What is Knowledge Area

With a projected 2.26 million additional jobs to fill in various computer fields by the year 2010, there are and will continue to be ample job opportunities in the computer industry. However, the computer field is far too broad for one individual to be an expert in the entire field. Therefore it may be more useful for students to have the opportunity to concentrate their studies in a specific interest area within a broader Information Technology (IT) degree. IT educators throughout the United States (US) have paid attention to the needs and demands of the IT industry. To address the need for IT graduates with specialized skills, many of the leading universities have created programs which allow undergraduate students to specialize or focus their studies. This chapter will discuss findings on the state of IT programs with regards to their course offerings. One area of specialization, or track, is presented as an example. It will be noted that even within a specialty area, there can be further specializations. In addition to supporting the students pursuing the specialty area, general knowledge courses must also be offered to those pursuing other specialty areas.