Associate Degree in Information Sciences and Technology — 60 credits

An associate degree in information sciences and technology can boost your earning potential. Broaden your career opportunities beyond a high school diploma. And help you gain an edge in almost any field.

Offered in partnership with Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology, this degree is ideal for working adults who seek careers in technology management, but have little or no formal background in information technology (IT).

Career Opportunities
Developed in consultation with regional Pennsylvania employers, our IST program can prepare you to enter IT professional fields such as:

• applications programmers
• network managers
• Web designers
• information systems support specialists

What You Can Learn
An associate degree in IST can provide you with:

• a thorough knowledge of information systems, with organizational and global perspectives
• extensive practice using contemporary technologies to create, organize, store, analyze, evaluate, communicate, and transmit information
• skills in essential communications as well as interpersonal and group interaction
• basic business skills to prepare you for managerial roles and greater responsibilities
• technical knowledge about the structure of database systems, Web and multimedia systems, and the design of information systems
• hands-on knowledge gained through team projects, a required internship, and a capstone experience focused on cutting-edge issues and technologies in the field

Admission Requirements

• You must be a high school graduate.
• Or you must have completed your GED. 

Program Curriculum

Generalized business option academic plan
Generalized business option curriculum check sheet

View the current Schedule of Courses

General Education: 21 credits
(* indicates 9−12 credits, of these 21, included in the Requirements for the Major)
(See the description of General Education.)

Electives: 2−6 credits

Requirements for the Major: 45−47 credits
(* indicates 9−12 credits that double-count as General Education courses, i.e., ALL options: 3 credits of GQ courses; 6 credits of GWS courses. The Generalized Business Option also includes 0−3 credits of GS courses ** to equal 9−12 credits that double-count.)

Common Requirements for the Major (all options): 30 credits

Prescribed Courses: 26 credits

• CMPSC 101 (GQ) Introduction to C++ Programming * (3 credits)
• CAS 100 (GWS) Effective Speech * (3 credits)
• ENGL 015 (GWS) Rhetoric and Composition * (3 credits)
  
• IST 110 (GS) Information, People and Technology (3 credits)
  
• IST 111S Seminar in Information Sciences and Technology (1 credit)
• IST 210 Organization of Data (4 credits)
  
• IST 220 Networking and Telecommunications (3 credits)
  
• IST 250 New Media and the Web (3 credits)
• IST 260W Introduction to Systems Analysis and Design (3 credits)

Additional Courses: 4 credits

• ENGL 202C (GWS) Effective Writing:Technical Writing (3 credits) or ENGL 202D (GWS) Effective Writing: Business Writing (3 credits)
• IST 295A Distributed Team Project (1 credit) or IST 295B IST Internship (1 credit)

Requirements for the Option: 15−18 credits

Generalized Business Option: 15–16 credits

Select 15 to 16 credits from the following list, in consultation with an adviser:

• ACCTG 211 Financial and Managerial Accounting for Decision Making (4 credits)
• B A 250 Problems of Small Business (3 credits)
• Choose ECON 002 (GS) Introductory Microeconomic Analysis and Policy ** (3 credits) or ECON 004 (GS) Introductory Macroeconomic Analysis and Policy ** (3 credits) or ECON 014 (GS) Principles of Economics ** (3 credits)
• Choose MATH 017 (GQ) Finite Mathematics (3 credits) or MATH 021 (GQ) College Algebra I (3 credits), or MATH 022 (GQ) College Algebra II and Analytic Geometry (3 credits), or MATH 026 (GQ) Plane Trigonometry (3 credits)
• MGMT 100W Survey of Management (3 credits)
• MGMT 321 Leadership and Motivation (3 credits)
• MGMT 341 Human Resource Management (3 credits)
• MKTG 220 Personal Selling (3 credits)
• MKTG 221W Contemporary American Marketing (3 credits)

Financing your Education

Exploring alternatives to finance your education can be overwhelming. The Continuing Education staff can help you determine the best option for you based on your particular circumstances from Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to a deferred payment plan or employee reimbursement. Continuing Education also offers scholarship opportunities to adult learners.
Learn more about tuition and fees.

Educational Step-up Opportunities
As you complete courses for the associate degree you can also earn a certificate in information sciences and technology and a certificate in basic business. After you receive your associate degree, you can continue on to earn a bachelor’s degree in IST through Penn State World Campus.