B.S. Computer Information Technology
The B.S. degree in Computer Information Technology (CIT) is designed for students interested in professional careers involving the design, implementation and support of solutions to informational technology infrastructure needs.
The B.S. in CIT program requires a total of 120 units, including general education requirements, major core and a 15+ unit domain emphasis package, composed of a sequence of courses from a breadth discipline. The domain emphasis is normally satisfied by completion of a minor in a program of the student's choice. In cases where declaration of a minor is not feasible, students can instead complete a sequence of courses from that same program of study that includes at least 15 units, of which at least 9 units are upper division.
A CIT major must complete a minimum of 18 residency units of upper division CIT program courses; this is in addition to all other institutional residency requirements. Since CIT majors cannot declare a domain emphasis from programs in the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics (DNCBE), an alternative option for students interested in that combination of courses is to declare the B.S. in Information Systems major with IT option (BS in IS/IT), offered by the Department of Accounting and Information Systems in the DNCBE.
Program Educational Objectives
The Computer Information Technology program at the California State University, Northridge prepares students for life-long careers in Computer Information Technology or related technical fields; such careers should enable its graduates to make valuable contributions to society and to find satisfaction in their chosen profession. Within a few years of graduation, the graduates of the Computer Information Technology program are expected to meet the following program educational objectives:
- Explain and apply appropriate information technologies and employ appropriate methodologies to help an individual or organization achieve its goals and objectives
- Manage the information technology resources of an individual or organization;
- Anticipate the changing direction of information technology and evaluate and communicate the likely utility of new technologies to an individual or organization
- Understand and for some to contribute to the scientific, mathematical and theoretical foundations on which information technologies are built
- Live and work as a contributing, well-rounded member of society exhibiting intellectual breadth and lifelong intellectual curiosity required to practice IT management functions creatively, sensitively, and responsibly in contemporary global and societal environments.
Student Learning Outcomes
Graduates of the program will have an ability to:
- Analyze a complex computing problem and to apply principles of computing and other relevant disciplines to identify solutions.
- Design, implement, and evaluate a computing-based solution to meet a given set of computing requirements in the context of the program’s discipline.
- Communicate effectively in a variety of professional contexts.
- 3.1. Written communication.
- 3.2. Oral communication.
- Recognize professional responsibilities and make informed judgments in computing practice based on legal and ethical principles.
- Function effectively as a member or leader of a team engaged in activities appropriate to the program’s discipline.
- Identify and analyze user needs and to take them into account in the selection, creation, integration, evaluation, and administration of computing-based systems. [IT]
We recommend that students majoring in CIT first consider declaring a formal minor to satisfy the CIT Domain Emphasis requirement. The only restriction on minor is that it cannot be a minor in Computer Science and it cannot be from any department within the DNCBE. One advantage of declaring a formal minor that students should note is that a formal minor is named along with the major on the diploma, while a domain emphasis package is not. But for a variety of reasons, students may decide against declaring a minor. In that case, students can satisfy the CIT Domain Emphasis requirement by defining a package of courses with the following guidelines.
- Must be a minimum of 15 units total
- A minimum of 9 units must be upper division (300 level or higher)
- Must be from a single department, cannot be a random selection of 5 courses from 5 different departments. Some exceptions are allowed, such as a package composed of courses from Art and Music, or Urban Studies and Sustainability. Other combinations may be allowed, but check with the department to get confirmation in advance.
- A minimum grade of C- or better for courses taken at CSUN. Transfer courses can be included in the package, but transfer courses must have a minimum grade of C or better. Also, transfer courses from a community college can only count as lower division courses, they cannot be used as part of the requirement for 9 units upper division.
- Courses in a domain emphasis package cannot double count with the CIT science elective. For example, if you use courses from GEOG or GEOL to satisfy the CIT science elective and you also declare a CIT domain emphasis in the same department, you cannot use the same course in both sections. In contrast, A&R does allow double counting between the CIT science elective and a formal minor. When considering the difference between a minor and a domain emphasis package, note that declaring a formal minor opens the door to more opportunity for double counting. Furthermore, the minimum acceptable grade for a minor may be lower than the C- required by the domain emphasis package. A course with a grade of D might count toward a minor, while it won't count toward a CIT domain emphasis package. Seek advice from the department offering the minor to confirm any questions about their grade policies.
