BS Information Technology and Systems FAQ

Career, Internship and Job Placements - BS ITS FAQ

There is a formal process for receiving credit for internships. Internships will be reported via Handshake. For more details view the instructions.

Yes, all Jindal School undergraduates are now required to complete at least one internship as a requirement for graduation. An internship is a good way to get additional skills to help you apply your learning and accumulate work experience.

Entry-level positions include (but are not limited to) systems analysts, business analysts, systems programmers, database administrators, network administrators, data analysts, systems architects and IT consultants. As time passes, your ITS degree (coupled with your organizational experience) will prepare you to work as team and project leaders, ITS managers, and possibly chief information officers (CIOs) or chief executive officers (CEOs).

Analysts study business problems and implement systems to solve them.
Application developers develop software to gather and store data.
Consultants analyze problems and change business processes.
Data analysts extract and analyze organizational data.
Project leaders organize a team of analysts, programmers and others to create innovative solutions.

In the USA, information technology and systems professionals are needed, and will continue to be needed. While jobs that are related primarily to programming have been or are in danger of being outsourced to other countries, jobs in areas such as business-process management, ERP systems, information security and business intelligence (all of which require strong IT and business skills) continue to be in strong demand.

The demand for ITS professionals has been reported in many publications.

  • U.S. News and World Report ranked Computer Systems Analysts #2 and IT Manager #3 in Best Technology Jobs.
  • IT-related occupations are projected to add about 557,100 new jobs from 2016-2026, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook. The median base salary for an IT professional is $86,320 in May 2018.

For more information on exciting careers in information technology and systems, visit Career Voyages.

To look at national job openings, see www.dice.com.

Generally, entry-level jobs in IT are among the highest paying of any business field. According to the Spring 2021 graduating student survey, the average annual salary for ITS bachelor’s degree graduates was $71,100. More information can be found at the ITS Career Outcomes page.

Program Certificates - BS ITS FAQ

Certifications often command a high value from hiring managers. There are literally hundreds of certifications available; however, only a few are popular in the industry. The Jindal School Offers 4 graduate level Certificates and one undergraduate-level certificate program that students can complete. The undergraduate program is the SAP TERP 10, Business Processes in ERP Associate Certification. Please find the details on the Information Systems Certificate page. ITSS 4340 is required to participate in the TERP 10 session.

The MIS Lab can help students become certified in Microsoft Excel.

Please contact the director of ITS programs for more information on certifications.

General - BS ITS FAQ

There are five student run clubs, the Security Operations Club, the SAP Users Group, the Women in Technology and Business Club (WITB), The Intelligence and Analytics Society, and the Association for Information Systems Student Chapter (AIS). The clubs hold monthly meetings and often host speakers from the IT industry. The clubs provide leadership opportunities for students in the ITS programs. They also provide opportunities to network with industry professionals.

ITS and computer science courses may seem similar, but there are major differences in their content and how they are taught. Neither one is better than the other — they are just different.

IT vs CS
IT Computer Science
ITS emphasizes understanding business needs and applying technology to support those needs. Computer science emphasizes technology and the development of technology, both hardware and software.
ITS students take courses, such as accounting and marketing, that will help them understand business problems. Computer science students take courses, like math and physics, that will help them better understand technology.

Computer science is product driven; ITS is solution driven.

Core Competencies
ITS Core Competencies CS Core Competencies
Acquire business applications by building, integrating or purchasing systems. Build technology to solve complex problems.
Motivated by using the computer as a tool to solve problems or create innovative solutions. Motivated by how the computer works.
Emphasis is on understanding business problems and producing business innovation. Emphasis is on programming complex software.
Analyze corporate big data with analytics. Create algorithms that, for example, sort the data.

There are two minor programs offered in JSOM that relate to Information Systems. The Business Intelligence and Analytics and the Information Technology and Systems minor. You can get more information on pre-requisites and course requirements in Minors section of the Undergraduate Catalog.

You need to take the curriculum courses that cover the base knowledge of management in the first and second year, including courses in communication, social and behavioral humanities, fine arts, mathematics and quantitative science. Later, you can choose advanced courses in information technology and systems. Please see the 4-year sample degree plan.

ITS professionals are business-oriented, technology-proficient individuals who work in many industries.

ITS professionals initiate, design and apply technology that supports business goals. They produce innovative products and services.

They are experts in strategizing, developing and applying technology to solve problems or leverage new IT-enabled opportunities.

ITS professionals work with computer scientists and engineers to create platforms and focus on understanding business requirements.

They integrate technologies and design solutions that solve day-to-day problems.

