The Graduate Certificate Program in Information Engineering (INFE) has been designed for people who are involved in the specification, design, implementation, and management of data- and knowledge-intensive information systems.

The engineering of large-scale information systems requires knowledge and practical experience in areas such as database management systems, data modeling, knowledge acquisition, data/knowledge representation, and information and software systems engineering. Further, large-scale information systems are distributed over several types of networks: local-area networks, wide-area networks and inter-networks. In order to design and build such complex systems, information system engineering design methods and project management tools and techniques are needed. The INFE program prepares students for research, development and professional practice in Information Engineering by providing a hands-on set of courses designed to provide theoretical knowledge and practical experience with methods and tools associated with the above topic areas.

Admission Requirements

Applicants to the INFE certificate program must meet the following minimum entrance requirements:

Hold a four-year (120 credits) baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution.
Have earned a grade point average of 3.0 or better in the last 60 credits of undergraduate study.
Submit a departmental self-evaluation form, which can be obtained from the department. This form provides summary information concerning background and preparation for the program.
Provide a brief (one- to two-page) statement of educational and work experience in the computing field that includes a statement of career goals.
Show proof of a satisfactory score on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), if required. The test should have been taken within five years of applying for admission. ISE has the following policy with regard to the GRE. The test is required for each applicant unless the applicant
- has an undergraduate degree in science or engineering from a U.S. university and graduated with a GPA of 3.0 or better in the last 60 hours; or
- has a graduate degree in a related field from a U.S. university; or
- has been admitted as a non-degree student and meets all the following requirements: has an undergraduate degree from a U.S. university, has an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better in the last 60 hours; and received at least a B in all foundation courses taken at GMU or elsewhere.
Submit the appropriate application form with three letters of recommendation from persons directly knowledgeable of the applicant's professional and academic competence.
TOEFL for international students.

Each applicant must possess knowledge equivalent to that provided by the following courses:

INFS 501 Discrete and Logical Structures for Information Systems
INFS 515 Computer Organization
INFS 590 Program Design and Data Structures
SWE 510 Object-Oriented Programming in Java

Note: INFS 590 requires prior knowledge of a high-level language.
INFS 310 may be taken if the student has no programming experience.

Students not enrolled in a Mason graduate degree program should apply for the certificate program through Graduate Admissions Office of the Volgenau School. Students enrolled in a Mason graduate degree program should apply to ISE for admission into thecertificate program.

Admission into the certificate program does not guarantee acceptance into any MS program.

Certificate Requirements

Certificate candidates must complete five courses, achieving an average grade of B or better, for a total of 15 credits of graduate study.

To obtain the certificate, students must complete the following:

Four required courses
- INFS 612 Principles and Practices of Communication Networks
- INFS 614 Database Management
- SWE 620* Software Requirements and Prototyping
- SWE 621 Software Design
One of the following courses
- INFS 770 Methods for Information Systems Engineering
- SWE 625 Software Project Management, or

Students accepted into the INFE Certificate Program may also be accepted into the MS in Information Systems program, provided they satisfy the additional business course foundation requirement. Certificate courses count towards the MS degree, and students may complete the degree requirements as described in the GMU Graduate Catalog to obtain the MS in Information Systems degree. Students already admitted to the MS in Information Systems program or the MS in Software Engineering program are also eligible to earn the INFE Certificate, by taking appropriate electives.

Note: Students enrolled in the M.S. in Information Systems program may substitute SWE 620 for INFS 622 to obtain this certificate. Credit is not given for taking both INFS 622 and SWE 620; only 3 credits are awarded.

For Further Information

Additional information on the program is available from the ISE Student Advisor

Financial aid information is available at the GMU Office of Financial Aid

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Effective Fall 2007

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