Information Technology - B.S.I.T.
Description
The Bachelor of Science in Information Technology degree in Information Technology provides students with an applied approach that focuses on supporting end users in a variety of workplace settings by utilizing a range of computing technologies. The degree program gives students the tools to support computing and network infrastructures and the needs of individuals and organizations, write programs necessary to help them render their tasks more efficiently on their desktop or mobile devices, utilize databases and write the web-based interfaces to pull the data, and code and deploy applications across the cloud.
Graduates are qualified to work in a wide range of computer and network infrastructures in small to large sized enterprises in such positions as: web or software developer; hardware, network, cloud, virtualization technician or engineer; IT support specialist or consultant; help desk, network, or IT project manager; security or forensic analyst; and systems, network or database administrator in all sectors of business, education, manufacturing, healthcare, non-profit, and government.
The Information Technology major comprises the following concentrations:
- The Application Development concentration provides students with the ability to program in languages typically utilized in contemporary business environments. Students will code in applications such as Visual Basic, C++, Java, C# and other industry-standard applications to develop programs employing event-driven and object-oriented techniques.
- The Applied Computer Security and Forensics concentration places an emphasis on security of computer and network systems, including forensic work to prevent and/or determine and correct security issues utilizing “cybersecurity” devices, procedures, tools, and solutions.
- The Database Design and Administration concentration focuses on skills needed to become a database manager. Topics include relational database design; working with database servers, users, and permissions; SQL statements used for queries and reports; and incorporating databases into programming used in web-based and desktop forms.
- The Health Information Technology concentration provides students with the tools to install, manage, troubleshoot and secure hardware and software systems in healthcare environments. The course of study includes health IT privacy, security, EHR Implementation and support, mobile device management, technology and application life-cycle management, organizational behavior, medical business operations and regulatory requirements.
- The Integrated Information Technology concentration is ideal for students who want a flexible course of study for positions that require IT staff to perform a wide range of technical duties.
- The Internet/Multimedia concentration focuses on scripting, server-side form handling, web database integration, and interactive and dynamic multimedia Internet development.
- The Networking concentration focuses on configuring and maintaining network information systems and components in various network operating system and cloud computing environments that are prevalent in today's businesses. The emphasis is on network administration (i.e. managing Active Directory and network services), servers, workstations, virtualization, security, troubleshooting, installation, and maintenance.
Fully Offered At:
- Online
- Ashtabula Campus
- East Liverpool Campus
- Geauga Campus
- Salem Campus
- Stark Campus
- Trumbull Campus
- Tuscarawas Campus
- Regional Academic Center in Twinsburg
Admission Requirements
The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students who graduated from high school three or more years ago.
Freshman Students on the Kent Campus: The freshman admission policy on the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon the following: cumulative grade point average, ACT and/or SAT scores, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends. The Admissions Office at the Kent Campus may defer the admission of students who do not meet admissions criteria but who demonstrate areas of promise for successful college study. Deferred applicants may begin their college coursework at one of seven regional campuses of Kent State University. For more information on admissions, including additional requirements for some academic programs, visit the admissions website for new freshmen.
Freshman Students on the Regional Campuses: Kent State campuses at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas, as well as the Regional Academic Center in Twinsburg, have open enrollment admission for students who hold a high school diploma, GED or equivalent.
English Language Proficiency Requirements for International Students: All international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions) by earning a minimum 525 TOEFL score (71 on the Internet-based version), minimum 75 MELAB score, minimum 6.0 IELTS score or minimum 48 PTE score, or by completing the ESL level 112 Intensive Program. For more information on international admission, visit the Office of Global Education’s admission website.
Transfer, Transitioning and Former Students: For more information about admission criteria for transfer, transitioning and former students, please visit the admissions website.
Program Learning Outcomes:
Graduates of this program will be able to:
- Identify and evaluate current technologies and assess their applicability to address individual and organizational needs
- Develop a product or process by applying knowledge of programming, web, digital media, database, human computer interaction, networking and security tools
- Perform end user support including identifying and implementing solutions to user requests
- Explain implementation, integration and maintenance for IT applications to a wide range of audiences
- Work in diverse project teams to develop and/or implement IT-based solutions
- Apply professional ethics in IT solutions
- Engage in continuous learning, as well as research and assess new ideas and information to provide the capabilities for lifelong learning
University Requirements
All students in a bachelor's degree program at Kent State University must complete the following university requirements for graduation.
