CARNEGIE MELLON TO OFFER E-COMMERCE DEGREE by Tom Diederich

COMPUTERWORLD, January 25, 1999

Due to the explosion that has taken place with E-Commerce, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is now the first school to take the initiative in offering a Master’s degree in E-Commerce. The program will take one year to complete at a cost of $38,000. CMU currently does not have any definite commitments from students who want to enter the program. However, CMU Professor Michael Shamos says that the Graduate Business school has received "hundreds of requests for applications and information." The program will start in May and is an even split between 9 technical courses and 9 business courses, along with 5 electives, to be taken over 5 minisemesters. CMU believes that there is currently a lack of graduate programs that can effectively train someone to step into the vital role of running a corporation’s E-Commerce system.

This E-Commerce Master’s program is a prime example of the power and influence of the Internet. Technology is now a major factor in driving the global economy and schools must now be able to react in meeting the needs of corporations. I believe that CMU’s program will lead to other specialized degrees that incorporate this combination of business skills and technical skills. In the future, I can visualize schools offering graduate degrees in Data Warehousing, ERP, Database development and other fields that are in great demand. Corporations are in great need of professionals who have the business background and technical capabilities to fill specific roles within companies. By offering specialized graduate degrees, colleges will give businesses the human capital necessary to meet the demands of today’s information-based global economy.