
Development of real-world, emerging technology in a self-chosen specialization
Information technologists are computer support and security administrators who assist companies and organizations with managing hardware, software, networking, communication and problem solving.
What Our Graduates Do
Possible Career Pathways for IT graduates:
- Database Administrator
- Information Systems Specialist
- IT Security Analyst
- Network Architect
- Web Developer
Students in the ABET-accredited B.S. in Information Technology (IT) program learn to analyze, design, integrate, and manage information systems to meet the needs of end users. Students in this degree will develop skills in effective communication, collaboration, and leadership throughout a challenging technical curriculum in system design, networking, information assurance and security, programming, web development, and data science.
Although intimately tied to the computing field, the IT program differs from the Computer Science and Computer Engineering program in the following ways:
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Emphasizes a practicum and interest-based specialization-oriented degree. The program places a greater emphasis on application, deployment, configuration and development than on theory and principles.
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Actively responds to emerging technology trends and diversifications in information systems. The technology that manages information changes quickly as practitioners attempt to address real-world problems in industry, government, research, and education. This program responds to changes that reflect trends.
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Requires real-world experience by participating in an internship. IT students are required to participate in information technology-related internship to learn what it is like to work in the IT industry.
CyberCorps Scholarship for Service*
IT majors can apply for the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service*, designed to recruit and train cybersecurity professionals for federal, state, local and tribal governments.
Application Process Overview
Required to Apply | Application Opens | Application Deadline | Students Notified |
Prerequisite courses completed and grades posted | Early February | July 1 for early admission consideration. Apps not accepted for early admission remain in consideration until program is full.
August 31 - no applications accepted after this date |
Rolling decisions with all notifications made in 1-2 weeks or after the close of the application |
See Information Technology Application information for more specific information.
Coding and Computing by Design
Ping Luarn, B.S. Information Technology '21
While studying at SET, Ping Luarn discovered she likes uncovering what makes a website click with a user and what drives them away.
“With web design you have to know certain things like how you want the website to look and how accessible that is for different kinds of users. I really enjoy learning what the users think... what frustrates them, and what makes them feel better, and how we can improve different layouts or usability.”
IT Student Testimonials

Christopher Martinez | United States Army Corps of Engineers, (USACE) Information Systems Security Manager (ISSM)

Eric Min | Information Security Analyst, Infoblox
Questions?
Schedule an appointment with one of our Academic Advisors!
How to Apply
Admission Requirements
Admission to the IT major is competitive. Please review the following prerequisites and application process carefully.
Prerequisites
To qualify for admission to IT, applicants must first be admitted to the University of Washington Tacoma and have completed the following required prerequisites:
- Precalculus (TMATH 115 & 116 or TMATH 120 at UW Tacoma; Precalculus I & II at most community colleges)
- Introduction to Programming (TCSS 142)*
*UW Tacoma students can take either TCSS 141 - Programming for All or TCSS 142 - Introduction to Programming to satisfy the programming prerequisite for the IT major. TCSS 141 is offered at the UW Tacoma campus only.
*All pre-requisite courses must be completed in the last seven years
Please note: Admission to the IT program is capacity-constrained. Students who are admitted to the program typically have grades of 3.0 and higher in prerequisite courses as well as a strong cumulative grade point average.
GPA Requirements
If you do not meet the GPA requirements, please contact a SET advisor to discuss your situation and options.
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Required cumulative prerequisite GPA of at least 2.5, with a minimum grade of 2.0 in each individual prerequisite.
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Required minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in all college coursework.
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Applicants are also expected to have a GPA of at least a 2.5 in all college math, science, computer science or engineering coursework.
Ready to Apply?
Before starting the application, make sure you're ready to apply:
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You've been admitted to UW Tacoma and met the requirements to apply to the major (previous tab).
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You have completed at least 45 college-level credits.
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You completed the prerequisite courses listed in the Admission Requirements tab.
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You've met the GPA requirements noted in the Admission Requirements tab.
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You're meeting the July 1 priority application deadline.
Transfer Admission
Notes for Transfer Students:
- If you are not admitted to UWT, you cannot be admitted to the IT major, but you may hold off on accepting your offer of admission to UWT until you have your program admissions decision.
- Transfer students at Washington State community colleges are encouraged to pursue the Associate in Science - Transfer Track 2 to meet the admission requirements. Use the UW Course Equivalency Guide to determine the equivalent prerequisites at your school.
Selection Criteria
IT is a capacity-constrained major, which means we normally have more applications than space in the program. Competitive applicants typically have grades of 3.0 and higher in the prerequisite courses, as well as a strong cumulative grade point average.
Your application is evaluated on the following criteria:
- Completion of all prerequisite courses
- Grades in prerequisite courses -- individually and cumulatively
- Overall previous academic performance
- Content and form of personal statement and resume
- Completion of at least 45 college-level credits
Curriculum
Core Courses
All courses within the major must be completed with a minimum grade of 2.0 and a cumulative GPA of 2.5.
- TINFO 200 Programming II for Information Technology and Systems
- TINFO 210 Foundations of Information Management
- TINFO 220 Foundations of Human Computer Interaction for Information Technology & Systems
- TINFO 230 Foundations Web Design and Programming
- TINFO 240 Discrete Math for IT
- TINFO 250 Foundations of Information Networking
- TINFO 310 Foundations of Information Assurance
- TINFO 320 Hardware and Software Systems
- TINFO 360 Information Systems Analysis and Design
- TINFO 370 Managing Technical Teams
- TMATH 110 Statistics
- TWRT 291 Technical Writing
- TCSS 325 Computers, Ethics, and Society
- TINFO 452 Windows System Admin or TINFO 457 Unix System Admin
Schedule Planning
The IT schedule planning grid shows a sample pathway to complete the B.S. in Information Technology degree. Work with your advisor to make sure you are completing required courses for the program and electives for your area of interest.
Download the IT Planning Grid (PDF)
Senior Electives
- TINFO 410 Database Design
- TINFO 431 Server Side Web Applications
- TINFO 441 Network Security
- TINFO 442 Computer Security
- TINFO 443 Digital Forensics
- TINFO 444 Mobile Digital Forensics
- TINFO 445 Mobile Digital Forensics II
- TINFO 446 Mobile Digital Forensics III
- TINFO 451 Routing and Switching
- TINFO 453 Wireless Networking
- TINFO 461 Organizational Information Assurance
- TINFO 462 Building an Information Risk Management Toolkit
- TINFO 463 Establishing and Managing Information Assurance Strategies
- TINFO 480 Research Methods
Internship/Sr. Project
A required internship demonstrates how the life cycle of Information Technology and systems such as maintenance, modernization, replacement, etc. is conducted within an organization.
The internship is taken as a 1- to 10-credit course:
Topics are carried into Senior Project II in ITS.
Academic Support
Academic Support
T INFO 390 Undergraduate Seminar in Electrical Engineering is a workshop style course to help you solve problems and develop a deeper understanding of IT material. The course, overseen by a faculty member and a student mentor includes lectures and problem sessions in mathematics, programming, problem solving, and EE applications.
See also:
- The Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) at UW Tacoma provides academic support in math, science, statistics and writing to all UWT students.
- The Learning and Research Commons (LARC) is the hub of support for all members of our campus community for teaching, learning, conducting research, and using technology to support all of these endeavors.
ABET Accreditation
The B.S. in Information Technology is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org. The program at UW Tacoma prepares students with the theoretical and practical foundations needed to solve problems in all aspects of computing.

