Graduate Programs

Courses

Informatics

  • INFO-I 500 Fundamental Computer Concepts for Informatics (3 cr.) An introduction to fundamental principles of computer concepts for Informatics study, including an overview of computer architecture, computer algorithms, fundamentals of operating systems, data structure, file organization and database concepts.  INFO-I 500 is expected to impart the required level of competency in computer science.  This course may be waived in lieu of six undergraduate credit hours of computer science or informatics coursework, covering areas of programming, discrete structures, and data structures.
  • INFO-I 501 Introduction to Informatics (3 cr.) The course deals with the foundations of Informatics as an interdisciplinary field. We will study concepts such as Information, Technology, Knowledge, Modeling, and their impact on science and society. The course will also attempt to define and understand what computational and systems thinking can bring to science and society.  
  • INFO-I 502 Human-Centered Research Methods in Informatics (3 cr.) This course surveys a broad range of research methods employed in Informatics, exploring their meta-theoretical underpinnings and exemplifying their application to specific research questions. This course is intended for students in Informatics graduate programs, especially Ph.D. students, who need a grounding in research methods.
  • INFO-I 504 Social Dimensions of Science Informatics (3 cr.) Examines ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding contemporary research and practice in science informatics. Topics include the nature of science and technology, the ramifications of recent advances in science informatics, and relevant science policy and research ethics. General knowledge of science informatics is assumed.
  • INFO-I 506 Globalization and Information (3 cr.) Explores the processes that promote and impede movement of human action and informational activities to the most general levels, e.g., the level of the world as a whole. Surveys diverse theories of globalization to identify the best approaches for professional informatics career planning and making information globally accessible.
  • INFO-I 507 Introduction to Health Informatics (3 cr.) This is a combined advanced undergraduate and graduate course that provides an introduction to health informatics. By the end of the course, students will be able to describe and apply informatics methods that improve health and well being.
  • INFO-I 519 Introduction to Bioinformatics (3 cr.) One semester programming course or equivalent recommended. Sequence alignment and assembly; RNA structure, protein and molecular modeling; genomics and protenomics; gene prediction; phylogenic analysis; information and machine learning; visual and graphical analysis bioinformatics; worldwide biologic databases; experimental design and data collection techniques; scientific and statistical data analysis; database and data mining methods; and network and Internet methods.
  • INFO-I 520 Security for Networked Systems (3 cr.) This course is an extensive survey of system and network security. Course materials cover the threats to information confidentiality, integrity and availability and the defense mechanisms that control such threats. The course provides the foundation for more advanced security courses and hands-on experiences through course projects. Credit not given for both INFO-I 520 and I 430.
  • INFO-I 521 Malware Epidemic: Threat and Defense (3 cr.) One semester programming course or equivalent recommended. This course is designed to be research and hands-on oriented. Students are required to read and present research papers that reflect the state of the art in malware-related research and participate in course projects that expose them to the cutting-edge technologies on malware defense.
  • INFO-I 523 Big Data Applications and Analytics (3 cr.) The Big Data Applications & Analytics course is an overview course in Data Science and covers the applications and technologies (data analytics and clouds) needed to process the application data. It is organized around rallying cry: Use Clouds running Data Analytics Collaboratively processing Big Data to solve problems in X-Informatics. Credit given for only one of INFO-I 523, I 423, or ENGR-E 534.
  • INFO-I 524 Big Data Software and Projects (3 cr.) This course studies software HPC-ABDS used in either High Performance Computing or the open source commercial Big Data cloud computing. The student builds analysis systems using this software on clouds and then to use it on a project either chosen by student or selected from list given by instructor. Credit not given for both INFO-I 524 and I 424.
  • INFO-I 525 Organizational Informatics and Economics of Security (3 cr.) Security technologies make explicit organizational choices that allocate power. Security implementations allocate risk, determine authority, reify or alter relationships, and determine trust extended to organizational participants. The course begins with an introduction to relevant definitions (security, privacy, trust) and then moves to a series of timely case studies of security technologies.
