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Digital Sciences - B.A. and B.S.

   
DEPARTMENT: School of Digital Sciences
236 Mathematics and Computer Science Building
Tel: 330-672-9105
E-mail: digital-sciences@kent.edu
Web: www.kent.edu/dsci

Resources:

 
DESCRIPTION: The Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Sciences degrees in Digital Sciences provide a broad overview across traditional "digital" programs and prepare graduates to effectively understand and specify the information repositories, software applications and telecommunication infrastructure needed to support the goals of an organization, and to work with a multidisciplinary team to meet those needs.

The curriculum prepares graduates to understand the role of digital sciences in society; have an appreciation of information ethics and social responsibility; understand the relationship between information processing, computational thinking and database systems and the telecommunications infrastructure; and be familiar with design principles, project management, team dynamics and digital systems security.

The B.A. degree program is designed for a broad liberal arts experience, providing ample opportunities for exploring elective options both within and outside digital sciences.

The B.S. degree program offers six focused concentrations to provide deeper knowledge in one or more specific domains:
  • The Enterprise Architecture concentration provides students the skills to assist organizations in all sectors of the economy to review and improve their investments in technology; and to ensure that investments in digital information, application and technology are fully aligned with business goals and objectives.
  • The Digital Systems Analysis concentration provides students the skills to consult with an organization’s managers and users to understand the organization’s computer system needs, and design a computer system to meet those needs.
  • The Digital Science Cognition and Communication concentration provides students the skills to analyze the learning, teaching, communication and training needs of an organization, and design hardware and software systems to meet those needs.
  • The Digital Systems Software Development concentration provides students the skills to analyze the software system needs of an organization’s computer system, and coordinate the design, maintenance and expansion of a software system to meet those needs.
  • The Digital Systems Telecommunication Networks concentration provides students the skills to analyze the communication needs for an organization, and design a telecommunication and network infrastructure to meet those needs.
  • The Digital Systems Management and Consulting concentration provides students the skills to identify and shape solutions that address clients' key business priorities, including identifying and creatively solving complex problems, designing and re-engineering critical processes and fundamentally transforming business processes in a company.
The B.S. degree program also contains concentration-specific senior capstone courses, which can meet concurrently with senior-level courses in related disciplines and give students exposure in working on interdisciplinary projects as part of a multidisciplinary team.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES:
 In many cases, computing graduates can benefit from a broader view than that provided by traditional computer-related degree programs. For a growing number of computer-related occupations, the career path will increasingly require broad multidisciplinary training that provides exposure to business processes, information management, software development, telecommunications infrastructure, design, project management and a host of other skills. While these graduates will lack the deep domain knowledge provided by a traditional degree, they will gain familiarity across a broad spectrum of disciplines.

The B.A. and B.S. in Digital Sciences provide a broad overview across traditional “digital” programs, and prepare graduates to effectively understand and specify the information repositories, software applications, and telecommunication infrastructure needed to support the goals of an organization, and to work with a multi-disciplinary team to meet those needs.

These graduates will have the skills to analyze users' needs, plan an enterprise architecture, guide the development of a digital software/hardware system, and manage these complex systems. They will be comfortable working in multidisciplinary teams with computer scientists, computer engineers, business analysts, information architects, etc., and will have sufficiently broad training to bridge the communication gap between disciplines.

Students graduating from the Digital Sciences program will be prepared for entry-level careers as enterprise architects, computer system analysts, digital cognition analysts, application (software) architects, network system analysts and information technology officers.
ADMISSION
REQUIREMENTS:
 General Admissions for Freshman Students: Students most likely to be admitted and succeed at the Kent Campus are those who have graduated with at least 16 units of the recommended college preparatory curriculum in high school, who have achieved a cumulative high school grade point average of 2.5 or higher (on a 4.0 scale), and whose composite ACT score is 21 or better (980 combined critical reading and math SAT score). For more information on admissions, visit the Admissions website for new freshmen.

General Admissions for Transfer Students: Generally, a transfer applicant who has taken 12 or more semester hours with a college cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale may be admitted. An applicant who has taken fewer than 12 semester hours will be evaluated on both collegiate and high school records. For more information on admissions, visit the Admissions website for transfer students.
GRADUATION
REQUIREMENTS:
 Minimum 121 total credit hours and minimum 39 upper-division hours, with minimum 2.0 GPA in major and overall.
CULMINATING REQUIREMENTS:
 The B.S. degree program contains concentration-specific senior capstone courses that can meet concurrently with senior-level courses in related disciplines and give students exposure in working on interdisciplinary projects as part of a multidisciplinary team.
LANGUAGE
REQUIREMENT:		 None.
STUDY ABROAD/AWAY OPPORTUNITIES: There are many Study Abroad/Away Opportunities, for more information contact the Office of Global Education.
PROGRAM FEE: None.
STUDENT
ORGANIZATIONS:
 Association for Computing Machinery; Collegiate Business Association; Delta Sigma Pi; Management and Information System Association (MISA); Net Impact Kent State University
GRADUATE
PROGRAMS:
 Business Administration–Information Systems (M.B.A), Computer Science (M.A. and M.S.), Digital Sciences (M.S.), Evaluation and Measurement (M.Ed.), Information Architecture and Knowledge Management (M.S.), Instructional Technology (M.Ed.)