Information Technology

Information technology programmes teach how to run the systems an organisation depends on — installing and integrating hardware and software, managing databases and cloud services, supporting users, and keeping it all available and secure. Where computer science asks how computation works, IT asks how to make working systems do what a business needs. It is the most widely taught computing programme in Florida.

The degrees this program covers

This is the broadest computing footprint in the state: 39 Florida public institutions and 3,375 credentials in the 2023 federal award year, at every level from a short certificate to a bachelor's degree. ⚠ That breadth is the point — IT is taught at state colleges and technical colleges as well as universities, so for most Florida students it is the computing programme that actually exists nearby. ⚠⚠ It is also the faster route to employment: an A.S. plus vendor certifications gets people working, and many employers treat demonstrated skill and certifications as equivalent to the degree. ⚠⚠⚠ The trade-off is worth stating plainly: an A.S. in information technology is a CAREER degree, and it does not always transfer into a university computer science bachelor's. If a bachelor's in computer science is the eventual goal, take the A.A. route and ask the receiving department in writing which of your courses count.

Careers this program leads to

Each one sets out the courses along the way, the licence or certification at the end, and the sources behind it.

Cybersecurity Analyst

Cybersecurity analysts defend an organisation's systems and data — hardening configurations, monitoring for intrusion, responding to incidents, testing defences by attacking them, and investigating breaches after the fact. ⚠ A median of $129,180 and 21% projected growth, the fastest of any computing path on this site. ⚠⚠⚠ And the thing nobody says in the advertising: this is NOT an entry-level field. The federal handbook is explicit that analysts typically arrive from systems administration, and a security credential with no operational experience behind it is the commonest disappointment in this job market. This page covers four related roles.

Database Administrator and Database Architect

⚠⚠⚠ One job title and two occupations, moving in opposite directions. Database ADMINISTRATORS earn a $104,620 median and are projected at 0% growth over 2025-35; database ARCHITECTS earn $139,500 and are projected at +9% — with FEWER people and MORE annual openings. ⚠⚠ And Florida has no undergraduate database degree at all: the dedicated code produces 62 credentials a year and 61 are one UWF master's. So the specialism is assembled from courses, under seven competing statewide numbers in three different colleges.

Network and Systems Administrator

Network and systems administrators build and run the infrastructure everything else sits on — switches, routers and wireless, servers and virtualisation, directory services, cloud platforms, backup and monitoring. ⚠ A median of $99,130, reachable from an associate degree, at 56 Florida institutions — the widest computing footprint in the state. ⚠⚠⚠ But read the outlook honestly: this occupation is projected to DECLINE, and so is the support work below it. The growth is in the two rungs above. This page covers the whole ladder and says where to aim.

Software Developer

Software developers design, build and maintain the systems everything else runs on. ⚠ A median of $135,980 nationally and $130,980 in Florida, on a bachelor's degree, and among the highest-paid on this site — above every two-year route and behind only computer hardware engineering. ⚠⚠ It is a CHOICE path: no single major owns it. Counted degrees show computing majors supplying under a third of working developers and ENGINEERING supplying nearly as many. ⚠⚠⚠ And it is the only career here you can enter with no degree at all — about one developer in five has none.

Systems Analyst and IT Manager

⚠⚠⚠ Computer and information systems managers earn $175,140 with 55,600 openings a year — and 26% of them report reaching it with SOME COLLEGE AND NO DEGREE, against 48% with a bachelor's and 14% with a master's. ⚠⚠ The rung below, computer systems analyst, is $105,850 across 521,100 jobs. This is the best-paid management occupation on the site and one of the most credential-loose.

UX Designer and Web Developer

⚠⚠⚠ Web and digital interface designers earn $104,000 against graphic designers' $62,960 — $41,040 for closely related skill pointed at screens rather than print, and BLS expects one to grow and the other to shrink. ⚠⚠ Florida awards 1,133 credentials in this CIP family and NOT ONE is a bachelor's, while BLS gives a bachelor's as the typical entry. The degree-holders came from somewhere else.

Careers that name this program, but not as a route

Accountant and CPA

⚠ Not a route to the licence, but increasingly part of the job — the clerical tier of accounting shrank because software absorbed it, and accounting information systems is where a growing share of the remaining work sits. ⚠⚠ An accounting degree plus real systems and data skills is a materially stronger position than either alone.

Programs similar to this one

Neighbouring fields that share much of the same coursework, and often the same employers. ⚠ Read these before you commit to a major — which doors a neighbouring degree keeps open is the part no catalog tells you, and it is far cheaper to change now than later.

Cybersecurity 35 Florida schools

⚠ The most common specialisation out of IT, and 20 of the 35 institutions teaching security also teach IT — so at most colleges the two share a first year. ⚠⚠ Security is not an entry-level field despite how it is marketed: employers overwhelmingly want people who have already administered systems, which is what an IT degree gives you. Read the security programme, then decide whether to specialise now or work first.

