School of Information Technology and Engineering

Bachelor of Science

The undergraduate education mission of the School of Information Technology and Engineering is to provide a quality education to support the needs of Virginia and the nation.

The goal of the IT&E undergraduate programs is to graduate students who

• are technically competent,
• are prepared for ethical professional practice,
• can communicate effectively,
• can work as members or leaders of technical teams,
• are prepared for a lifetime of learning, and
• understand the global nature and impact of information technology and engineering.

Degree Requirements

The following general requirements for a bachelor of science degree must be completed by all undergraduate students in majors in IT&E:

1. At least 120 credits of academic work

2. At least 6 credits of English composition, 3 credits of literature, and 3 credits of oral communication general education electives

3. At least 3 credits of U.S. history, 3 credits of Western civilization, 3 credits of social studies, and 3 credits of global/international issues general education electives

4. The requirements listed in the following sections for the specific IT&E majors, which include university requirements for mathematics, IT competency and ethics, and synthesis.

Freshmen who are undecided about their specific majors within IT&E may select IT&E Undeclared as their majors. Sample schedules that fulfill degree requirements for individual programs within IT&E departments are available from the departments. With approval of departmental advisors, some courses may be taken out of the indicated sequences, particularly in the case of English, literature, and social science courses.

Students should consult the Baccalaureate Degree Requirements section in the "Academic Policies" chapter in this catalog for detailed information concerning requirements for graduation, residence, and academic quality for graduation. Students should also consult the "Academic Policies" chapter of this catalog for additional university requirements for minor programs. The requirements for the B.I.S. degree can be found in the New Century College section of the "College of Arts and Sciences" chapter. The requirements for the civil and infrastructure engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, and systems engineering undergraduate degree programs are provided in the academic departments' sections of this chapter. The requirements for the B.S. degree in information technology are provided in the interdisciplinary section of this chapter. A student majoring in an IT&E program is expected to have an acceptable plan of study, formulated by the student and his or her advisor, on file in the student's department.

Writing-Intensive Requirement

The university requires all undergraduate students to successfully complete a course, or combination of courses, designated "writing intensive" in their majors at the 300 level or above. To determine the writing-intensive course requirements for specific degrees, please refer to the major program descriptions in the following department sections.

B.S./Accelerated M.S. Programs

A number of the B.S. degree programs offered within IT&E may be packaged with some of the M.S. degree programs in ways that reduce the total number of credits required. Details may be found in the following department sections.