Undergraduate Program: Student & Alumni Stories Curriculum Minor in IT Undergraduate Research IT Co-op Study Abroad Honor Society Related Links: Undergraduate Video RPI Catalog RPI Admissions

For those entering the program Fall 2003 semester & beyond

Contact Person: Cheng Hsu

Description:
The e-Commerce concentration develops the skills and knowledge required to apply Information Technology to a new generation of enterprises. The new generation has been customarily referred to as e-commerce and e-business; but it is also being increasingly associated with such visions as On-Demand Business, On-Demand Service, and On-Demand Engineering. The field continues to evolve and provide exciting new opportunities to professionals. The essence of these new enterprises is mass-customization: how to use IT to share common resources among vastly diverse services and products over massive networks (both physical and informational) toward satisfying users' individual needs at an affordable cost. The scientific foundations of the required skills and knowledge are consistent with those of system engineering, information systems, and enterprise planning. The curriculum of this concentration, therefore, encompasses these areas and integrates all topics using the models of the new enterprises.

Compared to other, related concentrations such as management information systems and industrial engineering, e-Commerce is directly driven by new enterprises. Therefore, learning how to apply the basic skills and knowledge to create new models and new visions is as important as learning these skills and knowledge per se. The unique ability and opportunity to forge new applications of IT (enterprises) based on the scientific foundations acquired reward the graduates of this concentration. The typical employers come not only from the "new economy" — the Internet-based companies, but also from traditional companies that are heavy IT users. The graduates will follow a similar career path as other IT majors (e.g., entering as an analyst and moving up to become an officer), but this concentration will appeal in particular to employers that seek skills and knowledge to innovate and renovate their enterprises and enterprise systems.

Students are encouraged to undertake a capstone project in the concentration (either MGMT-4940 or DSES-4940) as a free elective.

**See H&SS requirements