The Florida State University College of Information

Getting Started

Deciding on a major or a minor can seem like an overwhelming and confusing task. We hope this walk-through will get you started. The goal is to help orient you to the resources on this site and to reduce your anxiety about the decision process as well as some other related issues. If there is something we do not cover in this document or on our website that you would like us to include, please send your comments and suggestions to our staff at: bsit@ci.fsu.edu. We welcome your feedback.

We will try to answer the questions most frequently asked. Although we have tried to anticipate your information needs, you might have some additional questions that apply to your special circumstances. We provide professional program advisors who can give you guidance about our programs now and throughout your course of study.

If you have questions, please contact the undergraduate advisors. They are generally in the office on FSU's main campus in Tallahassee, Florida: Monday thru Friday from 9am - 5pm. The website is available 24 hours a day, but the undergraduate advisors are not.

Email lets you make an inquiry regardless of the time of day or day of the week, and it also will result in a written response. We try to respond to email as rapidly as possible. Some days there are hundreds of emails and it can take a couple of days to work through them. Other days, when there are just a few, we may be able to get back to you the same day.

Let's begin by giving you a general orientation to the resources we have developed for prospective students. We will start with information about the College, our faculty, the field of Information Technology and some emerging professions. We will then turn to the degrees and certifications we offer, and then discuss the difference between Information Technology, Computer Science, and Management Information Systems. We will close the first section with information about computer issues.

After we go through the general information, we will walk you through the process of deciding on a major or minor in Information Technology and then touch on some questions and topics we are frequently asked. You might also find useful the university-wide resources provided for prospective students by The Florida State University. They can be found at: http://www.fsu.edu/prospective/

A General Orientation

About the College and the Faculty: The College of Information has one of the largest programs in the country and has a long history of accomplishment in the field. About The College of Information and the Faculty List provide a good background for considering our program and our stance in the discipline. Our vision statement says it all:

People and Information: Making Vital Connections

The discipline is quite diverse. Find out about it in brief by consulting our Overview of the Field of Information Technology and our discussion of two diverse, broad areas people are pursing in the field: Digital Age Information Professions. Also see below: CS, MIS, IT. What is the difference?

Degrees and Certifications: We offer a wide array of degrees at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the College of Information. This diversity means that you will be studying and working in a community of learners that range from novices to seasoned researchers. If you would like to get an idea of what these degrees are, they are described in a brief Overview of Degrees and Certificates. Each degree and certificate is discussed in depth in pages linked from the overview.

Course Offerings: We offer courses all year long. In the Table of Contents, under the section titled Courses, you will find course descriptions by program, as well as schedules of current and projected courses.

CS, MIS, IT. What is the difference? In a nutshell, Computer Science majors are focused on computers and making them work. Management Information Systems majors are zeroed in on database related business processes and functions. Although Information Technology majors are deeply interested in making computers work and in creating useful databases, they are ultimately interested in the relationship of end users and information.

Technology: Learn It and Use It

Computer Issues: Computer literacy is one of the requirements for a bachelor's degree. In addition to this basic understanding and use of the computer, you will need to be sure you can meet the basic college-wide requirements for hardware and software for students in our programs.

Deciding on the Major or Minor in Information Technology

You can declare your major as early as your very first term in school. However, you must declare one by the time you accumulate 60 hrs of course credit (which is usually by the end of your sophomore year). It is never too early to begin exploring the possibilities, and we are happy to discuss the possibility of a major or minor in our discipline at any time during your undergraduate studies.

Although the College of Information doesn't require you to have a minor. We encourage you to choose one. During your junior and senior years, you complete the requirements of your chosen major and minor. You may also have to fulfill additional requirements that are specific to our program or that you might not have completed in your lower division course work.

Understanding the degree requirements is crucial to making smooth progress toward graduation. You are encouraged to consult with our undergraduate advisors, and to do so regularly throughout your course of study to ensure you are making appropriate progress toward your degree. Of course, if you have any questions about our program, please contact the undergraduate advisors.

Well, that is all we can think of to share with you at the moment. We hope you will consider how our program can help you enhance your success in the digital age. As we mentioned before, we welcome your feedback on how we might improve these resources for our prospective students. Please send your comments and suggestions to our staff at: bsit@ci.fsu.edu