DISCOVER MORE ABOUT THE MSIM ONLINE PROGRAM

No. You do not need any prior industry or technology experience to enroll. The program’s interdisciplinary nature makes it accessible to students from all backgrounds, regardless of whether they have tech or information management experience. The program offers bridge courses to prepare you for the coursework.

The online degree options are available to students everywhere. While online students benefit from the UW’s location, students do not need to be in Seattle to experience these benefits.

Any online student in any track can work while taking the program if they are taking it part-time. We do not recommend students take any of the program tracks full-time if also working full-time. The program does require you to attend synchronous sessions (1.5 hours a week per course) which take place in the evening, 5.30-7pm, Pacific time on a weekday.

Yes. Admissions and graduation requirements for residential and online students are identical and all graduates earn the same Master of Science in Information Management degree.

All MSIM degree options (Early-Career, Early-Career Accelerated and Mid-Career) are offered in two modes, residential and online. The courses, credits and requirements are all the same.

Key differences:

Program start dates: Students in the online options have four opportunities to begin the program each year (September, January, March, June). Conversely all new Residential students matriculate in Autumn.

Application process: Application processes and timelines vary by degree option and modality, and candidates are advised to pay careful attention to the dates and details associated with their chosen program track and mode of study.

Part-Time vs. Full-Time: All Online and Mid-Career students can complete their studies part-time. Residential students in the Early-Career and Early-Career Accelerated degree options are expected to be enrolled full-time.

Specializations: The Residential options offer six specializations while the online options currently offer two of these six specializations.

No. We are working to develop several optional on-campus immersion programs to enhance the learning experience for online students, but there are no graduation requirements that require in-person participation.

Courses delivered remotely have some synchronous (real-time) elements, but are mostly asynchronous so you can participate on your own schedule. Synchronous sessions will take place in the early morning or evening Pacific time on weekdays and weekends (approximately 1 hour a week, per course).

For a 4 credit course, you can expect to spend about 12-16 hours in total per week. This breaks down to around 1-2 synchronous hours and about 12 hours of homework each week. You can expect the total time commitment to increase or decrease depending on the number of credit units per course.

Every course will have 60-90 minute synchronous sessions every week and one 60 minute office hour. Note that bridge courses IMT 511 and IMT 543 are fully asynchronous and self-guided.

Every course will have a 60-90 minute synchronous session every week for the duration of the course.

Online courses are designed and developed by core full-time faculty to ensure a world-class academic experience and will be delivered primarily by industry experts who infuse the courses with real-world case studies, practical know-how and cutting-edge technical skills.

Yes. However, online students will not be issued an F-1 visa or be eligible for Curricular Practical Training employment authorization. Depending on an international student’s location, this may impact their ability to seek employment or an internship.

No. Once you are admitted to a program mode, either residential or online, you stay in that mode for the duration of the program.

No. All MSIM students will be required to take 100% of their coursework in their designated program mode, meaning online students will only take online courses. Residential students take most or all of their courses in-person on the Seattle campus, with some limited online course offerings.

Online students will be engaged in community building activities with their core class in the online mode and will have access to success coaches who will guide their development and engage them in the life of the iSchool.

The iSchool student experience includes voluntary participation in student groups as well as virtual workshops and events delivered by Career Services and the MSIM program faculty and staff. The iSchool hosts many events weekly that are offered in a blended environment, including research talks and guest speakers.

Students in the online degree options are offered virtual one-on-one advising, help with general job search strategies, resume and cover letter workshops, interview advice, and career management modules to support their job search activities. All MSIM students, regardless of their program mode, also have access to career events and programming offered through the iSchool and the University of Washington Career and Internship Center. Some of these events will be virtual while others will require in-person attendance.

Yes, as a student at the UW, you will have access to these services though some campus resources cannot be delivered remotely. Online MSIM students have access to success coaches as well who will guide them and support them about academic concerns relating to being an online student.

Capstone refers to the three course sequence required for Early-Career track students. Capstone includes either an organization-sponsored applied project or a faculty-sponsored research project. These courses include IMT 569, IMT 596, IMT 597.

Practicum refers to the one course required for Early-Career Accelerated track students and can take the form of an organization-sponsored applied project, an internship, or a research project sponsored by an iSchool faculty member. This course is IMT 599.

The Capstone project occurs over three quarters (a 30 week experience), whereas the Practicum is a one-term 10 week experience.

The Capstone or Practicum is optional for Mid-Career track students.

The UW Graduate School has a minimum GPA requirement. As detailed on their website, individual programs may consider qualified applicants with a GPA below a 3.0. Applicants with a lower GPA may want to provide additional information in the Extenuating Circumstances part of the application.

You need to select a specialization upon admission, however if you find you would like to shift specializations, you may formally request a change. Please note that a formal request does not guarantee you will be able to switch specializations.

The program requires students to attend synchronous sessions (1.5 hours a week per course) which take place in the evening, 5.30-7pm, Pacific time on a weekday.

You do not need prior technical knowledge to apply for and enroll in this program. The Data Science and Business Intelligence tracks each have a single optional bridge course to help you ramp up for the courses in the specialization and provide you the prerequisite skills. This will enable all students the ability to select any specialization regardless of your background.

At this time you are not eligible to take courses outside the MSIM online program.

You can find electives courses and their descriptions under the Curriculum section.

The Data Science specialization courses need to be taken in a sequence. It is recommended you pass the optional bridge course (IMT 511) before taking IMT 573: Data Science I: Theoretical Foundations.