Information Technology (B.S.)

  • Major, Minor
  • 4-year, On Campus

What You’ll Learn

Students who pursue Information Technology as a major enjoy working with computer hardware, networks, security, and databases. The Information Technology program provides students with a broad foundation in the many areas within the field, and graduates go on to pursue careers as network administrators, computer security specialists, database administrators, and web programmers. Required coursework includes classes in networking, information security, database management, and computer support, along with several programming and scripting courses. A course in computer ethics grounds students in the societal implications of computing, while a required internship course provides them with valuable experience in the field. Elective coursework in cloud computing, computer forensics, and penetration testing allows students to mold the curriculum to suit their personal needs.

Why Study Information Technology at La Salle?

The Information Technology program at La Salle offers small class sizes with personalized attention from professors, a lab-based practical education, and a wide range of classes in programming, databases, and networking to allow students to determine their interests and gain hands-on experiences for successful careers in Computer Science and/or Information Technology. This program also offers a unique fifth year Master’s program option in Cybersecurity. Learn more.

Early Breadth Plus Flexibility

The curriculum for first-year technology students at La Salle offers two distinct advantages.

First, all technology students take a programming class, a networking class, and a database class during their first year. This gives students a broad view of computing at an early stage, before they progress into the upper-level courses.

Second, those three classes are common across our technology majors—Computer Science (B.A./B.S.), Information Technology (B.S.), and Cybersecurity (B.S.). As a result, students can change majors between these programs as late as first semester of their sophomore year without losing any progress at all toward graduation.

Curriculum, Courses and Requirements

Highlighted Courses

CSIT 422: Information Security

This course covers basic computer security concepts, terminology, and issues, including network security, OS security, Web and Database security and hardening, spoofing, scanning, sniffing, public-key infrastructure, certificates, cryptography, etc.

CSIT 423: Penetration Testing & Ethical Hacking

This course systematically covers the skills in penetration testing: the act of attempting to penetrate a computer system on behalf of the owners of the system for the purpose of discovering security vulnerabilities that can be exploited by the hacker. The topics of this course include reconnaissance, scanning, enumeration, vulnerability assessment, escalation, workflow of penetration testing, and legal aspects of ethical hacking.

Meet the Faculty

Dr. Yang Wang is a Professor at La Salle University and the Director of Graduate Programs in Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and Computer Information Science. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Georgia State University in 2012, where he received the Ph.D. Dissertation Grant Award. He taught as an instructor at Georgia State University between 2008 and 2012, and he was recognized with the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award. Before joining La Salle, he held several industry positions, including senior engineering roles (in networking and cloud computing) at Futurewei Technologies and Internap. Dr. Wang has authored about 60 peer-reviewed publications in areas including optical networking, network virtualization, cybersecurity, and pedagogy. His recent scholarly work focuses on generative AI in education and security, as well as AI-driven research on network optimization. He has secured many external/internal grants to support his teaching and research, including internal grants for undergraduate research, a CDRD grant for community-based research to develop a gamified/AI-infused youth mental health learning platform, and a recent STEM Education Grant from Triumph Foundation. He actively serves on technical committees for IEEE and ACM conferences, and he was twice recognized as an Exemplary Reviewer by the IEEE Communications Society. Dr. Wang also served as an NSF panelist, and he is an Associate Editor of Decision Analytics Journal and Editorial Board Member for Journal of Telecommunication and Information Technologies.

Yang Wang, Ph.D.

Career Opportunities

Alumni of the Information Technology program enter careers as:

  • Systems Engineers
  • Infrastructure Software Specialists
  • Support Specialists
  • Cloud Architects
  • Data Scientists
  • IT System Analysts
  • Cybersecurity Analysts
  • Data Analysts
  • Database Administrators

Employers of our graduates include Vanguard, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Deloitte, Bank of America, T. Rowe Price, and Capital One.

Nigist Legesse, ‘25

Nigist Legesse, ‘25, is pushing boundaries in technology while balancing academics, leadership, and work. 

Jonathan Snyder, ’08, is the recipient of the University’s 19th Annual IT Leadership Award.

The La Salle graduate is the recipient of the University’s 19th Annual IT Leadership Award.