MASTER OF SCIENCE IN Computing & Data Analytics (M.Sc. CDA)
Learn. Generate. Innovate. Saint Mary s new Master of Science in Computing & Data Analytics (MSc CDA) is a graduate-level, 16-month professional program founded on established tools of mathematics and computing science for business analysis. It combines two essential aspects of computing and data analytics: Hardware and software platform development, customization, and management; Business intelligence: the acquisition, storage, management, and analysis of large amounts of data to improve efficiency and customer experience. Program Requirements In the first year of the program, MSc CDA students complete 24 credit hours in data analytics, mobile, and cloud computing; as well as business software and e-business model development. In the second year, candidates complete one of three applied learning options for an additional 6 credit hours. Based on their professional and career goals, students pursue either an Applied Learning Project, an Internship, or a Thesis. Career Path: Your Link to Industry The primary focus of the MSc CDA program is to develop qualified computing and data analytics professionals who are ready to launch their careers immediately after graduation. Through courses taught by industry professionals, experiential learning opportunities, and application development competitions, MSc CDA students have the opportunity to prove their skills to potential employers. Learn from Instructors who are Experts in their Fields In addition to instruction from industry professionals, MSc CDA students benefit from the expertise of award-winning faculty from Saint Mary s Faculty of Science and the Sobey School of Business, the largest Canadian business school east of Quebec. These instructors are experts in their fields and many are actively involved in research and development activities in data analytics.
Admissions and Fee Application deadline: February 1 Admission requirements Applicants require a four-year Bachelor of Science in Computing Science degree (or equivalent) with a cumulative GPA equal to 70% Applicants must score at least 70% on a programming test administered by Saint Mary s University Letter of Intent describing how the program will benefit your educational and career goals, as well as your organization (if applicable) An up-to-date CV with references Expand Your Skills to Meet the Demands of Big Data Thanks to the explosion of Big Data, the information technology (IT) landscape is changing. 95% of IT jobs involve the creation of business, engineering, and service industry applications based on extensive data analysis. These ubiquitous applications are built on cloud, web, and mobile platforms using structured and unstructured data. To meet these demands, IT leaders of tomorrow must possess a sophisticated understanding of the role of computing and innovation in business analysis and management. Language requirements Students whose first language is not English, and who have not attended an English language secondary school or who do not hold a degree completed entirely in English, must submit a TOEFL or IELTS score. A score of at least 80 on the internet-based (ibt) TOEFL or an IELTS score of at least 6.5 is required. Estimated Tuition fees International Students...$ 30,000.00 (CAD)* *Not including associated fees or living expenses Working with state-of-the-art Big Data solutions, MSc CDA students will explore the emerging opportunities in the Internet of Things and will emerge with cutting-edge skills to meet the needs of an evolving industry. Graduates will excel as effective designers and programmers of business computing solutions, IT managers, strategists, and entrepreneurs.
Program Structure: 8 Required Courses + 1 Option OPTION 1 Applied Learning Project OPTION 2 8-month Internship OPTION 3 Research Thesis MSc students complete 8 required courses in data analytics, mobile, and cloud computing; as well as business software and e-business model development. In addition, candidates must complete one of three options based on their professional and career goals: Applied Learning Project, Internship, or a Research Thesis. Applied Learning Project Students who pursue this option complete two courses (6 credit hours) in which they develop a group-based applied project that addresses a major data analytics problem. Emphasis in this stream is on project management, and both courses include seminars on project management from leading experts in the field. MCDA 5585: Applied Master Project System and Functional Analysis The first in a two-part series, this course involves the design, development, implementation, and testing of a computing system with focus on data analytics. Students will work in teams of two or three to develop a system under supervision of a faculty member. Depending on the nature of their project, students may choose a varying degree of balance between data analytics and system development.
Eight courses and three applied learning options designed for emerging IT leaders. MCDA 5595: Applied Master Project - Implementation and Analysis of Results The second in a two-part series, this course focuses on design, development, implementation, and testing of a computing system with focus on data analytics. As before, students will continue to work in teams of two or three to develop a system under supervision of a faculty member. This course focuses on implementation of the complete system, testing, and simulated cut-over to production. 8-month Internship Students who select this option benefit from experiential learning and further industry exposure at computing and data analytics organizations. Internships are supervised by both an academic supervisor and an on-site supervisor, and students receive regular formal and informal feedback on their progress. On-site supervisors will provide two reports, one at the midterm point and another at the end, which will be used to enhance the work experience. Internship students are required to submit a report of their internship activities and measured acheivements one month before the end of their internship. The academic supervisor will evaluate the on-site supervisor s feedback and the student s report to award a final grade of pass or fail. Saint Mary s MSc CDA offers these advantages: Study with cutting-edge instructors from Saint Mary s Faculty of Science and the Sobey School of Business, the largest Canadian business school east of Quebec. Three applied learning choices: - Applied Learning Project - 8-month internship - Research Thesis Dynamic, interdisciplinary learning environment Interaction with industry practitioners Student employment programs, including Canada s Department of Economic and Rural Strategic Cooperative Education Incentive Program and Saint Mary s Co-Operative Education Department, will support student intern placement. Research Thesis The thesis stream is designed for students interested in pursuing doctoral studies or a career in research and development. Theses will be in the area of computing, with a particular focus on data analytics. Students in this stream will be assigned a thesis supervisor to help guide their progress.