NOTE: University requirements may be fulfilled in this program by specific course requirements. Please see Program Requirements for details.
| Requirement | Credits/Courses |
|---|---|
| Destination Kent State: First Year Experience | 1 |
Course is not required for students with 25 transfer credits, excluding College Credit Plus, or age 21+ at time of admission. | |
| Diversity Domestic/Global (DIVD/DIVG) | 2 courses |
Students must successfully complete one domestic and one global course, of which one must be from the Kent Core. | |
| Experiential Learning Requirement (ELR) | varies |
Students must successfully complete one course or approved experience. | |
| Kent Core (see table below) | 36-37 |
| Writing-Intensive Course (WIC) | 1 course |
Students must earn a minimum C grade in the course. | |
| Upper-Division Requirement | 39 (or 42) |
Students must successfully complete 39 upper-division (numbered 30000 to 49999) credit hours to graduate. Students in a B.A. and/or B.S. degree in the College of Arts and Sciences must complete 42 upper-division credit hours. | |
| Total Credit Hour Requirement | 120 |
Some bachelor's degrees require students to complete more than 120 credit hours. |
Kent Core Requirements
| Requirement | Credits/Courses |
|---|---|
| Kent Core Composition (KCMP) | 6 |
| Kent Core Mathematics and Critical Reasoning (KMCR) | 3 |
| Kent Core Humanities and Fine Arts (KHUM/KFA) (min one course each) | 9 |
| Kent Core Social Sciences (KSS) (must be from two disciplines) | 6 |
| Kent Core Basic Sciences (KBS/KLAB) (must include one laboratory) | 6-7 |
| Kent Core Additional (KADL) | 6 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 36-37 |
Program Requirements
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Major Program Requirements (courses count in major GPA) | ||
| IT 11002 | VISUAL BASIC PROGRAMMING | 3 |
| or IT 13000 | APPLIED SECURITY ESSENTIALS | |
| IT 11004 | SURVEY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY | 3 |
| IT 11005 | INTRODUCTION TO OPERATING SYSTEMS AND NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY | 3 |
| IT 11006 | INTRODUCTION TO WEB SITE TECHNOLOGY | 3 |
| IT 11009 | COMPUTER ASSEMBLY AND CONFIGURATION | 4 |
| IT 12000 | INTERMEDIATE OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY APPS | 3 |
| IT 21002 | NETWORK SETUP AND CONFIGURATION | 4 |
| IT 21007 | INTERNET ETHICS AND POLICIES | 3 |
| IT 21009 | SEMINAR IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY | 3 |
| IT 21010 | WORKGROUP PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE | 3 |
| IT 36308 | ERGONOMICS IN COMPUTER SYSTEMS | 3 |
| IT 36314 | SEMINAR IN EMERGING COMPUTER AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES | 3 |
| IT 36318 | SURVEY OF INFORMATION SECURITY, INTERNET FRAUD AND COMPUTER FORENSICS (WIC) 1 | 3 |
| IT 36340 | HELP DESK SUPPORT | 3 |
| IT 42000 | SOCIAL MEDIA SECURITY | 3 |
| TAS 37900 | TECHNICAL AND APPLIED STUDIES CORNERSTONE | 3 |
| TAS 47900 | TECHNICAL AND APPLIED STUDIES CAPSTONE (ELR) | 3 |
| Information Technology (IT) Elective | 3 | |
| Additional Program Requirements (courses do not count in major GPA) | ||
| UC 10097 | DESTINATION KENT STATE: FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE | 1 |
| Kent Core Composition | 6 | |
| Kent Core Mathematics and Critical Reasoning | 3 | |
| Kent Core Humanities and Fine Arts (minimum one course from each) | 9 | |
| Kent Core Social Sciences (must be from two disciplines) | 6 | |
| Kent Core Basic Sciences (must include one laboratory) | 6-7 | |
| Kent Core Additional | 6 | |
| General Electives (total credit hours depends on earning 120 credit hours, including 39 upper-division credit hours) | 9 | |
| Concentrations | ||
| Choose from the following: | 18-19 | |
| Minimum Total Credit Hours: | 120 | |
| 1 | Minimum C grade required to satisfy the writing-intensive requirement. |
Application Development Concentration Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Concentration Requirements (courses count in major GPA) | ||
| IT 36301 | ADVANCED C++ PROGRAMMING | 4 |
