computer science major at liberal arts college
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
Used to? Not any more? Wonder why... |
Anonymous
They still do so to a less extend, but they also import lot of people from India. |
Anonymous
|
Expand your search to include more liberal arts college. Carleton is an example. The faculty is twice what is described above and there seem to be a lot of courses offered. I do not work in the field and can’t speak to the quality. But at a minimum there seems to be more investment in that discipline. https://www.carleton.edu/computer-science/faculty/
Finally some colleges produce outcomes reports that show what industry graduates with X major are working in 5 years later. