The Information Networking Institute (INI) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) educates and develops engineers through technical, interdisciplinary master’s degree programs in information networking, security and mobility that incorporate business and policy perspectives.

What began as a small fledgling program has evolved over the past three decades to become an integral part of Carnegie Mellon’s College of Engineering and home to over 300 students each year from across the world. The INI’s students are provided with a distinctly interdisciplinary learning experience: an advanced, specialized curriculum in information networking and computer systems, complemented by coursework in business, management, and policy.

An unparalleled student experience is what sets the INI apart from other graduate programs. The INI cultivates an inclusive culture that is welcoming, supportive, and inspiring for students, faculty, staff and alumni across all program locations: Pittsburgh, Silicon Valley and Kobe, Japan. The INI’s alumni go on to serve high-powered companies, tech start-ups and government agencies, always returning to their home away from home at the INI to recruit, mentor and inspire current students to follow their path to success.

• Founded in 1989, the INI was the nation’s first research and education center devoted to information networking.
• In 1989, the INI’s first director, Alex Hills, created the first Wi-Fi campus network, Wireless Andrew, and brought higher education into the 21st century.
• INI’s programs in Greece, Portugal, and Japan have become a paragon for international education at CMU and influenced the innovative design of bicoastal programs offered at the Silicon Valley campus.
• INI Director Dena Haritos Tsamitis led efforts in Carnegie Mellon attaining three distinct federal designations as a National Center of Academic Excellence for its merits in information assurance and cyber defense (CAE-IA/CD), research (CAE-R) and cyber operations (CAE-Cyber Ops). Through these CAE designations, Carnegie Mellon participates in programs designed to increase and strengthen the cache of federal information assurance professionals that protect the nation’s critical infrastructures and national defense.