quality control. Emphasis will also be placed on designing, conducting, analyzing, and interpreting the results of data collections. MCDA 5530: Human-Computer Interaction The objective of this course is to teach students how to design, prototype, and evaluate user interfaces using a variety of methods. Topics covered include the following: human capabilities; interface technology; interface design methods; and interface evaluation. MSc CDA: Your path to IT excellence. Courses In the first two semesters of the MSc CDA program, students are introduced to real-world challenges and solutions through eight courses led by industry practitioners. MCDA 5510: Software Development in Business Environment This course covers the complete software development process in a business environment, including the system analysis, design, implementation, and testing of software systems. Students will work in teams to develop a software system for a business application, and will explore business process modeling and project management. MCDA 5540: Managing and Programming Databases Students will examine the design, implementation, and management issues associated with database systems. The problems that arise through incorrectly designed databases will be identified and their resolutions discussed. Students will learn implications of storage management (e.g., data layout, disk-based data structures), and indexing on the database performance. Additional topics include query processing algorithms, query optimization, transactional concurrency control, logging and recovery. While emphasis will be on the relational database model, study will include other alternative data models and systems, such as those used for structured text, spatial data, multimedia data, and information retrieval. MCDA5550: Web, Mobile, and Cloud Application Development This course will help students develop applications that are accessible through the internet on a variety of platforms, including personal computers and mobile devices. An MCDA 5520: Statistics and its Applications in Business Emphasis in this course will be on developing the conceptual foundations and an in-depth understanding of the most useful statistical techniques used in data analysis; marketing and management studies; financial and economic analysis; and accounting work. Topics include descriptive and inferential statistics, multiple regression, forecasting and quality control. The focus will be on statistical analysis of real business problems in their full complexity, and topics include descriptive and inferential statistics, multiple regression, forecasting and
emphasis will be placed on the key concepts in designing and deploying a mobile application, such as device constraints (e.g., limited power and memory, smaller screen size). Topics will include mobile device features and functionality; push technology; data structures and memory management; user interface design; Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG); cloud computing; and security considerations. MCDA5560: Business intelligence This course uses tools and techniques for customer and product profiling using classification and clustering, analysis of demographic information for business decision making, and supply and demand management using predictive models. A professional business intelligence software will be used with real-world data sets to effectively analyze statistical patterns and communicate them for strategic management decision making. MCDA5570: Managing Information Technology and Systems This course equips students with processes, models, and frameworks to develop IT strategy for organizations. It focuses on a review of leading software and hardware platforms, business software applications and their strategy maps (e.g., customer relationship management, supply chain management, product lifecycle management, and human capital management). Issues pertaining to technology adoption, emerging technologies, and diffusion of innovations will also be covered. MCDA5580: Data Mining Data mining refers to a family of techniques used to detect interesting knowledge in data. With the availability of large databases to store, manage and assimilate data, the new thrust of data mining lies at the intersection of database systems, artificial intelligence, and algorithms that efficiently analyze data. The size of databases and high complexity of techniques present many interesting computational challenges. The course will use concepts from pattern recognitions, statistics, data analysis and machine learning. Learn from faculty and industry mentors who are experts in their fields.
Saint Mary s University: Innovation in practice. Saint Mary s University is a world-class institution for higher learning with a rich 200-year history. It offers state-of-the-art facilities and a dynamic, multicultural community. Saint Mary s is located in the historic city of Halifax, the bustling economic and cultural centre of the province of Nova Scotia, on the east coast of Canada. Halifax: Atlantic Canada s Innovation Hub A growing leader in the information technology sector, Nova Scotia recently solidified its committment to the growth of industry and data analytics with the establishment of the IBM Global Delivery Center. This Centre, a collaboration between Saint Mary s University, IBM, and other post-secondary educational insitutions in the region, is designed to promote data analytics education and research. MSc CDA students benefit from IBM s active academic alliance program, which provides data analytics resources including licensing of software, instructional videos, and data analytics case studies. The collaboration is also expected to include involvement of IBM professionals in student mentoring. smu.ca/mscda Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Saint Mary s University 923 Robie Street Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3C3 902.491.6535 msc.cda@smu.ca