Informatics

Future Careers in Information and Technology

Informatics students design, build, implement, and secure information systems that meet human, organizational, and societal needs. They combine skills from the program with their own unique personal and professional interests to foster innovation in information and technology in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. The emphasis of the major is on understanding the relationships among people, information, and technology.

Informatics students typically:

• Share a passion for information and technology
• Enjoy working with people
• Love analyzing and solving problems
• Communicate effectively
• Enjoy leading and managing projects
• Want to change society or improve the world through information and technology

Informatics is a multidisciplinary field of study that draws upon areas such as computer science, information science, sociology, psychology, design, and information management. Coursework is varied and includes technical classes such as programming, web development, and database management as well as courses in project management, user-centered design, systems analysis, and information policy.

In the informatics program, students learn how to

• Design and build systems that support information management
• Develop complex systems that involve vast databases of distributed information
• Analyze national and global information policy
• Assure the security and integrity of information systems
• Design the information architecture necessary to store and access repositories of information
• Understand the subtleties of information behavior needed to build social networking applications and mobile technologies

As students learn about the use and users of technology, they can apply their knowledge to positively impact organizations, their communities, and society. Informatics students make a difference.