Datacenter Systems Engineering, M.S.

The Master of Science in Datacenter Systems Engineering is the only one of its kind in the U.S.; it prepares graduate students for positions as managers and technologists for the rapidly growing number of datacenters worldwide. This degree prepares students for the future of digital infrastructure. The degree covers datacenter infrastructure engineering from a multidisciplinary perspective and builds upon undergraduate degrees as diverse as mechanical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, chemistry, business management, and finance.

Datacenters are essential to computing processing power, large data storage, retrieval, and high volume transaction processing. Recently, ChatGPT gave the world early insights into the power of generative artificial intelligence (AI). As generative AI continues to expand, datacenters around the globe will continue to evolve to support new capabilities. At SMU Lyle, we’re preparing tomorrow’s engineers by offering the master’s degree program focusing on datacenter systems engineering.

Qualified students with undergraduate degrees in engineering, computer science or one of the physical sciences or mathematics are required to complete 30 credit hours (typically 10 courses). Students entering the program with an undergraduate degree other than in engineering or one of the physical sciences or mathematics may be asked to articulate the necessary courses.

Students are required to complete the five core courses and three Group I electives (or 9 credit hours) from one or more of the four optional specializations: facilities/infrastructure; data engineering and analytics; networks, virtualization and security; and business specialization.

The two additional Group II electives may be selected with adviser approval from the offerings of the Lyle School of Engineering, Cox School of Business and Dedman College (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics or Statistics departments). The student is responsible for ensuring that the prerequisites for the elective courses have been met.

The core courses, encompassing the activities of the datacenter, reflect the breadth of the technology as it is conducted in the industry. The Group I course concentrations serve to develop or extend competence in one or more of the technical fields of interest to the student. The Group II electives enable the student to build interests broadly by selecting courses under the guidance of the academic adviser from the Lyle School of Engineering or the University as a whole.

Admission Requirements

In addition to meeting the Lyle School of Engineering admission requirements for an M.S. degree, applicants are required to satisfy the following requirements:

1. B.S. in one of the engineering disciplines, computer science, one of the quantitative sciences or mathematics.
2. A minimum of two years of college-level mathematics, including one year of college-level calculus.