Program overview
The Project Management MicroMasters® program from RIT is a graduate level series of courses designed to provide you with the in-depth knowledge and skills needed to be a successful project manager in any industry. This online sequence is a semester’s worth of work from RIT’s Master’s degree and consists of three courses and a final capstone exam.
By earning the MicroMasters® program certificate you will develop the leadership skills needed to effectively manage a team that will meet the expectations of your customers and business goals. Build on your MicroMasters® program certificate by applying to RIT’s School of Individualized Study for a customized master’s degree.
What you will learn
- The tools and techniques to manage the comprehensive project management life cycle for a project – from initiation through closing.
- To balance the critical tradeoffs of time, cost and scope to meet customer expectations.
- The ability to apply best practices across a variety of industries and businesses.
- Lead a project to success, and how to capitalize on the leadership and behavioral facets to do so.
- To navigate the social and cultural aspects, legal and regulatory practices, technology and infrastructure that influence projects’ success in the global market.
Program Class List
1Project Management Life Cycle
Course Details
1
Project Management is one of the most in-demand skills in all industries -- from healthcare to technology and business. Take this one course, or the entire program, to prove your skills to employers.
2Best Practices for Project Management Success
Course Details
2
Learn how to create an organizational environment that supports project success.
3International Project Management
Course Details
3
Learn what makes global projects uniquely challenging and how to successfully manage projects based in different industries and countries.
4Project Management MicroMasters® Capstone Exam
Course Details
4
Demonstrate the knowledge and skills acquired in the Project Management MicroMasters program, and prepare for graduate level program options at RIT.
Meet Your Instructors
Celine Gullace
Celine is an Instructor of Project Management at the School of Individualized Study at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Celine has over 20 years of experience in business management and teaching. She has a keen interest in influencing business decisions and leading high visibility projects. She is an experienced project management instructor and award winning teacher in mathematics. Celine was born and raised in the South of France and came to the US in 1993 to continue her education. For more information, please contact ritonline@rit.edu.
Leonie Fernandes
Leonie is an Instructor of Project Management at the School of Individualized Study at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She is a certified Project Management Professional with over 25 years of project management experience in large, global corporations in the high tech, manufacturing, healthcare and automotive industries. Leonie has extensive coaching and mentoring in leading projects within the United States and in the global arena. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and master’s degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology. For more information, please contact ritonline@rit.edu.
What you will learn
- Enhance and tailor written, verbal, and non-verbal communication to various workplace audiences, including managers, co-workers, direct reports, and clients.
- Improve critical thinking and listening skills to respond to the needs of various constituents in workplace settings.
- Develop skills in leadership, problem-solving, conflict management, and other critical group dynamics.
Program Class List
1Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving
Course Details
1
The most successful professionals are able to assess the environment, analyze a situation, design a solution, and ultimately win in a competitive scenario.
2Business Communication
Course Details
2
Learn how to effectively communicate and build professional relationships through face-to-face, written, and non-verbal communication.
3Teamwork & Collaboration
Course Details
3
Learn essential teamwork and collaboration skills to lead, build and motivate teams in the workplace.
Meet your instructors
Mike Johansson
Principal Lecturer, School of Communication at Rochester Institute of Technology
Mike Johansson is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Communication at Rochester Institute of Technology where he teaches courses in Advertising, Public Relations and Social Media. He was one of three faculty who jointly developed RIT’s first 9-credit critical thinking class, “The Meaning of Things in Three Objects.” The initial offering of the class in Spring 2017 displayed measurable growth in students’ critical thinking skills over the 15-week course. Prior to joining the RIT faculty in 2009, Mike spent more than 25 years in media companies in the United States and abroad. He maintains a lifelong interest in critical thinking and problem solving and includes weekly exercises in his classes to encourage creative thinking. A mentor once noted “Mike doesn’t think outside the box, he doesn’t recognize that the box ever existed.” Mike received two fellowships to the Poynter Institute and also served as a Digital Journalism fellow at University of California, Berkeley. He has a master’s degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
David Neumann
Professor, School of Communication at Rochester Institute of Technology
David Neumann is a Professor in the School of Communication at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) where he teaches a variety of communication courses including Persuasion, Small Group Communication, Research Methods, and Communication Theory. He has received numerous teaching awards, including the RIT Eisenhart Outstanding Teacher Award and the RIT Eisenhart Provost's Award for Excellence in Teaching. His current focus as a teacher and researcher is on increasing collaboration and cohesion in various work groups. When not on campus you might find him taking in some local music or out playing disc golf.
