeper into technology and advanced computer science areas such as applied machine learning, data mining, signal processing, natural language processing (NLP), computer vision, cryptography, cybersecurity, and blockchain, among others.”

• What does the term Connective Media mean to you?

  

  “To me, Connective Media really suggests a new world order where communication, information, and media collapse or converge into one. Successful connective media platforms—such as iOS, Facebook, Reddit, The New York Times, and Uber—merge social science, information science, computer science, and engineering to change not just the way society uses technology, but the very fabric of society itself. Look at Facebook, for instance: is it a communication tool, is it an information tool, is it media? It is changing the way that we behave as a society: the way we act, the way we get information, the way we diffuse information, the way we shape our views and our culture. Connective media devices, apps, and networked systems are an important and increasingly necessary part of how we work, learn, shop, communicate—even drive. Everything has changed and will continue to change because of this convergence.”