  • INFO-I 526 Applied Machine Learning (3 cr.) The main aim of the course is to provide skills to apply machine learning algorithms on real applications. We will consider fewer learning algorithms and less time on math and theory and instead spend more time on hands-on skills required for algorithms to work on a variety of data sets.  
  • INFO-I 527 Mobile and Pervasive Design (3 cr.) The aim of this course is to provide students with the ability to design and implement novel interactions with mobile and pervasive technologies. We will discuss interaction paradigms and explore different technologies. Students will design, build, implement and refine mobile and pervasive computing applications for their domain of interest.
  • INFO-I 528 Participatory Design (3 cr.) Participatory Design is a design approach that democratizes the design process by involving end-users. This course has two objectives: we will survey PD's emergence in the creation of computing systems; we will also explore what participation means in technology design today, in contexts such as international development, citizen science, etc.  
  • INFO-I 529 Machine Learning in Bioinformatics (3 cr.) INFO-I 519 or equivalent knowledge recommended. The course covers advanced topics in Bioinformatics with a focus on machine learning. The course will review existing techniques such as hidden Markov models, artificial neural networks, decision trees, stochastic grammars, and kernel methods. Examine application of these techniques to current bioinformatics problems including: genome annotation and comparison, gene finding, RNA secondary structure prediction, protein structure prediction, gene expression analysis, proteonmics, and integrative functional genomics.
  • INFO-I 530 Field Deployments (3 cr.) Lab fee. The aim of this course is to provide students with the ability to design, facilitate and analyze in situ user studies with pervasive systems. We will discuss study designs based on the type of systems, in situ evaluation methods, and how to analyze the study data.
  • INFO-I 531 Seminar in Health Informatics (1-3 cr.) Variable topic. Emphasis is on advanced topics and research in health informatics. May be repeated with different topics, subject to approval of the Dean.
  • INFO-I 532 Seminar in Bioinformatics (1-3 cr.) Variable topic. Emphasis is on advanced topics and research in bioinformatics. May be repeated with different topics, subject to approval of the Dean.
  • INFO-I 533 Systems and Protocol Security and Information Assurance (3 cr.) This course looks at systems and protocols, how to design threat models for them and how to use a large number of current security technologies and concepts to block specific vulnerabilities.  Students will use a large number of systems and programming security tools in the laboratories. Credit not given for both f INFO-I 533 and I 433.
  • INFO-I 534 Seminar in Human-Computer Interaction (1-3 cr.) Variable topic. Emphasis is on advanced topics and research in human-computer interaction. May be repeated once with a different topic, subject to approval of the program director.
  • INFO-I 535 Management, Access, and Use of Big and Complex Data (3 cr.) Innovation today is emerging from a preponderance of data from sensors, social media, and the Internet. This course covers knowledge representation, data process, and data management for big and complex data. Specific topics include data integration, semantics, and provenance; workflows and pipelines; and distributed noSQL stores. Credit not given for both INFO-I 535 and I 435.
  • INFO-I 536 Foundational Mathematics of Cybersecurity (3 cr.) Students will learn mathematical tools necessary to understand modern cyber security. The course will cover introductory mathematical material from a number of disparate fields including probability theory, computational theory, complexity theory, group theory, and information theory.
  • INFO-I 537 Legal and Social Informatics of Security (3 cr.) Security technologies make explicit organizational choices that allocate power. Security implementations allocate risk, determine authority, reify or alter relationships, and determine trust extended to organizational participants. The course begins with an introduction to relevant definitions (security, privacy, trust) and then moves to a series of timely case studies of security technologies. This course may be taken as an alternative INFO-I 525. The course also requires a project, including a work plan, a timeline, peer evaluations, and professional presentations.
  • INFO-I 538 Introduction to Cryptography (3 cr.) This class considers issues of network security, treating in depth the topics covered in INFO-I 536. In particular, the class involves adversarial modeling, a detailed treatment of security primitives, and methods for analysis of security. It spans the ethics and technology of security, with examples drawn both from deployed and proposed protocols. Topics to be covered include studies of rational and malicious cheating, symmetric and asymmetric cryptography, security reductions and heuristics.
