Southern Miss Information Technology Program

Information Technology

In a rapidly changing technological world, we need experts that make it simple for individuals, businesses and companies to get the job done without having to wonder how it is done.

IT produces problem solvers. Layered over the curriculum are two major themes: the importance of communication skills and the acceptance of multi-platform, distributed computing environments.

Information Technology is communicating with people.
We communicate with customers, clients and end-users assessing the business needs and goals of organizations and understanding the relationships between various business processes. We communicate with our peers assessing the capabilities of existing technologies and the appropriateness of emerging technologies to meet the technical and business requirements of the business.

Information Technology is solving problems.
We find solutions to problems to make individuals and businesses more productive. We find ways to use hardware, operating systems, applications and communications technologies in ways that make improve productivity and reduce costs. We support and upgrade existing technologies, implement new technologies into existing systems, and design new IT systems using vendor proprietary and open source technolgies.

Information Technology is life-long learning.
We live on the bleeding-edge of technology. We are learning new technologies as we have master the current ones - all the while trying to figure out ways to keep the old, obsolete technologies running well after their end-of-life. We are computer hardware, routers and switches, operating systems, applications, programming languages, database sytems, and security. We are multitasking. We are learning today what would have been useful yesterday and will be critical tomorrow.

Information Technology is better, faster, and cheaper.
IT is building solutions off the shelf. IT isn't writing your own operating system or integrated circuits or soldering irons. IT is knowing what technologies are available, their capabilites and limitations, and using that information to implement cost-effective solutions in a minimal amount of time.

Information Technology graduates from Southern Miss can talk about technologies in a way that make sense to all of the constituents, from the CEO to the CFO to the CIO. They can evaluate a wide range of technologies. They can help you understand what you need and why you need it. They can communicate. They can design. They can implement. They can support.