Bachelor of Information Technology

The Bachelor of Information Technology program prepares graduates to be versatile professionals capable of integrating and optimizing systems to meet the specific needs of businesses and enterprises in our rapidly evolving technological landscape.” 

Instead of the current “BIT graduates are complementary to computer science graduates in that they will focus on systems integration, often using existing components as developed and fine-tuned by computer scientists. As such BIT graduates are particularly well positioned to take responsibility for the implementation and operation of enterprise systems.

What makes the Bachelors in Information Technology different?

The Bachelors in Information Technology addresses the gap between vocational-focused diploma programmes and broad-based degree programmes (Computer Science and Information Systems) related to the computing disciplines.

Thus, the Bachelors of Information Technology support the Nelson Mandela University mission to “offer a diverse range of quality educational opportunities”. Basing the qualification on the ACM/IEEE 2008 IT Curriculum ensures adherence to the Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment and Information Technology’s mission to offer “internationally recognized academic programmes”, whilst delivering graduates competent to implement, maintain and support enterprise systems.

What is unique about the BIT degree?

• Information Technology can be characterized as the most integrative of the computing disciplines, and the strength of the proposed curriculum therefore lies in its breadth: the IT graduate should be able to recognize any computing need, and know something about the possible solution. The proposed curriculum therefore covers a wide variety of computing-related topics. However, the proposed curriculum also recognize that computing does not happen in isolation and must consider the context. Learners therefore have a choice of application area to allow them to apply their IT skills within a specific user context.
• As these graduates can be seen as the first port of call for enterprise users for their computing needs, and may serve as an interface between users and other computing graduates such as computer scientists or software engineers, the proposed curriculum emphasizes communication skills and professional conduct as critical in this user advocacy process.
• The purpose of this programme is to develop Information Technology Professionals that can implement, maintain and support enterprise systems.
• Finally the proposed curriculum is characterized by a 30-credit capstone project in the final semester which will assess the graduates’ ability to integrate all of their gained knowledge in an effective way within the selected application area.

Application Areas

• Health Informatics
• Manufacturing
• Marine/Maritime

Admission Requirements

• Admission Points Score of 36.
• Minimum NSC requirements for degree entry must be met.
• English, Afrikaans or isiXhosa (home language or first additional language) on at least level 4 (50 - 59%).
• NSC achievement rating of at least 4 (50 - 59%) for Mathematics.
• Applicants with an Admissions Point Score between 30 and 35 may be referred to write the Access Assessment Test before a decision is made on whether or not to admit the applicant to the programme.

Re-admission to the programme in a following academic year is subject to:

• Candidates passing a minimum of 60 credits per academic year;
• Candidates passing specified, pre-requisite modules

Further Studies

• The qualification can lead to further studies towards a BIT (Hons) Information Technology offered at North Campus in Port Elizabeth. This qualification is currently designed and waiting for approval. One can then continue on to a Master of Information Technology (MIT) degree, which is followed by a PhD (Information Technology).

Careers

• Platform Engineer
• Application Specialist
• Systems Analyst
• Web Developer
• Software Developer
• End User Technology Advocate
• Systems Integrator
• Enterprise Architect