Department of Informatics and Networked Systems
From 1969 to today, we have seen technologies and
technology-enabled innovation grow by leaps and bounds. During these five-plus decades,
we saw the first video game, the first supercomputer, the space shuttle, the
first cell phones, the rise of the World Wide Web, the development of the iPad and the
algorithms behind TikTok and our news feeds, and the development and
integration of generative AI in most parts of human life.
Today, we cannot imagine a part of our lives untouched by
technology and the limits of what technology can help us to do are unknown.
However, it takes a community of scientists and researchers to explore the
potential for technologies and a huge workforce of trained professionals to
build, manage, and protect the systems and networks that underlie our
governments, industries, businesses, and daily lives. Since the end of the
1960s, our department’s research and academic programs have evolved to meet the
ever-changing needs of society.
By 1969, the first doctoral program in Information Science
was established at Pitt (in what is now the Department of Informatics and
Networked Systems) with the goals to train scholars “with broad
interdisciplinary ….perspectives...” Students explored behavioral theory, information
retrieval and processing, human information processing, and communication
theory. In the mid-1970s, when our Master
of Science in Information Science program was introduced, students learned
about automated information retrieval and information counseling. At the end of
the 1970s, the Bachelor of Science in Information Science degree was introduced,
one of the first undergraduate majors in Information Science in the US. By the
1980s, the curriculum expanded to Human Factors, systems analysis, and
networking; in addition, the Master of Science in Telecommunications and a
doctoral concentration in Telecommunications were added.
Much as technology has developed swiftly over the last fifty-five
years, so too have the academic and research programs within the Department of
Informatics and Networked Systems. In addition to the longstanding degrees in
Information Science and Telecommunications, you can now earn a bachelor's
degree in Computational Social Science or Digital Narrative and Interactive
Design. Those in other majors across Pitt (from Engineering to Health Sciences
to Art & Architecture) can now earn a Minor in Information Science, building
competency in technology design and management. We also offer graduate certificates in tightly-focused areas
such as Big Data or Cybersecurity. Today, students gain foundational knowledge
and practical skills in data analysis, social computing, game design,
information visualization, machine learning, Quantum Information and Computing,
Cloud Computing, and Network Science and Analysis.
The Department’s research and educational offerings have always
reflected the theoretical foundations of our disciplines as well as the
practical applications of technology of the time and into the future. To do so,
we have evolved significantly since our founding in 1969, and we look forward
to advancing even more in the future.
You can support that essential evolution with a gift to the
Department of Informatics and Networked Systems as part of Pitt Day of Giving
2025.