| or IT 36311 | ADVANCED JAVA PROGRAMMING | |
| IT 36302 | ADVANCED C# PROGRAMMING | 3 |
| IT 36309 | PROGRAMMING MOBILE APPLICATIONS | 3 |
| IT 36350 | PROGRAMMING OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY APPLICATIONS | 3 |
| or IT 46309 | ASP.NET WEB PROGRAMMING | |
| IT 46308 | ADVANCED VISUAL BASIC PROGRAMMING | 3 |
| IT 46340 | DATA DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION | 3 |
| Minimum Total Credit Hours: | 19 | |
Applied Computer Security and Forensics Concentration Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Concentration Requirements (courses count in major GPA) | ||
| IT 21200 | ETHICAL HACKING | 3 |
| or IT 46313 | VIRTUAL MACHINE CONFIGURATION AND ADMINISTRATION | |
| IT 36320 | COMPUTER FORENSICS | 3 |
| IT 36321 | NETWORK FORENSICS | 3 |
| IT 36330 | LOCAL AREA NETWORK SECURITY FUNDAMENTALS | 3 |
| IT 46331 | LOCAL AREA NETWORK SECURITY AND FIREWALLS | 3 |
| Concentration Elective, choose from the following: | 3 | |
| LINUX NETWORKING | ||
| SOCIAL MEDIA AND MOBILE DEVICE FORENSICS | ||
| CYBERSECURITY | ||
| WIRELESS AND MOBILE DEVICE SECURITY | ||
| ADVANCED COMPUTER ASSEMBLY AND CONFIGURATION | ||
| VIRTUAL MACHINE CONFIGURATION AND ADMINISTRATION | ||
| CLOUD FORENSICS | ||
| Minimum Total Credit Hours: | 18 | |
Database Design and Administration Concentration Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Concentration Requirements (courses count in major GPA) | ||
| IT 21005 | VISUAL BASIC DATABASE PROGRAMMING | 4 |
| IT 36350 | PROGRAMMING OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY APPLICATIONS | 3 |
| IT 46315 | SQL WITH ORACLE | 3 |
| IT 46340 | DATA DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION | 3 |
| IT 46350 | DATABASE ADMINISTRATION AND REPORTING TOOLS | 3 |
| Concentraion Electives, choose from the following: | 3 | |
| LOCAL AREA NETWORK SECURITY FUNDAMENTALS | ||
| MOBILE APPLICATIONS FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY | ||
| CLOUD TECHNOLOGY | ||
| HEALTHCARE INFORMATION SYSTEMS | ||
| Minimum Total Credit Hours: | 19 | |
Health Information Technology Concentration Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Concentration Requirements (courses count in major GPA) | ||
| IT 31002 | HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT | 3 |
| IT 36330 | LOCAL AREA NETWORK SECURITY FUNDAMENTALS | 3 |
| IT 41010 | MOBILE APPLICATIONS FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY | 3 |
| IT 43000 | HEALTHCARE INFORMATION SYSTEMS | 3 |
| IT 46331 | LOCAL AREA NETWORK SECURITY AND FIREWALLS | 3 |
| Concentration Elective, choose from the following: | 3 | |
| CERTIFICATION PREPARATION IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY | ||
| PROGRAMMING OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY APPLICATIONS | ||
| CLOUD TECHNOLOGY | ||
| TECHNOLOGY OF NETWORKING | ||
| VIRTUAL MACHINE CONFIGURATION AND ADMINISTRATION | ||
| ADVANCED SERVER CONFIGURATION | ||
| DATA DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION | ||
| Minimum Total Credit Hours: | 18 | |
Integrated Information Concentration Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Concentration Requirements (courses count in major GPA) | ||
| IT 41010 | MOBILE APPLICATIONS FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY | 3 |
| Information Technology (IT) Electives | 15 | |
| Minimum Total Credit Hours: | 18 | |
Internet/Multimedia Concentration Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Concentration Requirements (courses count in major GPA) | ||
| IT 36303 | DIGITAL IMAGE MANIPULATION | 3 |
| IT 36309 | PROGRAMMING MOBILE APPLICATIONS | 3 |
| IT 36310 | MULTIMEDIA DEVELOPMENT TOOLS | 3 |
| IT 46303 | DIGITAL VIDEO EDITING | 3 |
| Concentration Electives, choose from the following: | 6 | |
| ADVANCED JAVA PROGRAMMING | ||
| WEB SCRIPTING II | ||
| ASP.NET WEB PROGRAMMING | ||
| SQL WITH ORACLE | ||
| WEB DATABASE INTEGRATION | ||
| Minimum Total Credit Hours: | 18 | |
Networking Concentration Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Concentration Requirements (courses count in major GPA) | ||