ITS professionals collaborate with other professionals, perform successfully at the individual level, and must be able to communicate effectively with excellent oral, written and listening skills.

ITS professionals work in all industries.

FAQ Categories

Top Questions

For all international applicants, an official English proficiency exam score, no more than two years old from the date of application, from one of three testing services is required. We accept the TOEFL (minimum 80 IBT), IELTS (minimum 6.5), and the Pearson Test of English (PTE, minimum 67). Our institutional TOEFL code is 6897.

Our GRE school code is R6897.

You have met the English proficiency requirement, and do not need to submit an English proficiency exam for admission, if:

No. International applicants who have completed an undergraduate or graduate degree from a college or university in the United States are waived from the English proficiency requirement.

The applicant’s cumulative GPA will be used as a part of the admission committee’s review for competitiveness for admission. Currently, the average admitted GPA is a 3.3.

Local applicants must submit official transcripts from all U.S. based colleges and universities attended, including any graduate program in which the applicant was enrolled for admission. These transcripts must be certified, signed or stamped official by the university’s Registrar Office.

International applicants and U.S. citizen and permanent resident applicants with an international degree must submit an official attested photocopy of academic documents such as a transcript, diploma, mark sheets, provisional degree certificate and or your final degree certificate, in a school sealed envelope with the school seal stamped on the back side of the envelope.

Overall, applicants must provide the following documents:

  • Official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended
  • Degree certificate if applicable (international students)
  • GMAT or GRE and TOEFL or IELTS scores from testing centers
  • One letter of recommendation (no specific format)
  • Personal objectives statement
  • Resume

Note: Resume, recommendation letters and personal objective statement, if not electronically submitted with your application or mailed in with your transcripts, please email your letters of recommendation, resume, and/or personal statement to JSOMGRAdvising@utdallas.edu. Please include your application ID with your email.

Yes, you may, once admitted and prior to enrollment you would need to provide official documents.

Fall Deadline: May 1
Spring Deadline: October 1
Summer Deadline: March 1

Late applications will be accepted up to the day prior to classes beginning https://www.utdallas.edu/academiccalendar/.

Yes, for available scholarships at Jindal school of management, please visit the scholarship page: http://jindal.utdallas.edu/student-resources/scholarships/

UT Dallas also provides scholarships. Please visit UT Dallas office of financial aid for more information: https://finaid.utdallas.edu/scholarships/

A competitive GMAT or GRE score, no more than five years old by date of application is required from all applicants, except for:

  • Candidates who have a doctoral degree, such as a PhD, MD or Juris Doctor.
  • High-achieving candidates may request a GMAT/GRE waiver if they have obtained*: T
  • heir undergraduate or graduate degree from UT Dallas (regardless of their major) and achieved a GPA at or above a 3.500. (GPA only includes UTD grades.)
  • Their undergraduate or graduate degree from a university with an AACSB-accredited business school (regardless of their degree’s area of focus) and achieved a GPA at or above a 3.600.
  • Their academic certificate from JSOM, in a related field, and achieved a GPA at or above 3.500.
  • They graduated Summa Cum Laude from a U.S.-based ABET-accredited school
  • They graduated in the top 20 percent of their graduating class from an EQUIS school. (Official verification required.)*

* Once application is submitted, if applicant meets the GMAT/GRE criteria outlined above, they must email JSOMGRAdvising@utdallas.edu to request review without submitting a GMAT/GRE.

You may contact the JSOM office of scholarships via:
For undergraduate: jsom-ug-scholarship@utdallas.edu
For graduate scholarship: jsom-grad-scholarship@utdallas.edu

UT Dallas offers two different tuition plans. The variable tuition rate plan is based on a traditional plan that only locks tuition rates in for one academic year at a time. The rates on the variable tuition plan are subject to change each academic year.

The guaranteed tuition plan is a plan that locks tuition rates in for four consecutive years and protects the student against increases during those four years. This plan is designed to aid students and families in the budget and planning of college expenses.

All new incoming students will be automatically placed into the variable tuition rate plan, but will have the option to lock in their tuition rates for four consecutive years with the guaranteed tuition plan.

To make your tuition plan choice, please follow these instructions on this page https://www.utdallas.edu/finance/bursar/tuition/

Knowledge of calculus is required for the following graduate programs: MS in Business Analytics, MS in Energy Management, MS in Finance, MS in Management Science and MS in Supply Chain Management. Applicants who have not satisfied this requirement may take OPRE 6303 (Quantitative Foundations of Business).

You may contact the International Student Services for questions related to I20, international orientations and F-1 visa or other visa types.

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