Information Technology

Information Technology Graduate Program

Earn a master’s degree to advance your career in software engineering, IT management, computation, or digital media. Through the Master of Liberal Arts IT degree program, you’ll get the skills necessary to continue to play a critical role in sustaining today’s knowledge-based society.

Gain specialized IT training with flexibility

Through online and evening courses, you can balance school and other commitments.
Choose from four concentrations, all involving either nine courses and a thesis, or 11 courses and a capstone course.
- Software engineering
- Information management systems
- Mathematics and computation
- Digital media arts and instructional design
Courses run in fall or spring terms (about 15 weeks each), a three-week January session, or a seven-week Harvard Summer School term.
You have five years to complete the degree.

Learn about the concentrations and review the degree requirements.

Admission and getting started

Start off with just one course: every student takes three courses before applying—an ideal way to ensure the program is the right fit for you.

Admission is based in large part on your ability to earn a B or higher in three graduate-credit Harvard courses. There are no standardized test requirements. See all the admission criteria.

Once you have been admitted, a number of resources open up to you. See Degree Candidate Privileges.

Tuition and financial aid

Graduate-credit tuition is about $1,950 per course. In total, tuition is roughly $20,000 (with a thesis) to $24,000 (with a capstone). After you are admitted, a variety of financial aid options may be available, including grants, scholarships, and loans. See the financial aid options for admitted degree candidates.

Harvard faculty, Harvard degree

Instructors include Harvard faculty and affiliates, faculty from Boston-area universities, and IT professionals. Browse the computer science courses to see who teaches our classes. The program administrators include:

Director: Henry Leitner, Associate Dean for Information Technology and Chief Technology Officer (meet the director)
Stephen Blinn, Associate Director of Professional Programs
Maura McGlame, Admissions and Academic Advisor
Jeff Parker, Research Advisor

The degree is awarded by Harvard University. It is the Master of Liberal Arts in Extension Studies in the field of information technology with a concentration in software engineering, information management systems, mathematics and computation, or digital media arts and instructional design.

Student profile

Total degree candidates: 300
Age range: 22–62 (average: 36)
Enrollment: 90 percent part time
Degree completion: five years
Graduation rate: 89 percent

Career outlook

Our alumni have pursued careers with their education in information technology in a number of different fields. The following are just a few examples.