The Information Technology (IT) program will educate students to analyze, design, integrate, and manage information systems using information technology.
The intent of the Information Technology program is to produce graduates who are able to achieve the following objectives:
- Developed a product or process by applying knowledge of programming, web, database, human computer interaction, networking and security tools
- Participated effectively as a member of a development team and undertaken leadership roles when appropriate
- Taken graduate courses or continuing education classes to improve skills and abilities
- Made positive contributions to community and society by applying skills and abilities learned during undergraduate program in information technology
- Made decisions related to work that demonstrate understanding of the importance of being an ethical computing professional
- Applied communication skills to effectively promote ideas, goals or products
Students graduating from our information focused programs will be able to choose many different roles; becoming IT and IS consultants, project planners, project managers, interface designers, information systems researchers, web developers, and systems analysts. To emphasize, consider some of the general tasks that an information technology and systems specialist is likely to perform depending on where she works:
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.
- 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.
- Use systemic approaches to select, develop, apply, integrate, and administer secure computing technologies to accomplish user goals. [IT]
Year | Enrollment | Degrees Conferred |
---|---|---|
2022-2023 | 222 | - |
2021-2022 | 204 | 89 |
2020-2021 | 200 | 100 |
2019-2020 | 207 | 97 |
2018-2019 | 208 | 101 |
2017-2018 | 194 | 88 |
2016-2017 | 165 | 66 |
2015-2016 | 134 | 59 |
2014-2015 | 112 | 50 |
2013-2014 | 106 | 46 |
2012-2013 | 91 | 38 |
2011-2012 | 65 | 23 |
2010-2011 | 56 | 13 |
2009-2010 | 28 |
Information Technology Program Advisory Board
Scott Klauminzer
Critical Infrastructure Protection Lead,
Tacoma Power, Tacoma Public Utilities
Mohan Kumar
Intel Fellow
Daniel Lowney
US Naval Sea Systems Command
Dave Patterson
Director/Engineering Manager
Intel
Andrew Sloss
Senior Principal Research Engineer
Arm Research, Seattle
Dave Smith
Senior Field Applications Engineer
ARROW
Degree options
Information Assurance and Cybersecurity option
20 credits:
Digital Mobile Forensics option
TEMPORARILY SUSPENDED
20 credits:
- TINFO 444 Mobile Digital Forensics
- TINFO 445 Mobile Digital Forensics II
- TINFO 446 Mobile Digital Forensics III
- 5 additional credits in senior electives