Andrea Hickerson
Director, School of Communication and Associate Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology
Andrea Hickerson, PhD, is the Director of the School of Communication at RIT and an Associate Professor of Journalism. She joined the RIT faculty in 2009, when RIT began its Journalism degree. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses including, Crafting the Message, Communication Law, and Reporting & Writing. She is the recipient of two grants related to journalism innovation from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. In 2017 she was awarded a National Innovation Corps grant from the National Science Foundation related to entrepreneurship in publishing. In addition to her grant work on journalism innovation and education, Dr. Hickerson conducts research on journalism routines and political communication, specifically as they relate to immigrant and transnational communities. She also regularly contributes content to local media in Rochester, New York. Dr. Hickerson has a B.A. in Journalism and International Relations from Syracuse University; a M.A. in Journalism and an M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin; and Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Washington.
Keri Barone
About Me
Keri Barone has a B.A. in Communication from SUNY Brockport and an M.A. in Rhetorical Criticism also from SUNY Brockport. Since coming to RIT in 2007 as Visiting Professor, she has served as faculty advisor to the National Communication’s Honors Society, Lambda Pi Eta. She initiated the student-run colloquium series, has co-organized the institute-wide Public Speaking Contest, and continues to facilitate guest speakers and volunteer opportunities to enhance community involvement by students.
Program overview
Innovation. Creativity. Strategic thinking. In the past year, more than 279,000 job postings have listed these skills. Another 239,000 mention design thinking.*
Why has design thinking become one of the most sought-after skills? Employers are looking for problem solving, creativity, critical thinking, and analytical skills to enhance the capabilities of their employees to lead their companies into a successful future. Design thinking was developed out of the processes used by designers including user understanding and user experience, however, its application may be used to address non-product oriented problems as well –from innovating new product or service possibilities to implementing procedural change, or identifying a new strategic direction for the company.
In the Design Thinking MicroMasters program, you will learn how to use the design thinking process to solve problems creatively, collaboratively and empathetically. Earning the MicroMasters program certificate will equip you with knowledge of the processes and techniques used to solve problems and innovate in the workplace.
* Source: Burning Glass Technologies
What you will learn
- User-centered research skills to gain user empathy through interviews and observations
- Strategies to understand user context to identify and verify business problems
- Ideation and visualization techniques to generate targeted and creative solutions
- Methods for evaluating and applying user feedback from testing models and prototypes to identify preferred solutions
Courses in this Program
1Design Thinking Capstone
Course Details
1
Demonstrate the knowledge and skills gained during the Design Thinking MicroMasters program.
2Design Thinking Fundamentals
Course Details
2
Learn how a user-centered approach and design thinking principles inspire innovative ideas to create desirable solutions.
3Design Thinking: Empathizing to Understand the Problem
Course Details
3
Learn how to identify and understand product or business problems through active listening, empathy and user-focused research.
4Design Thinking: Ideation, Iteration and Communication
Course Details
4
Learn how ideas transform into solutions through iteration and validation along with best practices for communicating your solution to stakeholders.
5Design Thinking: Prototyping and User Testing
Course Details
5
Learn the importance of prototyping and user testing solutions before going to market and how to assess and evaluate solutions post-launch.
