Overview
The 24-credit IST Certificate is designed to prepare the student for a place in the Information Technology workplace with a 24-credit milestone of current technology courses. The eight-course sequence requirement is flexible, with a maximum of fifteen 100-level credits in courses with IST designations and a minimum of nine 200-level credits in courses with IST designations.
The eight-course sequence of the IST Certificate program provides some preparation for industry-recognized certifications such as the CompTIA A+, CompTIA Net+, Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA), FOA Certified Fiber Optic Technician (CFOT), FOA Fiber To The Premises (CFxT), the Microsoft Technology Associate, and EMC2 ISM.
Why Great Bay?
At GBCC’s IST courses students will find small classes with a maximum enrollment of 15 students. This class size is dictated by the Cisco course curriculum with equipment requirements per student. All courseware and reference material is provided online to all students.
Students may then choose to finish the Associate in Science Degree and further their education at a four-year college. Students who already have a degree may choose this Certificate to redirect their expanding networking skills and prepare them for the rapidly changing and ever-challenging world of Information Technology.
Highlight Statistic(s)
GBCC is well located to receive equipment donations from local companies and students benefit from the excess equipment brought to our labs for their use.
These connections with several local companies is also a resource for placing students in internships as well as career opportunities.
Career Options
Server Administrator | $84,810 |
Network Support Specialist | $71,010 |
Network Engineer | $89,460 |
Cyber Security Specialist | $103,590 |
Related Degrees
Accreditation Information
IST Faculty holds and maintains Cisco Instructor Certification.
Additional certifications are required for specific technology courses: FOA – Fiber Optics, VMware, CompTIA Computer A+, Linux and CyberSecurity Certifications.
Program Outcomes
Students will be able to:
• Design local area networks using multiple sub-networks
• Configure networking devices to forward traffic throughout a local area network
• Configure networking devices to connect to internet service provider network
• Configure and maintain personal computers in a networked environment
• Configure and maintain network servers
• Install and test physical layer infrastructure to include copper, fiber-optic, and wireless media
• Install and configure Windows workstations and servers
• Establish and maintain basic network security policies and procedures
• Configure and maintain advanced network security devices
• Configure and implement virtualization of the desktop and network
• Prepare for selected industry recognized certifications
