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

About This Program

Advance your career in IT with Kent State's A.A.B. in Information Technology. With a blend of technical and business skills, this program prepares you for a range of IT roles. From cybersecurity to software development, the Information Technology program has you covered. Enroll now and take the first step towards a rewarding career. Read more...

Contact Information

• Carolyn Carvalho | ccarvalh@kent.edu |
  440-964-4222
• Speak with an Advisor
• Chat with an Admissions Counselor

Program Delivery

• Delivery:
  • Fully online

Examples of Possible Careers*

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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.

Kent State campuses at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas, and the Twinsburg Academic Center, have open enrollment admission for students who hold a high school diploma, GED or equivalent.

Some programs may require that students meet certain requirements before progressing through the program. For programs with progression requirements, the information is shown on the Coursework tab.

International Students: All international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions to waive) by earning a minimum 71 TOEFL iBT score, minimum 6.0 IELTS score, minimum 47 PTE score or minimum 100 DET score, or by completing the ELS level 112 Intensive English Program. For more information on international admission visit the admissions website for international students.

For more information on admissions, contact the Regional Campuses admissions offices.

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

Application Development Technology Concentration Requirements

General Technology Concentration Requirements

Network Technology Concentration Requirements

Web Development Concentration Requirements

Graduation Requirements

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 an applied or technical associate 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. Apply core IT concepts and skills in areas such as networking, operating systems, databases and application development to analyze and solve real-world technical problems.
2. Communicate and collaborate effectively in multidisciplinary teams, interpreting and presenting technical information clearly to technical and nontechnical audiences using appropriate tools.
3. Display professional, ethical, legal, and business-aware practice by evaluating new technologies, using basic project management approaches and supporting organizational goals.
4. Exhibit career readiness by assembling a portfolio of representative IT artifacts and reflections that connect academic work to workplace expectations and future study.

Full Description

The Associate of Applied Business in Information Technology provides a core foundation in programming, operating systems and networking, web development, hardware, security fundamentals, project management and collaboration and introductory database concepts. Courses introduce appropriate uses of artificial intelligence (AI) for productivity and learning support, such as code and content assistance, documentation and basic analytics, with an emphasis on ethics and accuracy. The major offers concentrations in Application Development Technology, General Technology, Network Technology (with systems administration) and Web Development.

The degree program articulates to the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology degree and the certificate in Computer Forensics and Information Security.

The Information Technology major comprises the following concentrations:

• The Application Development technology concentration prepares students to design and build software using industry-standard languages and tools; introduces responsible use of AI for code suggestions, tests and documentation.
• The General Technology concentration allows students to create a broad, multi-domain skill set in hardware, operating systems, networking, web fundamentals, teamwork and customer support, with selective use of AI for troubleshooting and documentation.
• The Network Technology concentration prepares students to install, configure, secure, and troubleshoot networked systems; practice systems administration and identity services; explore AI-assisted monitoring and ticket notes where appropriate.
• The Web Development concentration prepares students to build modern, user-friendly websites and basic web applications with attention to accessibility and data integration; responsibly use AI for wireframes, content drafts and test cases.