Summary
A brief description of the focus of Fontys ICT's newest study programme, the Master Applied IT. For this study programme, the external visitation will take place in June 2022 as part of the Initial Accreditation Assessment (Toets Nieuwe Opleiding).

Fontys ICT's youngest, third study programme is the Master of Applied IT. Fontys ICT already offers an ICT program at the Associate degree (level 5) and bachelor level (6) and has added a master level (7) to its educational portfolio since February 2023.

Because of the international nature of this master's program, it was decided to use “IT” in the name instead of “ICT”. “IT” is the most commonly used term internationally. The Applied IT master’s degree programme is taught in English because it is the most common language in the Brainport region and in the IT sector.

The master was initiated in co-creation with the job market. Our partners in the Brainport region (Eindhoven) and Midpoint region (Tilburg) indicate a need for an innovative professional master. In addition, our students are increasingly requesting a professional master's degree that complements their BA program and allows them to both deepen and broaden their knowledge and skills.

In a nutshell, the distinction between the current ICT bachelor's degree and the future IT master's degree is as follows: A bachelor can solve a specific problem with IT tools. A master is able to abstract the problem with a strong focus on a generalisable solution. A master is expected not only to solve the specific problem, but also to be able to oversee a more abstract form of the problem, leading to a solution that can be applied in another context. To this end, Design Science Research will be used as a methodology.â.
The intended learning outcomes of the Master of Applied IT are based on the HBO-i domain description and the three-dimensional HBO-i model. In addition, we have formulated key-performance indicators for professional skills at the master's level.

Since the master's degree comprises only 60 EC and has a duration of 1 year (full-time) or 1.5 years (part-time), a careful intake and admission procedure is of utmost importance. For the time being, the number of students has therefore been limited. We aim to have a group of 25 students (full-time and part-time in total) per start date to ensure a quality and dedicated teaching staff. The ambition is to be able to increase that number quickly. The first cohorts will be monitored as closely as possible to improve the study programmes where necessary.

The curriculum structure, as shown in Figure 1, is relatively simple:

Figure 1
Educational structure Master Applied IT.

The Master of Applied IT will be offered for full-time and part-time students in the Fontys ICT InnovationLab, Strijp TQ.

For more information or questions, please contact Nico Kuijpers (Project Leader Programme Implementation - PLOU) or Michael Franssen (Manager Development).