| IT 36330 | LOCAL AREA NETWORK SECURITY FUNDAMENTALS | 3 |
| IT 36355 | COMMAND LINE UTILITIES | 3 |
| or IT 46312 | SCRIPTING FOR NETWORK ADMINISTRATORS | |
| IT 41002 | CLOUD TECHNOLOGY | 3 |
| or IT 46314 | ADVANCED SERVER CONFIGURATION | |
| IT 46300 | ADVANCED COMPUTER ASSEMBLY AND CONFIGURATION | 3 |
| or IT 46313 | VIRTUAL MACHINE CONFIGURATION AND ADMINISTRATION | |
| IT 46310 | TECHNOLOGY OF OPERATING SYSTEMS | 3 |
| or IT 46311 | TECHNOLOGY OF NETWORKING | |
| Concentration Elective, choose from the following: | 3 | |
| LOCAL AREA NETWORK TROUBLESHOOTING | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO ROUTING AND SWITCHING | ||
| LINUX NETWORKING | ||
| CERTIFICATION PREPARATION IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY | ||
| ADVANCED ROUTING AND SWITCHING | ||
| COMMAND LINE UTILITIES | ||
| CLOUD TECHNOLOGY | ||
| ADVANCED COMPUTER ASSEMBLY AND CONFIGURATION | ||
| TECHNOLOGY OF OPERATING SYSTEMS | ||
| TECHNOLOGY OF NETWORKING | ||
| SCRIPTING FOR NETWORK ADMINISTRATORS | ||
| VIRTUAL MACHINE CONFIGURATION AND ADMINISTRATION | ||
| ADVANCED SERVER CONFIGURATION | ||
| LOCAL AREA NETWORK SECURITY AND FIREWALLS | ||
| Minimum Total Credit Hours: | 18 | |
Graduation Requirements
| Minimum Major GPA | Minimum Overall GPA |
|---|---|
| 2.000 | 2.000 |
- Students may declare more than one concentration in the Information Technology major, provided that complete minimum 12 credit hours of coursework unique to each concentration.
Roadmap
This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.
| Semester One | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| IT 11002 or IT 13000 | VISUAL BASIC PROGRAMMING or APPLIED SECURITY ESSENTIALS | 3 |
| IT 11004 | SURVEY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY | 3 |
| IT 11005 | INTRODUCTION TO OPERATING SYSTEMS AND NETWORKING TECHNOLOGY | 3 |
| UC 10097 | DESTINATION KENT STATE: FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE | 1 |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 | |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Semester Two | ||
| IT 11006 | INTRODUCTION TO WEB SITE TECHNOLOGY | 3 |
| IT 11009 | COMPUTER ASSEMBLY AND CONFIGURATION | 4 |
| IT 12000 | INTERMEDIATE OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY APPS | 3 |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 | |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Semester Three | ||
| IT 21002 | NETWORK SETUP AND CONFIGURATION | 4 |
| IT 21010 | WORKGROUP PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE | 3 |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 | |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 | |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Semester Four | ||
| IT 21007 | INTERNET ETHICS AND POLICIES | 3 |
| IT 21009 | SEMINAR IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY | 3 |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 | |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 | |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Semester Five | ||
| IT 36308 | ERGONOMICS IN COMPUTER SYSTEMS | 3 |
| IT 36318 | SURVEY OF INFORMATION SECURITY, INTERNET FRAUD AND COMPUTER FORENSICS (WIC) | 3 |
| TAS 37900 | TECHNICAL AND APPLIED STUDIES CORNERSTONE | 3 |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 | |
| Kent Core Requirement | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Semester Six | ||
| Concentration Requirements | 12 | |
| Information Technology (IT) Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Semester Seven | ||
| IT 36340 | HELP DESK SUPPORT | 3 |
| IT 42000 | SOCIAL MEDIA SECURITY | 3 |
| Concentration Requirement | 3 | |
| General Electives | 6 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Semester Eight | ||
| IT 36314 | SEMINAR IN EMERGING COMPUTER AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES | 3 |
| TAS 47900 | TECHNICAL AND APPLIED STUDIES CAPSTONE (ELR) | 3 |
| Concentration Requirement | 3 | |
| General Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 12 | |
| Minimum Total Credit Hours: | 120 | |