  • INFO-I 539 Cryptographic Protocols (3 cr.) This class will cover current and timely topics in the field of Security Informatics. Topics will vary from year to year. Examples of topics that could have been covered in recent years include phishing and cyberfraud, trusted computing basis, electronic voting, and digital rights management systems.
  • INFO-I 540 Human Robot Interaction (3 cr.) This course surveys the field of human-robot interaction (HRI), which involves understanding how people perceive and respond to robots and creating robots that interact naturally with people. We will discuss the design, evaluation and societal significance of interactive robots from a human-centered perspective through readings, discussion and developing HRI prototypes. Credit given for only one of INFO-I 540, I 440 or H 440.
  • INFO-I 541 Interaction Design Practice (3-6 cr.) Human-Computer Interaction Design (HCID) describes the way a person or group accomplishes tasks with a computer—what the individual or group does and how the computer responds; what the computer does and how the individual or group responds. Sometimes known as "interface design," HCID becomes increasingly important as computing intelligence and connectivity spread ubiquitously to home, work, and play environments. This course will be organized around a collection of readings and three design projects concerned with applying human-computer interaction principles to the design, selection, and evaluation of interactive systems.
  • INFO-I 542 Foundations of HCI (3 cr.) "Foundations of HCI" offers a survey overview of the field of Human-Computer Interaction Design. It introduces the main themes of HCI set generally in a historical context. Themes include interaction design, cognitive modeling, distributed cognition, computer-supported cooperative work, data visualization, ubiquitous computing, affective computing, and domestic computing, among others.
  • INFO-I 543 Interaction Design Methods (3 cr.) Students will learn basic concepts and methods for usability studies and evaluation of interactive systems as well as apply those methods to actual system design evaluations. This course is not only for understanding the basics and traditional approaches in this area, but also for exploring new ways of evaluating the usability of state-of-the-art technology-based systems such as systems in ubiquitous computing, CSCW, tangible and social computing areas.
  • INFO-I 544 Experience Design (3 cr.) Accompanying its move from workplace productivity into culture-at-large, HCI is increasingly concerned with designing engaging user experiences. "Experience Design" is an interdisciplinary course that brings anthropological, philosophical, design, and technological perspectives together to explore novel ways to research, design, and evaluate qualities of user experience.
  • INFO-I 545 Music Information Representation, Search, and Retrieval (3 cr.) A comprehensive, comparative study of computer-based representation schemes for music, including those oriented toward music notation, music performance, and music analysis. Overview of musical metadata. Techniques and tools for search and retrieval of music information. Credit not given for both INFO-I 545 and MUS-N 564.
  • INFO-I 546 Music Information Processing: Symbolic (3 cr.) This course deals with both methodology and specific applications that attempt to algorithmically annotate, understand, recognize, and categorize music in symbolic (score like) form. Particular applications will include key finding, harmonic analysis, note spelling, rhythm recognition, meter induction, piano fingering, and various classification problems such as genre or composer identification. The methodology we will employ will be probabilistic and will include ideas from Machine Learning such as optimal classifiers, hidden Markov models, and Bayesian networks. Students will have computing assignments, present papers, and be expected to implement solutions to problems using a high-level language such as R or Matlab.
  • INFO-I 547 Music Information Processing: Audio (3 cr.) This course deals with various music analysis and processing problems that use sampled audio as the primary data representation. We discuss digital signal processing, including filtering and its relationship to Fourier techniques. Topics include synthesis, effects processing, score following, and blind music recognition, and accompaniment systems.
  • INFO-I 548 Introduction to Music Informatics (3 cr.) History, issues, and applications in music information technology. Survey of various types of musical information. Introduction to digital musical media, including data standards and processing; database structure and organization standards and processing; database structure and organization of audio-, score-, and text file objects; and discussion of copyright issues.
