Applicants to the MITS program must demonstrate academic excellence and preparedness for the rigors of the program.   Qualifications include:

Programming skills: an ideal applicant should have experience with programming systems in which issues such as scalability, performance, and security are important concerns.
Analytical skills: an ideal applicant should have strong problem-solving skills, particularly in the area of system design. Some knowledge of statistical analysis is also a plus.
Team skills: an ideal applicant can work effectively with others in both leadership and subordinate roles.
Other skills: an ideal applicant will have taken at least one introductory course in machine learning and analysis of data.
Admission Requirements
Minimum qualification for admission to the MITS program includes previous coursework, demonstrated ability or equivalent work experience in the following areas:

Algorithms and data structures;
Proficiency in programming in at least one of the following languages: C, C++, or Java;
Analytical ability, including topics such as probability, statistics, research methods, and economics.
Three-year undergraduate degrees from outside the United States (i.e., United Kingdom, India, etc.) are generally not considered to be the equivalent to a U.S. bachelor degree.  A bachelor degree from an accredited institution is the minimum requirement for admission to our professional master's programs.

The Master of Information Technology Strategy (MITS) is a cooperative endeavor of the College of Engineering (CIT), School of Computer Science (SCS) and Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences (DC).

The rapidly evolving landscape of technology and related cyber challenges requires an understanding of network and cyber operations, data analytics and forensics, cyber security, decision science, politics and strategy, international security, and the ability to apply best practices to solutions. For students interested in becoming leaders with the critical thinking skills and strategic perspective needed to solve challenges within the information and cyber-security domains, the MITS program offers a multi-disciplinary approach within which students obtain:

breadth through the study of four areas:  Data Analytics, Politics and Strategy, Information Security, and Software and Networked Systems, and
depth through a concentration in one of these four areas.
 Additionally, students carry out a multifaceted, team-based project that allows them to apply learned principles and techniques to a practical problem.

With faculty, research centers, and degree programs of international renown, the program leverages Carnegie Mellon’s broad expertise in the critical areas of cyber security and information dominance, drawing from CMU’s Carnegie Institute of Technology, Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and School of Computer Science.

The MITS program provides a multidisciplinary education that prepares students to define and conceptualize:

the emerging environment of threats caused by cyber operations;
opportunities for enhanced information analysis and exploitation;
development and management of innovative information technology systems; and
decision-making challenges associated with the above.