The Information Technology Leadership major at Washington & Jefferson College draws on a number of different academic disciplines. The ITL major has significant overlap with a traditional IT major, but there are also significant departures from most IT programs. These departures and additions encourage students to approach their study of technology from a liberal arts perspective, focusing on the core principles and interdisciplinary connections of the field rather than specific pre-professional training.

The Association of Computing Machinery describes the field of Information Technology as "focus[ing] on meeting the needs of users within an organizational and societal context through the selection, creation, application, integration and administration of computing technologies" and sets a primary aim of IT programs as "provid[ing] IT graduates with the skills and knowledge to take on appropriate professional positions in Information Technology upon graduation and grow into leadership positions or pursue research or graduate studies in the field." In contrast, the ITL program has been designed to avoid presuming a particular career path or post-graduate goal for majors in the program. With the growing integration of technology into every field of endeavor, we work within W&J's liberal arts curriculum to produce graduates who can understand the use and impact of technology across society.

These slightly different perspectives lead to differences in the core curriculum of the ITL program and a traditional IT major. The following table contrasts the required topics within the ACM's model curriculum with our curricula at W&J:

Instead of requiring extensive coursework geared towards professional training or certification, majors in ITL select an emphasis within the program around which to organize their upper level courses. These emphases include strong interdisciplinary connections to the broader W&J curriculum, encouraging students to connect their work within the major to their other academic experiences.

For information about the specific requirements of the ITL program, see "ITL as a Liberal Art".