Part-time Study
Information Technology
Program Overview
Information technology has emerged over the last decade as a unique academic discipline, distinct from computer science, software engineering, and computer engineering. While those disciplines focus on creating new technology, information technology focuses on selecting, integrating, and deploying technology to meet the needs of end users. In other words, information technologists are “users’ advocates,” whose primary mission is to “make things work” for end users in all sectors of society. Since every organization, enterprise, and individual in society needs to make effective use of computing and information technology, the demand for competent IT professionals far exceeds the supply, and the gap will only widen as computing environments become more powerful and more complex.RIT’s BS degree program in information technology was the first such program in the world in 1992 and the only undergraduate IT program in the United States for at least four years thereafter. Since the program’s inception, the IT faculty have worked to define IT as a distinct computing discipline and to establish accreditation standards and model curricula as a founding member of the Association for Computing Machinery’s (ACM’s) Special Interest Group for IT Education (SIGITE). In 2005, these efforts came to fruition when RIT’s IT program became the first information technology program to earn accreditation from the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET). In short, we have been the leader in defining Information Technology as an academic discipline, and our IT program provides students with unrivaled depth in IT education.
The role of a user’s advocate is diverse and multifaceted. In order to make things work for people in today’s (and tomorrow’s) sophisticated computing environments, information technologists need core competencies in four essential areas: (1) networking and system administration, which includes the design, deployment, and security of computing infrastructure; (2)Web and multimedia content development, which we refer to as interactive media, (3) programming and application development, including database management systems and Web-deployed applications; and (4) technology integration and deployment in a user community, including needs assessment, user-centered design, technology transfer, and ongoing support.
The core competencies that every IT professional must possess also provide a foundation to build greater depth in selected areas. Many students choose to focus on one or two technical aspects of IT to prepare for careers as specialists in a variety of market niches such as game design and development, network administration, or Web-database integration, to name a few of the many possibilities. Other students choose a broader path to prepare for “general practitioner” jobs, which are prevalent in virtually every enterprise in society. RIT’s IT program offers the opportunity to specialize, but does not require that a student specialize. Predefined concentration areas include game design and development, website development, interactive multimedia development, network administration, system administration, wireless data networking, database, learning and performance technology, and advanced application development. In addition, students may build a custom special topics concentration.
Curriculum Review
The program of study in information technology consists of a core of computing courses, followed by advanced study in two concentration areas. The typical evening student requires approximately 23 quarters to complete all the course requirements for a BS degree
Sample courses
Career Outcomes
Job TitlesInformation specialist, information analyst, network administrator, system administrator, facilities coordinator, web designer, webmaster, database developer, web content developer
Functions
IT consulting, system design, web content development, multimedia development, computer game development, database administration, network administration and security.
Recent Employers
Adobe, Texas Instruments, Harris Corporation, Eastman Kodak Company, Cabletron, McNeil Consumer Products, Global Crossing, Cisco Systems