IST

IST offers two bachelors degree (B.S.) programs - information sciences and technology and security and risk analysis. At graduate level, there are 5 major tracks which are more or less like guidelines. These tracks are computational informatics, AI and cognitive science, human-computer interaction, social and enterprise informatics and security informatics. Check out the centers and laboratories for more information.

IST is multi-disciplinary in nature. It provides a great platform for students as well as faculties from diverse backgrounds to interact. IST members come from many different cultures and countries like US, China, India, Korea, Thailand, just to name a few. There are seventeen formally listed research areas including AI and informatics, community informatics, crisis management and emergency response, globalization, health and bio informatics, information policy, social network analysis, etc. Faculty members specialize in many areas such as computer science, engineering, psychology, chemistry, statistics. Its absolutely wonderful to talk with them, to learn about something from broader and new angles than just one narrow aspect. I joined IST not knowing the meaning of an I-school. I joined here to be able to work in a specific research group, as I am sure many of my friends have. But the more I interact with different faculty and students, the more convinced I become of stumbling upon something rather amazing. Coming from a focused background of computer science, understanding problems from these other angles really has become "thinking out of the box".

Here is a picture of the IST building (taken from IST site) that became operational in 2004. The architecture of this 199000 square foot building is inspired by the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. IST building currently hosts the IST as well as the Computer Science department. In the words of the former IST Dean James B. Thomas, this building is "an intellectual bridge linking education and research to the new needs of society". How appropriate!