Specializing in Telecommunications: Networking Curricula of IS Programs in the United States

Preparation for employment in the telecommunications area is not a major emphasis in most information system (IS) programs. The curricula of most programs include only one or two courses related to telecommunications. As a result, most do not provide much preparation for employment in this area. There may be, however, increasing employment opportunities in this area that could be met by IS graduates. The current study investigates IS programs that allow students to develop their knowledge and skills in telecommunications. Not only is little known about the curricula of such programs, knowledge of their existence is relatively limited. The purpose of this study primarily is descriptive. A good place to start in understanding how networking curricula could be structured is to examine programs that are already in place. The specific telecommunications courses included in these programs and how they have been combined with more general IS courses provide examples that should be useful for understanding how IS programs can prepare students for working in the networking field. A survey was conducted by examining fourteen IS programs in the United States that allow students to specialize in telecommunications. Data describing the general IS and the networking courses in these programs were gathered. The results show that most networking specializations provided a broad IS education to some extent. That is, all programs were part of a comprehensive business program, and most of these also provided some preparation in typical IS courses such as Computer Programming, Database and Systems Analysis and Design along with some IS coursework beyond this. On average, the networking specializations required 5.21 IS courses outside of the telecommunications area. Coursework specific to the telecommunications field was also analyzed to determine which courses were typically included as requirements and / or electives. The results show that on average, the specializations required 4.86 courses in telecommunications; 3.29 of these were specifically required courses with the remainder allowing students to choose among telecommunication electives. The foundation course in Networking and Telecommunications was required in all but one of the programs. Beyond this, there was considerable variation in what courses were required and offered as electives. The curricula tended to stress developing competencies in technical areas with much less attention being paid to telecommunications management and policy issues.