The University of Massachusetts at Amherst is aiming to build a next generation workforce that is tech-savvy and better able to collaborate with IT pros to use technology in innovative ways. The university offers IT as a minor to students outside of the computer science and engineering field and in the last two years, has seen 85 new students per year take IT classes as part of their major programs.

UMass Amherst says the program is attracting students who may not be exposed to the workings of IT otherwise. The program can be taken in combination with any of the 81 undergraduate majors programs at the university. Since 2002, students taking the IT minor have come from 48 of these 81 majors. The program is also attracting women wanting to learn IT: while the computer science majors have an intake of 10% female students, 40% of students enrolled in IT minor are women.

The program offers three networking courses. A recent example of a student taking such courses is a dual finance and economic major who is interested in computer and network security issues, say university officials.

Some computer science majors are also taking the IT minor program as a way to complement the traditional major with its heavy focus on programming, with learning about issues such as the broader impact of IT in a business, or a specific application, such as bioformatics or multimedia.

In addition to the IT as a minor program, the university runs a Linux Lab, which is maintained by IBM and is open to all students across campus, not specifically the computer science students. The 20-seat lab provides support for technical classes and course work projects as students are encouraged to develop applications, such as wikis at the lab. Some students have become Linux experts and are able to offer Linux expertise to faculty and peers, with some being recruited by IBM upon graduation, according to the company.

Students of the IT minor program take a range of IT classes that discuss everything from basic computer literacy, to introduction to programming, storage and retrieval, to the legal and ethical implications of technology.

Interestingly, the technology classes are given by faculty members of the students’ major programs, rather than by computer science tutors, so that students learn about technology as it fits into their chosen fields. For example, Professor Charlie Schweik from the School of Natural Resources and Environment integrated open source GIS programs into his curriculum to help students better prepare for careers in forestry, he says.

Jon Brodkin is senior writer at Network World.