  • INFO-I 549 Advanced Prototyping (3 cr.) INFO-I 540 recommended. Lab fee. Prototyping is the activity of exploring a design space and developing design ideas. The course will cover issues surrounding the construction of prototypes (e.g., breadth, depth, look, interaction, low/high, vertical/horizontal, etc.). Students will practice manipulating different prototyping materials, both physical and digital, and learn about different prototype evaluation techniques.
  • INFO-I 552 Ind Study in Bioinformatics (1-3 cr.) Permission of instructor and completion of at least one 500-level informatics course. Independent readings and research under the direction of a faculty member culminating in a written report. May be repeated for a maximum of 3 times and 9 credit hours.
  • INFO-I 553 Ind Study in Chem Informatics (1-3 cr.) Permission of instructor and completion of at least one 500-level informatics course. Independent readings and research under the direction of a faculty member, culminating in a written report. May be repeated for a maximum of 3 times and 9 credit hours.
  • INFO-I 554 Ind St Human Computer Interaction (1-3 cr.) Permission of instructor and completion of at least one 500-level informatics course. Independent readings and research under the direction of a faculty member, culminating in a written report. May be repeated for a maximum of 3 times and 9 credit hours.
  • INFO-I 561 Meaning and Form in HCI (3 cr.) INFO-I 541 recommended. This course is a continuation of Human-Computer Interaction Design I, emphasizing the justification of design effectiveness.
  • INFO-I 566 Technology Innovation (3 cr.) This course teaches students the process of innovation, specifically in respect to technological innovation. Students are required to ideate technological concepts given a set of constraints and an opportunity space. The focus of the course is on students inventing and implementing without considering the commercial potential of their innovations. Credit not given for both INFO-I 566 and I 436.
  • INFO-I 567 Design Strategy (3 cr.) Permission of instructor. The course requires students to apply "the" design process to better understand the factors affecting the success or failure of a design beyond the target audience and problem space in order to iterate on the design to propose solutions to avoid its failure, a process known as strategic design.  
  • INFO-I 568 Technology Entrepreneurship (3 cr.) This course will teach students the importance of systems and design thinking as they relate to building and managing a startup holistically. Students will be required to take a business concept from inception to implementation, at least to the degree required to have a minimum viable product (MVP). Credit not given for both INFO-I 568 and I 438.
  • INFO-I 569 Collective Intelligence (3 cr.) This course examines the phenomenon of Collective Intelligence from a computational perspective, with theory and applications in the biological, cultural, and economic domains. We will, in particular, focus on the role of social media which is enabling collective intelligence applications at previously unimagined scales.  
  • INFO-I 571 Introducing Cheminformatics (3 cr.) Overview of chemical informatics techniques, including chemical structure coding, chemical data representation, chemical database and search systems, molecular visualization and modeling techniques, and the development of chemical informatics software.
  • INFO-I 572 Computational Chemistry and Molecular Modeling (3 cr.) This course has two main objectives. 1) To give you a thorough introduction to computational chemisty and modern methods of electronic structure theory that form the basis of molecular modeling today. Mainly, we will concentrate on quantum mechanical methods and pay special attention to Density Functional Theory. Instead of digging deep into the mathematics of quantum chemistry, we will concentrate on practical aspects and examine in detail how computational chemistry can be used to explain chemical reactions and electronic properties. 2) To get your ‘Hands Dirty’ and conduct real and original research designed to allow you to see the knowledge obrained from the first part of the course in action and apply a wide range of state-of-the-art methods to solve a specific chemcial research problem at a high level of scientific rigor.
  • INFO-I 573 Programming for Chemical & Life Science Informatics (3 cr.) Students will receive a thorough understanding of software development for chem- and bioinformatics, and broaden experience of working in a scientific computing group. Topics include programming for the web, depiction of chemical and biological structures in 2D and 3D, science informatics tool kits, software APIS, AI and machine-learning algorithm development, high performance computing, database management, managing a small software development group, and design and usability of science informatics software.
