Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies (SCS) announced Nov. 15 it will launch a master’s program in strategic digital transformation (SDT) starting in the fall 2022 semester.

The master’s program, which will consist of 33 credits offered in full-time or part-time programs to last two to five years, will focus on digital business innovation, organizational change and strategic communication. The program will offer courses in areas such as “The Ethics of Digital Innovation,” “Communication for Corporate Entrepreneurs,” “Developing Digital Solutions” and “Leading Organizational Change.”

The idea for the program developed in fall 2019 when SCS administrators organized an internal committee to develop new programs related to technology, according to Frederic Lemieux, faculty director of the master’s in strategic digital transformation program and professor of the practice at the SCS.

“Something we realized fairly quickly that I brought that up was that we were missing out on digital transformation,” Lemieux said in a phone interview with The Hoya. “While we have a technology management program that is focusing on it, we didn’t really have anything that was addressing organizational change based on technology and also massive changes like innovation and things like that.”

Lemieux worked on developing a curriculum for the program and reached out to field experts at companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook. Currently, the program has an established partnership with Google, which is supporting the SDT master’s by sharing subject matter experts and research faculty, according to Lemieux.

The SDT program will incorporate aspects of technology, security, marketing and communications that stretch across other programs of the SCS, according to Kelly Otter, dean of the SCS.

“This new program enables early- and mid-career technology or management professionals to lead technology change in their organizations, integrating both the technology aspect (e.g. artificial intelligence and blockchain) with the human (e.g. responsible innovation and ethics),” Otter wrote in an email to The Hoya. “As both public and private firms worldwide increasingly need to adapt to the digital economy, program graduates will be well-positioned to shepherd digital transformation effectively and ethically.”

The SDT curriculum is a combination of technical and strategic applications of digital operations, according to Lemieux.

“We decided to create a balanced curriculum where on one side students would be learning what it takes to strategize about digital transformation, understand the digital innovation process, understand ethical issues related to digital innovation and be able to communicate innovative ideas throughout the organization and work with different stakeholders that will be impacted by the change,” Lemieux said.

This specific program combines a multitude of topics uncommon in master’s programs offered at other institutions across the United States, according to Otter.

“We at SCS are proud to launch one of the few master’s degrees in the U.S. that focuses on business innovation, organizational change, and digital transformation,” Otter wrote. “Anchored in Georgetown’s Jesuit values, this curriculum was developed in close collaboration with some of the world’s largest and most successful companies leading the digital economy.”

The new master’s program will attract a range of students across different sectors and subject interest areas, according to Kristen Hodge-Clark, senior assistant dean of program planning at the SCS.

“It’s been extraordinary to see the concept of Strategic Digital Transformation come to fruition — from early market research and industry focus groups to curriculum and proposal development and now to officially launch and be in the market,” Hodge-Clark wrote in an email to The Hoya. “I’m most excited to see the diverse range of students and sectors that we will serve with this dynamic program.”

Lemieux says he will expect graduates from the program to pursue opportunities in both the public and private sectors.

“I see the program as it evolves and as we have more students pursuing their capstone projects being able to develop more partnerships with leading organizations or leading government agencies,” Lemieux said. “Right now, with the investment in critical infrastructure, there will be a lot of opportunity right there for companies that really want to invest in digital infrastructure to look for talents.”