Starting this school year, Husson University College of Business will offer an undergraduate degree in integrated technology.
The program aims to give students a broader and deeper understanding of technology by leveraging faculty expertise across various concentrations and disciplines.
“We want students to be technically proficient, but another goal is to help them understand how IT (information technology) systems and computer applications fit into a context,” said Michael Knupp, an assistant professor of information technology at the Bangor-based school who helped set up the new degree program. “That’s really the conversation: How does technology fit into our business world, our social world?”
Within the College of Business, the School of Hospitality, Sport and Tourism Management will manage the new degree program, reflecting technology’s growing importance to those sectors.
“In the hospitality industry, it’s amazing what technology is doing, whether you’re talking about key cards for hotels or online booking agencies for Airbnb,” Knupp said. “Sports is the same way. Data analytics is revolutionizing the sports industry. Technology provides the infrastructure for data analytics to happen.”
Incoming IT freshmen and transfer students will automatically pursue the new degree, while current students have the option of switching, which Knupp said will boost their job prospects later.
“What we’re really focusing on is trying to graduate young IT professionals, students that can enter the marketplace and Day 1 be influential and effective in their entry-level position,” he said. As with the existing technology concentrations, internships — many of which lead to full-time positions — will be required for the new program.
The launch comes as Maine’s Center for Workforce Research and Information projects an 8.8% employment increase in computer and math-related fields between 2014 and 2024 – second only to healthcare.
Anecdotally, Knupp said he sees “nearly 100%” of Husson’s IT majors landing jobs within six months of graduating.
“There are more jobs in the IT field than there are qualified candidates,” he said. “Students that are geographically flexible and have solid technical skills and above average social and written skills are hirable yesterday.”