  • INFO-I 585 Bioinspired Computing (3 cr.) Biologically-inspired computing is an interdisciplinary field devoted to computational methods modeled after natural design principles. The goal is to produce informatics tools with enhanced robustness, scalability, flexibility and natural human-machine interaction. Topics include: Self-organization, Evolutionary Systems, Cellular Automata, Boolean Networks, L-Systems, Collective and Swarm Behavior, Artificial Immune Systems, Complex Networks. Credit not given for both INFO-I 585 and I 485.
  • INFO-I 586 Artificial Life (3 cr.) Artificial life is a broad discipline encompassing the origins, modeling, and synthesis of natural and artificial living entities and systems. Artificial intelligence, as a discipline, tries to model and understand intelligent systems and behavior, typically at the human level. Credit not given for both INFO-I 586 and I 486.
  • INFO-I 587 Introduction to Virtual Heritage (3 cr.) This course focuses on how digital technology can represent, restore, disseminate, and help with analysis of artifacts such as vases, furniture, sculpture, monuments, and buildings. Other topics covered include the history and methodologies of Virtual Heritage. Each semester a different case study will provide the focus for the course.   Credit not given for both INFO-I 587 and I 487.
  • INFO-I 588 Advanced Topics in Virtual Heritage (3 cr.) This course teaches students how to create simulations of complex cultural heritage environments such as a room and its furnishings, a building, or a settlement. Also covered are the principles of restorations of art, technologies to disseminate 3D models, and the use of simulations as tools of scientific discovery.   Credit not given for both INFO-I 588 and I 488.
  • INFO-I 590 Topics in Informatics (3 cr.) Variable topic. Emphasis is on new developments and research in informatics.  May be repeated with different topics, subject to approval of the Dean.
  • INFO-I 591 Graduate Internship (0-6 cr.) Department approval. Students gain professional work experience in an industry or research organization setting, using skills and knowledge acquired in Informatics course work.  May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
  • INFO-I 601 Introduction to Complex Systems (3 cr.) The course will cover fractals, emergent behavior, chaos theory, cooperative phenomena, and complex networks. Students will learn how to think differently about complexitalities, finding ways to understand their complexity and addressing the problems they pose.
  • INFO-I 602 Music Info Processing: Audio (3 cr.) This course deals with various music analysis and processing problems that use sampled audio as the primary data representation. Digital signal processing including filtering and its relationship to Fourier techniques. Focus on applications including score following, automatic music transcription and annotation from audio,musical accompaniment systems, as well as some useful audio effects.
  • INFO-I 604 Human Computer Interaction Design Theory (3 cr.) The course will explore, analyze, and criticize underlying assumptions and the rational behind some of the most influential theoretical attempts in HC and related fields. The purpose of the course is to make students aware of how theories can influence practice and to develop critical thinking around the role, purpose, and function for theories.
  • INFO-I 605 Social Foundations of Informatics (3 cr.) Topics include the economics of information businesses and information societies, legal and regulatory factors that shape information and information technology use, the relationship between organization cultures and their use of information and information technology, and ownership of intellectual property.
  • INFO-I 606 Network Science (3 cr.) Requires strong working knowledge of mathematics and programming, specifically, proficiency in the topics such as probability, statistics, linear algebra, data structures, and algorithms. Python is the main programming language. This course teaches the fundamental theories, algorithms, and key applications of network science across social and biological systems.
  • INFO-I 609 Advanced Seminar I in Informatics (3 cr.) Contemporary Informatics approaches and related theories. This Ph.D. seminar will be held as reading and discussion courses, divided into sections. This means that the courses will to a large extent be self- and/or group-study oriented with support from faculty.
  • INFO-I 611 Mathematical and Logical Foundations of Informatics (3 cr.) Basic discrete mathematics equivalent to MATH-M 118 recommended. An introduction to mathematical methods for information modeling, analysis, and manipulation. The topics include proof methods in mathematics, models or computation, counting techniques and discrete probability, optimization, statistical inference and ore advanced topics that include but are not limited to Markov chains and random walks, random graphs, and Fourier analysis.
