UVA Master’s in Management of Information Technology - Retrospective (Part 3 of 6)
This is part 3 of my retrospective on the UVA Master’s in Management of Information Technology program I graduated from in May 2010. See part 1 and part 2 for context.
Mod 0
May 2009 was the first weekend of my cohort’s program. It was more than just a meet and greet with classmates. Mod 0 set the tone for program weekends with three 8-hour class days.
Topics included an introduction to corporate strategy, IT relevance, and the program’s tag line, “Delivering business value through IT.” We learned that the program is about how IT works when done well. IT departments can be a critical piece of corporate strategy and not just a cost center.
If you leave Mod 0 feeling like you did not get any value out of the topics and discussions then you should consider dropping the program. It is a major commitment not only for yourself but also to your classmates who are paying $40,000 for an education. The cohort is only as strong as its weakest link. Everyone has to contribute for the program to produce maximum value.
Mod 1
Mod 1 is 10 days in June of rigorous class and project work. You get very little sleep. I slept 4 hours a night (2:30am to 6:30am) every day during Mod 1 and caught up as much as possible on the weekend break that divides the 5 day sections. Coffee was crucial.
Topics in Mod 1 included enterprise architecture, computer network fundamentals, computer and network security, database modeling, and an introduction to data warehousing (covered in further detail in Mod 3). The idea behind Mod 1 is to give non-technical students a grasp of technical fundamentals so the concepts are no longer intimidating. The topics are high-level. You will not be doing any Java or .NET programming.
If you are technical or have a technical background, the subject matter in Mod 1 is straightforward. You can fill in gaps in your knowledge or refresh areas you have forgotten. For example, I knew HTTP servers ran on port 80 but I forgot that a browser running on a client machine opens high number ports for communication to an HTTP server. I should have known that concept but had not thought about it in awhile so class corrected it for me. There were dozens of similar examples scattered throughout our coursework.
A few bits of advice for students about to experience Mod 1:
- Set expectations with family, friends, and your company that during Mod 1 you will be incommunicado. You will not have time for anything outside the program during these two weeks.
- Speak up in class when you have something valuable to add. Mod 1 is a combination of the Charlottesville and Northern Virginia sections so the classroom is crowded. Make your answers short and get to the point immediately.
- Go to the bars on the Corner with your classmates after finishing up your group project work each night. Get to know your classmates! You’ll learn a lot from discussions over beers.
- Plan to do a few hours of work on Saturday and Sunday during the weekend between the five day sections. Otherwise catch up on sleep as much as possible.
- Get started on your Mod 2 reading as soon as Mod 1 ends. I made the mistake of taking a week off from all class-related reading after Mod 1 and put myself in a huge hole.
Mod 1 is a fantastic and intense experience. Go into it with the mindset of working incredibly hard the entire time and you can recover when the two weeks are over.
See part 4 for Mods 2 and 3.
