New Online Master’s Degree Levels Up Information Technology Leadership Skills

2 min read
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The University of San Diego Online launches a new online graduate program for Information Technology (IT) professionals to level up their leadership skills.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The University of San Diego Online is launching the Master of Science in Information Technology Leadership (MS-ITL) online program, addressing the importance of leadership skills as a competitive advantage for aspiring Information Technology (IT) leaders. Students will build upon their technical expertise and upgrade their cross-functional collaboration for project success. Those interested can start as soon as this Spring.

Preparing students for careers in IT remains a significant unsolved problem for higher education. IT is a broad term that can be understood differently by different institutions, and almost all of those offering IT education do so with a technical rather than professional focus.

To address this problem, the University of San Diego has created an online master’s degree program in Information Technology Leadership (MS-ITL). This program serves students who already possess expertise in a technical specialty and aims to enhance their skills in critically analyzing complex systems, synthesizing information swiftly, and effectively communicating the business value of technical solutions to non-technical stakeholders.

The MS-ITL program is designed to prepare students working as DevOps and Site Reliability Engineers (SREs), database administrators and architects, and system and network administrators for leadership roles in information technology.

This flexible, 100% online program is open to anyone with a bachelor’s degree interested in pursuing a career in IT. It is a 30-unit program and concludes with a capstone project developing a proposal for a significant IT infrastructure initiative. Students wishing to apply for the Spring semester must submit their applications by December 1st. Classes begin January 9 and will take place over 20 months.

“One of the goals of our program is to show that there’s more than one way to advance your career as an IT professional,” says Dr. Paul Evans, the Academic Director of the program. “There’s a wider range of opportunities than most IT professionals are aware of, and the MS-ITL program provides them with the knowledge, adaptability and confidence to tackle even the most challenging information technology systems. More importantly, they’ll know how to effectively communicate with others outside IT, earning trust and securing buy-in. This is why we define IT leadership as a position of ‘earned influence.’”

MS-ITL is part of the University of San Diego Online, which seeks to offer a robust portfolio of degree programs spanning the fields of business, education, language, technology, engineering, healthcare and more. USD is committed to providing the next generation of IT professionals with the skills and knowledge necessary for long-term success in a technically demanding field.

For more information on the MS-ITL program, visit our website itleadership.sandiego.edu


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