Over the past few weeks, we've been comparing colleges and universities to see who has the most graduating candidates for in-demand fields. So far, we examined which colleges have the most healthcare and engineering candidates. This time, we're analyzing demand for IT jobs and which colleges or universities have the largest number of graduating IT candidates.

According to WANTED Analytics, about 787,870 IT jobs were posted online during March 2014, slightly down from the same time in 2013. On average, recruiting for these computer occupations is likely to be challenging, scoring a 77 on our Hiring Scale.Our Hiring Scale scores jobs on a scale of 1 - 99, with 99 denoting hardest-to-fill. One way for Recruiters to reduce hiring difficulty is to look for talent at colleges and universities with large graduating classes in computer programs. Based on our Graduate Supply Data, about 124,400 IT students graduated in 2013. A similar number is likely to complete programs and enter the workforce in 2014.

Graduating IT Candidate Supply by Program and Education Level

Most IT graduates completed coursework in Computer and Information Sciences and Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications. The majority of these graduates possess an Associate's or a Bachelor's degree, 11% have a Master's, and a small percentage have a Doctorate (.7%.) Where can you find these IT graduates? Below are the schools with the highest number of candidates in this field.

Colleges / Universities with the Largest IT Candidate Supply

Ivy Tech Community College and Devry University (Illinois) are among the 4 schools with the highest number of graduating IT candidates. The Bears (Ivy Tech) pulls ahead of Devry by 224 students. The Eagles (University of Phoenix, Online Campus) has a big lead over University of Maryland - University College, 5,765 students compared to 1,494, as well as the other schools.

If you haven't already done so, contact representatives at these schools to establish recruiting and internship programs.