U.S. News and World Report has recognized UMBC’s online master’s degree in information systems as #34 on their national list of 2024 Best Online Master’s in Information Technology Programs. The program moved up seven spots from last year’s ranking.
The U.S. News rankings evaluate programs based on qualities such as strong faculty credentials, a good reputation among peer institutions, and the opportunity for students to use diverse online learning tools and engage with their instructors and classmates.
In response to surging interest in artificial intelligence, this year the UMBC program added a new class on AI fundamentals. AI is also one of four program tracks that students can choose to tailor their degree to their career goals. The other tracks are cybersecurity, data science, and user experience.
Recently, the program also launched five certificates, which students can pursue on their way to a master’s degree, or as a stand-alone credential.
Read more about the career of a recent graduate of the online master’s in information systems and find out if it’s the right program for you.
In September, in honor of national online learning day, the information systems department interviewed the new graduate program director for the online master’s program, Jimmy Foulds, an associate professor in information systems at UMBC.
Below is a lightly edited version of the interview, which touches on trends in information technology, and the advantages of UMBC’s brand of education.
Information Systems: Can you shed light on some of the biggest trends, milestones, and challenges shaping online programs right now?
Jimmy Foulds: With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence in recent years, the field is coming to the point where we need to take stock of the impacts of AI and other computing technologies in our world, both good and bad, and to better account for humans in the design of computerized systems. Large language models such as ChatGPT are poised to both make our lives easier and to possibly tip over the apple cart of the entire workforce. More than ever, there is a need for skilled computing professionals. Online programs, such as the online M.S. at UMBC, provide a flexible opportunity to advance your knowledge and get ahead in your career while keeping up to date with the rapidly changing computing landscape.
Information Systems: In thinking about these advantages and trends, what are some of your immediate and long-term goals for the program?
Jimmy Foulds: In the short-term, we are increasing our (already broad) AI course offerings, including a new AI course that I will teach myself next semester. We have also recently created program tracks that allow students to specialize in the cutting-edge areas of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, and user experience. In a new addition to our program, you can now earn certificates in these areas, as well as the foundations of information systems, without committing to completing a full master’s degree, which provides more flexibility.
In the long-term, as more computing professionals look to upskill themselves, we want to grow the program to reach more students, while maintaining the rigor and high quality of instruction that our students have come to expect. I will not compromise on that.
Information Systems: As online options become more prevalent and important among universities, and students wanting even more online options, how do you address the concerns of those that may still be skeptical of online learning?
Jimmy Foulds: I understand the concerns, as there are some programs out there that give online learning a bad name in the eyes of some prospective students. The UMBC online M.S. is not one of those programs. We have exceptional instructors in our program, including many of the tenure track faculty in the department who are leading experts in their fields, as well as highly experienced lecturers and professors of the practice (i.e., professors who specialize in teaching) with doctoral qualifications. UMBC has a reputation for teaching excellence and is a national leader in student-centered learning. Regarding the expertise of our faculty, the university is renowned as a doctoral university with very high research activity under the Carnegie Classification system, commonly known as an R1 institution. The courses offered in our online M.S. program aim to fulfill the full educational experience of our on-campus offerings.
Information Systems: Your research interests are in the area of socially conscious machine learning and artificial intelligence. How does your work aim to improve AI’s role in society regarding fairness and privacy?
Jimmy Foulds: Data-driven artificial intelligence systems now make many decisions that impact our lives, both big and small, from what restaurant we are recommended to try, to whether we get access to medical care, to whether we get offered a job interview. While it’s easy to think of data as being inherently objective and algorithms as being neutral and unprejudiced, the reality is that data reflects bias and inequity in our society, even if it were perfectly representative of the population, which is far from guaranteed. Bias in data leads to bias in algorithms, and to biased, unfair decisions by AI systems. In my research, I aim to help combat AI bias, and I try to shift the field toward taking a more human-centered perspective on the design of these systems. I have also worked on privacy-preserving machine learning algorithms, protecting users from having their personal data leaked by the algorithms themselves.
Information Systems: With your expertise in artificial intelligence and AI being a specialization in the M.S. online program, how will you be expanding the student experience for those interested in this path?
Jimmy Foulds: I am teaching a new introductory course on artificial intelligence that covers high-demand skills sought after by companies in both the public and private sector, including search, constraint satisfaction, and reinforcement learning. The course also covers reasoning and decision-making via propositional logic, probability, and Bayesian networks. As the incoming graduate program director, together with our faculty and staff, I also plan to take a close look at our curricula and see if and where we can make any improvements to take our course offerings to the next level.
Information Systems: The program just launched five new certificates, AI, cybersecurity, data science, UX design and foundations of information systems, all available 100 percent online. What are the advantages of a certificate versus the full master’s degree?
Jimmy Foulds: I am excited about our new certificate programs as they provide students with the opportunity to upskill themselves in a specific area and get recognition from employers without having to invest in completing a full master’s program. Flexibility is what online learning programs are all about, so these certificates are a welcome addition. Students can take up to two certificates concurrently. If they choose to go further, building on their certificate studies they may enroll in and finish an M.S. degree. Our online M.S. degree students can also earn these certificates along the way to their master’s degrees if they so desire. The freedom that the certificates offer to students is really empowering, and is much needed as it allows students to adapt their educational goals to fit into their busy lives.