Meet Your Instructors
Melissa Dawson
Assistant Professor, Industrial Design at Rochester Institute of Technology
Melissa Dawson is an Assistant Professor of Industrial Design in the College of Art & Design at RIT. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses focusing on soft product design, including bag design, functional apparel design, and soft toy design. She previously taught as an adjunct professor at RIT and University of Minnesota – St. Paul campus. She received her B.S. in Textiles & Apparel from Cornell University and an M.S. in Textile Design from Philadelphia University (now Jefferson University). Before returning to academia, Melissa spent many years working as a designer in the textile & apparel industry: designing prints and jacquard knits for Polartec LLC, infant bedding and accessories for Kids Line LLC, and prints, color palettes, and engraver files for Target Corporation. Her work experience at a textile mill, as a vendor, and at a retail company provided the invaluable opportunity to understand the soft product design industry from all sides. Melissa is an avid knitter, who also enjoys weaving, spinning, crochet, dyeing, felting, embroidery, bobbin lace, sewing, cross-stitching, and any other fiber-related activity she can get her hands on.
Mike Johansson
Principal Lecturer, School of Communication at Rochester Institute of Technology
Mike Johansson is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Communication at Rochester Institute of Technology where he teaches courses in Advertising, Public Relations and Social Media. He was one of three faculty who jointly developed RIT’s first 9-credit critical thinking class, “The Meaning of Things in Three Objects.” The initial offering of the class in Spring 2017 displayed measurable growth in students’ critical thinking skills over the 15-week course. Prior to joining the RIT faculty in 2009, Mike spent more than 25 years in media companies in the United States and abroad. He maintains a lifelong interest in critical thinking and problem solving and includes weekly exercises in his classes to encourage creative thinking. A mentor once noted “Mike doesn’t think outside the box, he doesn’t recognize that the box ever existed.” Mike received two fellowships to the Poynter Institute and also served as a Digital Journalism fellow at University of California, Berkeley. He has a master’s degree from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
Lorraine Justice
Dean Emerita, Professor of Design at Rochester Institute of Technology
Dr. Justice worked on digital media products for 10 years before joining academia. She obtained her master’s degree and PhD at The Ohio State University, where she also taught Graphic Design, Industrial Design, and Design Research courses. She was the Director of Design at Georgia Tech for six years and a co-author for the Encyclopedia of Distance Learning. After Georgia Tech, she became the Dean of the School of Design at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Under her leadership, the school became one of the top four design programs in Asia. Dr. Justice is a Fellow of the Industrial Designers Society of America and has been named one of the top 40 designers by I.D. Magazine. She is an active member of the TED community and gave talks at both TEDx Hong Kong in 2009 and at TEDU in Long Beach in 2010. Currently, she serves on the editorial board for five design journals, advisory boards for universities and companies, and consults internationally for industry and government.
Jennifer Englert
Adjunct Professor, Industrial Engineering at Rochester Institute of Technology
Jennifer Englert, PhD, has led user experience, human factors, and user interface design projects for 20 years. She is currently a User Experience Researcher in the UX Research and Analytics group at Paychex, and an adjunct professor at RIT. She teaches the master’s-level capstone class in the Industrial Engineering department, and taught Introduction to Qualitative Policy Analysis in the Public Policy department at Rochester Institute of Technology. She has also lectured and coached student teams for RIT’s Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Dr. Englert’s work has focused on a broad range of topics, including business processes, healthcare, privacy, customer care, production printing, digital packaging, consumer imaging, space shuttle mission control, video and consumer analytics, and the future of work. She has done this work as a user interface designer and researcher at Microsoft, Apple, NASA, Kodak, Xerox, PARC, and Conduent Labs. Dr Englert is the co-author of 21 patents and over 40 book chapters and peer-reviewed papers. She has also coached two Odyssey of the Mind teams for the last 7 years. Her teams have created hand-made vehicles, props, costumes, and performances, and have advanced to the state and world tournaments multiple times. Dr. Englert received her BA in Psychology from Angelo State University, and her MS and PhD in Cognitive Engineering from The Ohio State University, where she also worked as a Visiting Scholar and Lecturer.
