IT Minor

This minor is available to all undergraduate students in every major across the campus, regardless of their primary field of study, and IT students bring a variety of strengths and perspectives to their studies.

Our approach is to encourage students to major in a field they are passionate about, and then supplement that with an IT Minor. The framework of the IT Minor ensures that students have technical training, understand the human dimensions of IT, and understand how IT impacts, or might impact, their fields. Within this framework, students can choose from a set of over 100 courses (and growing) the six courses that are most relevant to them.

Enrollment Form  •  FAQ  •  Careers  •  Declare Minor Completion

IT Minor Requirements

Enrollment

Enroll into the IT Minor with the form below.

IT Minor Enrollment Form

We encourage you to enroll as early as possible in order to help you plan your academic progress and ensure timely completion within the IT Minor.

 

Registration Issues

Courses limited to majors and/or it has prerequisites
If a course is limited to majors and/or it has prerequisites, minors may have difficulty registering for some courses via SPIRE. (This is caused, in part, because SPIRE doesn't track minors of any type.) As an IT Minor, you still have an opportunity to register for the course!

Make sure you are enrolled in the IT Minor (see above) and then contact the course instructor and/or the course department. Explain that you are an IT Minor and that you would like to take their class. Space permitting, the instructor may allow you to enroll in the class. It is the instructor's discretion to allow students into his/ her course. The instructor will want to make sure you are adequately prepared to take the course, but you may not have to take the listed prerequisites.

If an instructor or department would like to verify that you are an IT Minor student, please have them contact our office. Please see our Contact Page for details.

The departments below require Override Forms (please, indicate that you are an IT Minor):

Isenberg School of Management Course Override Form

College of Information and Computer Sciences Course Override Information

Courses

Requirements
Minimum required credits and courses are 6 courses (18 credits). If the Foundation course is waived, a minimum of 5 courses (15 credits) is required.

Categories

Courses for the IT Minor must be distributed across four categories:

  • Foundation (x1) - A comprehensive basis for IT
  • Technical (x2) - In-depth study of technical subject in programming, data management, or internet
  • Broadened Inquiry (x1) - IT in a broader context, such as public policy, historical, cultural, legal, or an area of theory and research
  • Elective (x2) - IT knowledge/skills applied to a specific field of study; may include extra technical or broadened inquiry courses

Our Course Catalog lists courses and their categories.

  • Extra Broadened Inquiry and Technical courses may be used as satisfying Elective Requirements.
  • Broadened Inquiry courses, unless noted in the IT Minor Course Catalog, can not be used as Technical Requirements.
  • Electives can not be used to satisfy Broadened Inquiry or Technical Requirements.
  • Foundation courses can not be used to satisfy any other category.
  • Please, see an advisor if any clarification is needed.

Other Requirements 

Double Dipping:  Courses applied to the IT Minor may also be counted toward the major or general education requirements. Although these courses may coincide with requirements for your specific field of study, please note:

  • At least two of the courses used to complete the IT Minor must be taken outside of your major.

  • No more than two courses used to fulfill the requirements of any one credential may be applied toward the fulfillment of another credential, wherein "credential" is defined as an academic program (major, minor, or certificate).

  • Per University regulation, a course may only be applied to two credentials.

  • Students who have taken OIM 210 can have their foundation requirement waived.

  • The above policy applies to all students who entered UMass Amherst in Fall 2017 and after.

Transferred Courses: Acceptance of Transfer Credit from another institution is not assured and must be pre-approved. A maximum of one transfer course is allowed. This can only be used to fulfill the Elective category of requirements and must have received a grade of B or better.

Grade Requirements: Students must have a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA for courses applied to the minor and may only count one grade below a C (2.0) toward the minor.

Grades

Accepting Grades

  1. Pass/ Fail will not be accepted.
  2. All of a student's IT Minor courses must be taken on a graded basis, and, for those courses, your cumulative GPA must be 2.0.

Foundation Waiver

The foundation course can only be waived for equivalent coursework or documented and valuated training. We have no way of evaluating learning you may have done on your own through work experience. If you believe that you can document equivalent learning, discuss this with the IT advisor. Any exemptions to Curriculum or Foundation waiver must be approved by the IT Program Director.

Contact Advisor

Practicum/ Internships

Pre-Approved Required

It is possible to count practicum, study abroad, or internship (minimum of 3 credits) as one, and only one, of your IT Minor Elective requirements.

This requires the prior approval of the IT Advisor.

You must demonstrate sufficient IT content in the experience.

Contact IT Advisor

Forms

IT Minor Enrollment
Enrollment Form

Completion of IT Minor
IT Minor Declaration of Completion of an Academic Minor Form

Download
IT Minor Course Tracking Form .xls

 

Completing Your Minor

In order to have the completed IT Minor appear on your transcript, fill out a Declaration of Completion Form during the semester in which you are taking the last courses for the minor, after the Add/Drop Period ends.

Note:  Requesting a review of a student's course requirements does not qualify as approval of a Declaration of Completion of an Academic Minor by the IT Program or its staff.

  1. Submit when all requirements have been completed, or during the final semester just prior to graduation.
  2. Submit web form or deliver completed hard copy form to our offices.  See Contact Page for location.
  3. IT Program Academic Advisor will review your submission.
  4. Once approved, the declaration form will be delivered to Registrars Office. Processing takes one to two weeks time once final grades are received.
  5. IT Minor will be added your transcript.
  6. Once a student graduates, courses may not be taken to complete the IT Minor per University policy.

 

Course Catalog

View our catalog and available courses

Course Catalog

Advising

Ben Conrick is the Academic Advisor for the IT Minor. In-person advising is available in our office at 350 Campus Center Way, and there are limited virtual appointments available as well.

 

E-mail: itadvisor@umass.edu

Contact Advisor

  • Advising will be by appointment. Click HERE to schedule an appointment via Navigate.