College of Applied and Technical Studies
www.kent.edu/cats

About This Program

Join the fast-growing field of IT with Kent State's B.S.I.T. program. This program equips you with the skills needed to succeed in a range of IT roles, from software engineering to data analytics. With hands-on experience and expert faculty, you'll be well-prepared for a successful career. Read more...

Contact Information

• Shelley Marshall | skmarsha@kent.edu | 440-964-4348
• Speak with an Advisor
• Chat with an Admissions Counselor

Program Delivery

• Delivery:
  • Fully online

Examples of Possible Careers and Salaries*

^{* Source of occupation titles and labor data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook. Data comprises projected percent change in employment over the next 10 years; nation-wide employment numbers; and the yearly median wage at which half of the workers in the occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less.}

Admission Requirements

The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students.

First-Year Students on the Kent Campus: First-year admission policy on the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon cumulative grade point average, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends. Students not admissible to the Kent Campus may be administratively referred to one of the seven regional campuses to begin their college coursework. For more information, visit the admissions website for first-year students.

First-Year Students on the Regional Campuses: First-year admission to Kent State’s campuses at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas, as well as the Twinsburg Academic Center, is open to anyone with a high school diploma or its equivalent. For more information on admissions, contact the Regional Campuses admissions offices.

International Students: All international students must provide proof of proficiency of the English language (unless they meet specific exceptions) through the submission of an English language proficiency test score or by completing English language classes at Kent State’s English as a Second Language Center before entering their program. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.

Former Students: Former Kent State students who have not attended another institution since Kent State and were not academically dismissed will complete the re-enrollment process through the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center. Former students who attended another college or university since leaving Kent State must apply for admissions as a transfer or post-undergraduate student.

Transfer Students: Students who attended an educational institution after graduating from high school or earning their GED must apply as transfer students. For more information, visit the admissions website for transfer students.

Admission policies for undergraduate students may be found in the University Catalog's Academic Policies.

Students may be required to meet certain criteria to progress in their program. Any progression requirements will be listed on the program's Coursework tab

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

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Minimum C grade required to satisfy the writing-intensive requirement.

Application Development Concentration Requirements

Cloud and Virtualization Technologies Concentration Requirements

Cybersecurity and Forensics Concentration Requirements

Database Design and Administration Concentration Requirements

Health Information Technology Concentration Requirements

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Students may repeat IT 36396 for a maximum of 6 credit hours toward the concentration.

Integrated Information Concentration Requirements

Networking Concentration Requirements

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Students may repeat IT 36396 for a maximum of 6 credit hours toward the concentration.

Web Development Concentration Requirements

Graduation Requirements

• Students may declare more than one concentration in the Information Technology major, provided that they 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 program. Students will work with their advisor to develop a sequence based on their academic goals and history. Courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

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.

Kent Core Requirements

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

1. Identify and evaluate current technologies and assess their applicability to address individual and organizational needs.
2. Develop a product, process or solution by applying knowledge of programming, scripting, web, digital media, database, human computer interaction, networking, cloud, virtualization and security tools.
3. Perform end-user support, including identifying and implementing solutions to user requests.
4. Explain implementation, integration and maintenance for IT applications to a wide range of audiences.
5. Work in diverse project teams to develop and/or implement IT-based solutions.
6. Apply professional ethics in IT solutions.
7. Engage in continuous learning, as well as research and assess new ideas and information to provide the capabilities for lifelong learning.

Full 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 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 Cloud and Virtualization Technologies concentration gives students hands-on practice and competency in virtualization and cloud computing. In addition to gaining core IT skills, students focus on cloud technologies, virtual computer hardware platforms, networking, storage devices, security, scripting, emerging technologies, server administration and storage and infrastructure services. This concentration is for students who want to pursue a professional career in virtualization and cloud computing and prepare for industry-recognized certificates in the IT field.
• The Cybersecurity 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 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.
• The Web Development concentration focuses on scripting; server-side form handling; web database integration; and interactive and dynamic multimedia Internet development.