Dan Harel
Adjunct Professor, Industrial Design at Rochester Institute of Technology
Dan is a professional industrial and furniture designer. His 30+ years hands-on career has focused on consumer and commercial design innovation, and on research related to home and workplace of the future. At Eastman Kodak Company, Dan focused on inspiring a vision for future user experiences through design innovation, understanding consumer needs and trends and defining new strategic business opportunities for the company. He is the inventor or co-inventor of over 20 US and international patents relating to digital imaging, wireless communication networks, digital display systems and metadata. Dan’s roles at RIT include teaching advanced studio courses with focus on design thinking, user experience and multidisciplinary collaborations. He is the recipient of the Edline M. Chun Award for Outstanding Teaching and Service in the College of Imaging Arts & Sciences (2016). In addition, Dan leads the IdeaLab at the RIT’s Simone Center for Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship, working with clients such as Al Sigl and Rochester Regional Health with prime focus on medical and access technology problem areas. At Studio 930 design consultancy, Dan serves as an overall project advisor to the multidisciplinary student teams and as an administrative manager ensuring student needs are met and all projects advance according to plan.
Program overview
Gain the essential knowledge and expertise in network security and forensics needed for cybersecurity in enterprise environments.
In this Cybersecurity MicroMasters® program, you will learn:
- Fundamentals of networks;
- Systems administration;
- How to protect computer networks and other systems by mitigating vulnerabilities and monitoring intrusions;
- How to perform digital forensic analysis of cybercrime by gathering information on the nature and extent of the attack for presentation in a court of law, as well as assessing the extent of the damage to an organization;
- Techniques of risk analysis;
- Risk assessment and vulnerability assessment.
The MicroMasters® program capstone experience for verified learners entails practical demonstration of these skills.
What you will learn
- How to setup and secure basic computer systems and networks
- Information security risk management framework and methodologies
- How to implement network security solutions and detect intrusions
- How to conduct a digital forensics investigation admissible to a court
- To practice cybersecurity skills in real world scenarios
Program Class List
1Cybersecurity Fundamentals
Course Details
1
Learn cybersecurity fundamentals, including how to detect threats, protect systems and networks, and anticipate potential cyber attacks.
2Computer Forensics
Course Details
2
Learn the process, techniques and tools for performing a digital forensics investigation to obtain data related to computer crimes.
3Cybersecurity Risk Management
Course Details
3
Learn key principles of risk analysis, risk assessment and risk mitigation for information security using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.
4Network Security
Course Details
4
Learn the process of network security, including intrusion detection, evidence collection, network auditing, and contingency planning against attacks.
5Cybersecurity Capstone
Course Details
5
Demonstrate the knowledge and skills acquired in the Cybersecurity MicroMasters® Program.
Meet Your Instructors
Bo Yuan
Professor of Computing Security at RIT
Bo Yuan is a professor of computing security at the B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences at RIT. He received his PhD in Systems Science from Binghamton University.
Jonathan S. Weissman
Senior Lecturer, Computing Security at Rochester Institute of Technology
Jonathan S. Weissman is a senior lecturer in the Department of Computing Security at Rochester Institute of Technology, where he was awarded the RIT Outstanding Teaching Award in 2014, the RIT GCCIS Outstanding Educator Award in 2018, and the RIT Distinguished Teacher Recognition Program Honors in 2019. He was also awarded the RIT Disability Services Office Kudos in 2014 and the RIT GCCIS Parking Pass for March 2018. In total, he's the recipient of 8 teaching honors and awards.
Tong Sun
Adjunct Professor, Computing Security at RIT
Dr. Tong Sun is an adjunct professor at Department of Computer Science, Rochester Institute of Technology. She is leading data analytics research lab at PARC, Xerox Company. She received her Ph.D. in Electrical & Computer Engineering from University of Rhode Island, MS in Artificial Intelligence from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China.
Yin Pan
Professor, Computing Security at RIT
Yin is a Professor in the Computing Security department. She received her Ph.D. in Systems Science and M.S. degree in Computer Science from Binghamton University in 1997.