Networking and Systems Administration 56 Florida schools

⚠ The closest sibling, and 25 institutions teach both. Networking is the infrastructure half of what IT covers more broadly — if routers, switches and connectivity are the part that interests you, the dedicated programme goes deeper and is available at 56 institutions including many technical colleges. ⚠⚠ If you are unsure, IT is the wider door and networking is a specialisation inside it.

Computer Science 16 Florida schools

⚠⚠ The distinction that matters most and is least obvious from the names. Computer science is about how computation WORKS — algorithms, theory, building systems from scratch. Information technology is about running and integrating systems that exist. ⚠ IT is far more widely taught in Florida (39 public institutions against 16) and is the faster route to a job; computer science is the one most software-developer job adverts name and the one that transfers into graduate study.

Database and Data Management 5 Florida schools

⚠ The widest route by far — 39 Florida institutions — and the one the Oracle and SQL Server certificate tier attaches to. ⚠⚠ It is the fastest way into a database job and the slowest way to the architect half: BLS projects database ADMINISTRATORS at 0% growth over 2025-35 and architects at +9%. Enter here, but aim past it.

Accounting 50 Florida schools

⚠ Worth naming because accounting information systems is where a growing share of the work now sits, and the clerical tier is shrinking precisely because software absorbed it. ⚠⚠ An accounting degree with real systems and data skills is a materially different proposition from one without — several Florida programmes now carry an accounting information systems course, and it is the one to take.

Management Information Systems 13 Florida schools

⚠⚠ The nearer neighbour on the operational side, and much more widely taught — 39 Florida institutions against this programme's 13. ⚠ IT is the infrastructure and support route; MIS is the analysis and management one. If you want to run systems, look there; if you want to specify them, look here.

Web and Interactive Design 34 Florida schools

⚠⚠ The nearest operational neighbour and much more widely taught — 39 Florida institutions. Many of the same CTS clock-hour courses appear in both, and the technical colleges that teach web design teach networking and support alongside it.

Florida public institutions offering this program

39 institutions awarded a credential in this field in 2023, at these levels: Associate, Bachelor's, Certificate (<12 weeks), Certificate (1-2 years), Certificate (12 weeks-1 year), Doctorate (research/scholarship), Master's, Post-master's certificate. A school appears here if it awards anything in the field, however limited its offering — a technical college teaching only practical nursing has a nursing program. Listed alphabetically, not ranked.

Atlantic Technical College

Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Broward College

Associate · Bachelor's · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Chipola College

Associate · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

College of Central Florida

Associate · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Daytona State College

Associate · Bachelor's · Certificate (<12 weeks) · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Eastern Florida State College

Associate · Bachelor's · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Emerald Coast Technical College

Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

Bachelor's

Florida Atlantic University

Certificate (12 weeks-1 year) · Master's

Florida Gateway College

Associate

Florida Gulf Coast University

Bachelor's

Florida International University

Bachelor's · Master's

Florida Panhandle Technical College

Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Florida SouthWestern State College

Bachelor's · Certificate (1-2 years) · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Florida State College at Jacksonville

Associate · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Florida State University

Bachelor's · Doctorate (research/scholarship) · Master's · Post-master's certificate

Hillsborough Community College

Associate · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Indian River State College

Associate · Bachelor's · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Lake-Sumter State College

Associate · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Miami Dade College

Associate · Bachelor's · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

New College of Florida

Master's

Northwest Florida State College

Associate · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Palm Beach State College

Associate · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Pasco-Hernando State College

Certificate (1-2 years) · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Pensacola State College

Associate

Polk State College

Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Saint Johns River State College

Associate · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Santa Fe College

Associate · Bachelor's · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Seminole State College of Florida

Associate · Bachelor's · Certificate (1-2 years) · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

St Petersburg College

Associate · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

State College of Florida-Manatee-Sarasota

Associate · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Tallahassee Community College

Associate

University of Central Florida

Bachelor's

University of Florida

Doctorate (research/scholarship)

University of North Florida

Bachelor's

University of South Florida

Bachelor's · Master's

University of West Florida

Bachelor's · Master's

Valencia College

Associate · Bachelor's · Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Withlacoochee Technical College

Certificate (12 weeks-1 year)

Source: federal IPEDS completions data for 2023, first majors only — the most recent year published. ⚠ It records what was awarded, which is strong evidence of what is offered, but a program launched since 2023 will not appear here. Check the institution’s own catalog before applying.

Updated 21 September 2026. ⚠ Program pages describe a field of study, not one school’s degree — always read the catalog of the institution you are applying to.