Networking Specialist, AAS

NS13

Program Description

The Networking Specialist program is a sequence of courses designed to provide students with an understanding of the concepts, principles, and techniques required in computer information processing. Graduates are to be competent in the general areas of language arts or communication, humanities or fine arts, social or behavioral sciences, and natural sciences or mathematics, as well as in the technical areas of computer terminology and concepts, program design and development, and computer networking. Program graduates are qualified for employment as networking specialists.

View the Networking Specialist AAS Program Fact Sheet for additional information.

Students who choose CIST 2461 and CIST 2463 as electives could also complete the Data Center Specialist certificate.

Employment Opportunities

Networking specialists

Curriculum

Essential General Education Core Courses (15 Credits)

Area I - Language Arts/Communication

(Successful completion of ENGL 1101 is required)

COMM 1100 - Human Communication Credit hours: 3
ENGL 1101 - Composition and Rhetoric Credit hours: 3
ENGL 1102 - Literature and Composition Credit hours: 3
SPCH 1101 - Public Speaking Credit hours: 3

Area II - Social/Behavioral Sciences

(Choose ONE of the following)

ECON 1101 - Principles of Economics Credit hours: 3
ECON 2105 - Principles of Macroeconomics Credit hours: 3
ECON 2106 - Principles of Microeconomics Credit hours: 3
HIST 1111 - World History I Credit hours: 3
HIST 1112 - World History II Credit hours: 3
HIST 2111 - U. S. History I Credit hours: 3
HIST 2112 - U. S. History II Credit hours: 3
POLS 1101 - American Government Credit hours: 3
POLS 2401 - Global Issues Credit hours: 3
PSYC 1101 - Introductory Psychology Credit hours: 3
SOCI 1101 - Introduction to Sociology Credit hours: 3

Area III - Natural Sciences/Mathematics

(Successful completion of MATH 1111 or MATH 1103 is required)

MATH 1111 - College Algebra Credit hours: 3
MATH 1103 - Quantitative Skills and Reasoning Credit hours: 3

Area IV - Humanities/Fine Arts

(Choose ONE of the following)

ARTS 1101 - Art Appreciation Credit hours: 3
ENGL 2110 - World Literature Credit hours: 3
ENGL 2130 - American Literature Credit hours: 3
HUMN 1101 - Introduction to Humanities Credit hours: 3
MUSC 1101 - Music Appreciation Credit hours: 3
RELG 1101 - World Religions Credit hours: 3

General Education Elective:

To meet the minimum required 15 semester credit hours in general education courses, an additional 3 semester credit hours must be taken from Area I, Area II, Area III, or Area IV. Students can view the complete list of classes here .

Essential Technical Courses (34 Credits)

FYES 1000 - First Year Experience Credit hours: 2
CIST 1001 - Computer Concepts Credit hours: 4
CIST 1122 - Hardware Installation and Maintenance Credit hours: 4
CIST 1401 - Computer Networking Fundamentals Credit hours: 4
CIST 1130 - Operating Systems Concepts Credit hours: 3
CIST 1601 - Information Security Fundamentals Credit hours: 3
CIST 1220 - Structured Query Language (SQL) Credit hours: 4
CIST XXXX - Elective(s) Credit hours: 10

Concentrations

And completion of ONE of the following concentrations (16 hours)

Microsoft Concentration (16 Credits)

8M13

CIST 2411 - Microsoft Client Credit hours: 4
CIST 2412 - Microsoft Server Directory Services Credit hours: 4
CIST 2413 - Microsoft Server Infrastructure Credit hours: 4
CIST 2414 - Microsoft Server Administrator Credit hours: 4

Unix/Linux Concentration (16 Credits)

8L23

CIST 2431 - UNIX/Linux Introduction Credit hours: 4
CIST 2432 - UNIX/Linux Server Credit hours: 4
CIST 2433 - UNIX/Linux Advanced Server Credit hours: 4
CIST 2434 - UNIX/Linux Scripting Credit hours: 4

Cisco Exploration Concentration (16 Credits)

8C23

CIST 2451 - Introduction to Networks-Cisco Credit hours: 4
CIST 2452 - Cisco Switching, Routing & Wireless Essentials Credit hours: 4
CIST 2453 - Enterprise Networking, Security & Automation Credit hours: 4
CIST XXXX - Elective(s) Credit hours 4

Cloud Computing Concentration (16 Credits)

8CH3

CIST 2480 - AWS Cloud Foundations Credit hours: 4
CIST 2481 - AWS Cloud Architecting Credit hours: 4
CIST 2482 - AWS Cloud Developing Credit hours: 4
CIST XXXX - Elective(s): Credit hours 4

Total Hours: 65

Elective(s):

Any CIST course(s) not required for program completion

Suggested First Semester classes:

FYES 1000 - First Year Experience Credit hours: 2
CIST 1001 - Computer Concepts Credit hours: 4
CIST 1122 - Hardware Installation and Maintenance Credit hours: 4
ENGL 1101 - Composition and Rhetoric Credit hours: 3

Note:

Some courses may have additional prerequisites not listed in the curriculum. Please refer to individual course descriptions for further information. Discuss elective options with the program advisor.