April 28, 2008

GSW expands options for B.S. in Information Technology

AMERICUS— As businesses of all sorts begin to rely more and more on technology, Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) is planning to expand the Bachelor of Science degree in information technology (IT) to include options in professional writing and multimedia. The new degree options will be available fall 2008.

Previously, the only major elective requirements available with a B.S. in IT were business classes including accounting, management and marketing. While the IT option in business is still very important in today’s job market, the need for IT professionals with specific skills in digital media and creative and technical writing is on the rise.

Stemming from GSW’s Department of English and Modern Language the professional writing option provides courses in document design, grammar and editing, technical writing and professional writing; in collaboration with the Visual Arts Department the multimedia option offers courses in design concepts and beginning, intermediate and advanced digital media.

“I like the idea of creating interdisciplinary programs,” said David Garrison, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “It is a nice way to institute something that doesn’t yet exist.”

“These new options have a bright future,” said Boris Peltsverger, dean of GSW’s School of Computing and Mathematics. “Georgia is attracting more and more companies within the multimedia industry.”

Brandon Fogerty, one of Georgia Southwestern’s computer science graduate student’s, has taken advantage of this industry’s “Peach State” presence. At the end of May, Fogerty will go to work for Kaneva. An Internet based company that facilitates social network services in a virtual world, Kaneva was founded by billionaire entrepreneur and Georgia Institute of Technology graduate, Chris Klaus, and is located in Atlanta.

“If GSW were to add a curriculum which would provide (video) game and multimedia development, the entertainment industry would open up to students at GSW,” said Fogerty.

Having earned his Bachelor’s degree in computer science from Georgia Southwestern in May of 2007, Fogerty is not a beneficiary of the new degree options, but a solid education in computer science, multimedia projects and an internship at Motorola afforded him an opportunity to break into the multimedia industry. The multimedia IT degree option will allow more students to follow in Fogerty’s footsteps.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in software publishing is projected to increase by 32 percent from 2006 to 2016. This is nearly three times the growth of all major industries combined. GSW’s additional new option with an IT degree, professional writing, will help facilitate that growth.

“The professional writing option will allow IT graduates to communicate their knowledge to non-professionals who have expertise in areas other than technology,” said Peggy Ellington, chair of the Department of English and Modern Language.

For more information please contact GSW’s School of Computing and Mathematics at (229) 931-2100.

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