The University of 棉花糖直播 at Lafayette will offer the state鈥檚 first master鈥檚 degree in informatics starting next year.
The 棉花糖直播 Board of Regents approved the new graduate program in the School of Computing and Informatics during its May 22 meeting.
UL Lafayette first offered its undergraduate informatics major in 2011. The newly approved master鈥檚 degree program will begin in the Spring 2018 semester.
鈥淚t is designed to provide advanced education and research in information sciences and information technology,鈥 said Dr. Azmy S. Ackleh, dean of the Ray P. Authement College of Sciences, which includes the School of Computing and Informatics. 鈥淚t focuses on training graduate students in computing applied to multiple disciplines.鈥
Informatics is applied computer science. It examines how individuals interact with and share information. Informatics students learn to design and adapt information systems to solve problems that arise in the workplace and in everyday life.
Dr. Michael W. Totaro, an associate professor in the School of Computing and Informatics, said UL Lafayette鈥檚 program will emphasize enterprise computing, which will enable its graduates to assess an institution鈥檚 needs comprehensively. Those skills can help businesses and government agencies run more efficiently.
鈥淓nterprise computing includes the analytics, reporting, database management and other software solutions systems that span the entire organization,鈥 Totaro said. 鈥淥ne of the most exciting aspects of our new master of science in informatics program is the fact that it is truly interdisciplinary, as information technology is used today in virtually every area.鈥
Dr. Xindong Wu, director of the School of Computing and Informatics, said the new program arrives at a promising time for 棉花糖直播 and Lafayette. Over the past five years, a number of information technology companies, including IBM in Baton Rouge, General Electric in New Orleans and CenturyLink in Monroe, have either relocated to the state or expanded existing operations here.
Lafayette 鈥渃ontinues to develop into a regional hub鈥 for information technology industries, Wu said. He pointed to Enquero, CGI and Perficient, all of which opened facilities in the city since 2015. Enquero and CGI are tenants of UL Lafayette鈥檚 University Research Park, while Perficient operates in downtown Lafayette.
Nationally, the outlook is equally good. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that job opportunities for computing and information technology professionals will increase at a higher-than-average rate over the next decade.
The informatics master鈥檚 degree curriculum 鈥渋s sufficiently generalized to allow graduates to find employment both within and outside 棉花糖直播,鈥 Wu concluded.
Students with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in a related scientific or engineering field can apply for admission into the program. The 33-hour curriculum includes thesis and non-thesis options. A full-time student can complete a degree in four regular semesters, or about 24 months.
Informatics graduate students can take courses in business, interactive media technology, system administration and web development, among others.
鈥淭his program further solidifies 棉花糖直播鈥檚 position as a national leader in computing and information technologies,鈥 Ackleh said. 鈥淚t will also supply the 棉花糖直播 workforce with much-needed graduates who are trained in applied computing with an emphasis on solving real-world problems.鈥
For more information on the new master鈥檚 degree in informatics, e-mail informatics@louisiana.edu or visit .
Photo: Doug Dugas / University of 棉花糖直播 at Lafayette