ITP to offer minor in mobile apps

Viterbi School of Engineering’s Information Technology Program announced Tuesday the addition of a mobile app development minor, with hopes to prepare students for the growing mobile app development industry.

Coded · The new Mobile App Development minor in the Information Technology Program will provide students with the skills to succeed in the mobile app industry, including in mobile game programming. — Ralf Cheung | Daily Trojan

The mobile app development minor comprises 20 units of classes within the information technology program. The topics range from mobile game programming to building high-tech startups.

Trina Gregory, a lecturer in the information technology program, said the department created the minor in order to attract students who are interested in designing and developing mobile apps, regardless of their major.

“We are hoping to attract students who want to develop mobile apps,” Gregory said. “This minor will complement many majors such as computer science, biomedical engineering, industrial systems engineering, communication, journalism, business and economics.”

Gregory said the industry has grown considerably in the past couple of years, and the minor includes ITP courses that help students gain knowledge about the mobile industry.

“I taught the first mobile app development course in spring 2009, [and] since then we have been developing and offering [more] courses,” Gregory said. “We hope to grow the minor and continue to add more classes to it.”

Additionally, Gregory said the new minor would be particularly lucrative for students looking to be employed in a variety of industries.

“It’s so exciting because it’s such a dynamic industry,” Gregory said. “It used to be that companies wanted web developers since every company had a website, and now companies want mobile apps. Companies in all types of industries need mobile app developers.”

Anjali Shah, a sophomore majoring in electrical engineering, said the new minor would provide broad skills appropriate for many specific markets.

“Speaking from a biomedical perspective, so much of healthcare is transitioning to using mobile apps to help people monitor their health,” Shah said. “This minor is incredibly applicable and applies to all disciplines because everything is becoming viral and mobile.”

Some students highlighted the career benefits of understanding this minor.

“The use of mobile phones is becoming a huge part of the world’s everyday life,” said Katie Murphy, a freshman majoring in electrical engineering. “In order to make yourself more marketable or a more knowledgeable person, it would really be a great idea to have a basic knowledge of mobile app design.”

Kariah Davis, a freshman majoring in electrical engineering who said she would consider taking courses in the minor, said the new minor would be advantageous for students because it appears in several aspects of a students’ daily life.

“I do think it is a good thing for students with the way that the world is going now,” Davis said. “There’s apps on my phone, Twitter and Facebook. Viterbi offering it is just going to further that realm of technology, so I think it’s great.”

Noah Zucker contributed to this report.