Information Systems is a community of scholars who actively, collaboratively, and enthusiastically engage in creating, disseminating, and applying fundamental knowledge at the intersection of people, information, and computing technology.
IS faculty and research focuses on Human-Centered Computing and on Data Intensive Research. Grant-funded research forms an important part of our work. Interdisciplinary work is strongly encouraged across the university and with other partners.
Most of our MS degrees also are available through e-learning, which includes a large amount of class discussion and interaction in a structured computer conferencing environment. NJIT has been a pioneer in distance education, and holds the copyright for the term "Virtual Classroom."
We are classified as an R1: Doctoral Universities - Very High Research Activity in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. One of only two in NJ.
Campus Characteristics
NJIT is the largest technical State University in the NY-NJ tri-state area and is undergoing rapid transformation. Located in University Heights Newark, NJIT is at the center of large urban renewal project, under the leadership of a newly appointed President and Provost.
We have a great 3-story gym facility with a nice-sized pool (with free kayaking lessons one night a week), racquetball courts, basketball courts, and a great exercise machine room surrounded by an indoor running track. We also have covered tennis courts. All facilities are free of charge to faculty and students.
IS Outside of a Business School
The field of Information Systems concerns the effective use of Information and Communication Technologies by people. IS and IT can be applied to many different domains: business, education and learning, medical, community support, engineering, science, liberal arts, agriculture, etc. Thus while we have courses with a traditional MIS focus, several courses and most research focuses on Human-Centered Computing and on Data Intensive Research.
NJIT also has an IS group inside the School of Management. We do work closely with them, with cross-listed courses, research collaboration and joint faculty appointments. Also, Rutgers University across the street has a School of Management.
The Ying Wu College of Computing Sciences (YWCC) was formed in July 2001 out of a very large CIS Department, which had been in the College of Science and Liberal Arts (CSLA). YWCC has three departments: Informatics, Computer Science, and Data Science. NJIT has 5 other colleges: CSLA, School of Management, Newark College of Engineering, School of Architecture and Design, and the Albert Dorman Honors College.
NJIT is located 30 minutes from Silicon Alley and New York City by train. Our IS program is one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. The area has a high concentration of industry and businesses, with many opportunities for research collaboration and consulting. Many of our students work for major corporations in the area.
The area offers a variety of living environments from lively urban (New York, Hoboken) to quiet suburbs with excellent school districts (within a 10 minute drive), to hills, farmland and to the shore (1 hour drive).
NJIT has several laboratory facilities. The Informatics Department has several research labs including the SmartCampus Lab, Collaborative Hypermedia and Application Development Lab, and electronic ARTs habitat (eARTh) Lab. We are an Internet 2 university.
NJIT has a lot of research collaboration across departments, schools and with Rutgers-Newark and the University of Medicine and Dentistry in NJ (UMDNJ), both within walking distance of NJIT. In addition, being located in the metro-New York area gives us access to many companies and industries on both sides of the Hudson River. Industrial-partnering for research is both feasible and encouraged.
Faculty and student entrepreneurship is encouraged and new hires will have the opportunity to advise PhD candidates and to work with start-ups housed by NJIT’s Enterprise Development Center with over 100 companies. Besides a large number of PhD students, we have an abundance of masters students and undergraduates. This provides many opportunities for students to help out on semester-long programming projects and gain experience with research projects.
