Several accredited online schools offer degree or certificate programs in information technology, including Kaplan, University of Phoenix, ITT Tech, and component programs with many major universities. These programs offer working students the opportunity to begin or continue an IT education on a more flexible schedule from the home or office.
Payscale.com reports that certain schools graduate more working software developers than others. These schools, in descending order, are: Harvey Mudd College, Full Sail University, California Institute of Technology, New Mexico Tech, SUNY Institute of Technology, MIT, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Case Western Reserve University, Carnegie Mellon, and Grinnell College.
The U.S. News and World Report annually publishes a list ranking graduate schools. In the 2010 rankings for computer science, four schools tied for first place: Carnegie Mellon, MIT, Stanford, and UC Berkeley. Following these schools, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Washington, Princeton, UT Austin, and Georgia Institute of Technology round out the top ten.
Beyond formal education, IT workers may be required to achieve certification in networking systems or other IT specializations. While this is not necessarily the case everywhere, advancement beyond baccalaureate and graduate degrees often depends on the computer specialist's level of certification. According to NetworkWorld.com, the most advantageous certifications include VMWare, Microsoft Certified Technician rating, Cisco Certified Architect, CompTIA Strata Green IT, and ITIL v3 Foundations. These certifications can be achieved through their associated corporations.