  • INFO-I 617 Informatics in Life Sciences and Chemistry (3 cr.) Introduces the fundamental notions in genome and proteome informatics and chemical informatics focusing on the design and organizing issues in information systems used in those areas. The course is designed for students with no biology or chemistry background, but some knowledge in informatics, who want to learn basic topics in bioinformatics and chemical informatics.
  • INFO-I 619 Structural Bioinformatics (3 cr.) The course will cover informatics approaches, based on the sequence and 3D structure of biological macromolecules, whose objective is to improve our understanding of the function of these molecules.
  • INFO-I 621 Computational Techniques in Comparative Genomics (3 cr.) Summarizes computational techniques for comparing genomes on the DNA and protein sequence levels. Topics include state of the art computational techniques and their applications: understanding of hereditary diseases and cancer, genetic mobile elements, genome rearrangements, genome evolution, and the identification of potential drug targets in microbial genomes.
  • INFO-I 651 Ethnography of Information (3 cr.) Introduces ethnography as a social science methodology and way of knowing with which to study information and its social contexts. Places ethnography in the Informatics knowledge base. Trains students in the use of a broad range of ethnographic techniques relevant to study of automated information technology in use. Designed to be open to students from other programs with sufficient methodological and substantive background.
  • INFO-I 667 Seminar in Health Informatics I (3 cr.) INFO-I 531 recommended. This seminar is intended for graduate students enrolled in the Health Informatics track in the Informatics Doctoral Program.
  • INFO-I 690 Topics in Informatics (1-3 cr.) Variable topic. Emphasis on new developments and research in informatics. Course is intended for Ph.D. students in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. May be repeated with different topics, subject to approval of the Dean.
  • INFO-I 692 Thesis/Project Bioinformatics (1-6 cr.) Department approval. The student prepares and presents thesis or project in an area of bioinformatics. The product is substantial, typically a multi-chapter paper or carefully designed and evaluated application, based on well-planned research or scholarly project. Details are worked out between student and sponsoring faculty member. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
  • INFO-I 694 Thesis/Project in Human-Computer Interaction (1-6 cr.) Department approval. The student prepares and presents a thesis or project in an area of human-computer interaction. The product is substantial, typically multi-chapter paper, or a carefully designed and evaluated application, based on well-planned research or scholarly project. Details are worked out between the student and sponsoring faculty member. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
  • INFO-I 698 Research in Informatics (1-12 cr.) Research not dissertation related under the direction of a member of the graduate faculty May be repeated for a maximum of 30 credit hours.
  • INFO-I 699 Independent Study in Informatics (1-3-12 cr.) Independent readings and research for Ph.D. students under the direction of a faculty member, culminating in a written report.  May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credit hours.
  • INFO-I 709 Advanced Seminar II in Informatics (3 cr.) Topic: Contemporary Informatics approaches and related theories. This Ph.D. seminar will be held as reading and discussion courses, divided into sections. This means that the courses will to a large extent be self- and/or group-study oriented with support from faculty. More advanced readings and discussion than INFO-I 609.
  • INFO-I 790 Informatics Research Rotation (3 cr.) Working with faculty to investigate research opportunities. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credit hours.
  • INFO-I 798 Professional Practicum/Internship (0 cr.) Current enrollment in the graduate degree program in Informatics. Participation in graduate level professional training and internship experience.
  • INFO-I 890 Thesis Readings and Research (1-12-36 cr.) Research under the direction of a member of the graduate faculty leading to a Ph.D. dissertation.  May be repeated for a maximum of 36 credit hours.
  • INFO-G 599 Thesis Research (0 cr.) Master's students who have enrolled in 30 or more hours of graduate course work applicable to the degree and who have completed all other requirements of the degree except the thesis of final project of performance may enroll in INFO-G 599.  Requires section authorization.
  • INFO-G 901 Advanced Research (6 cr.) Ph.D. dissertation research after the completion of all course requirements.  May be repeated a maximum of 6 times.

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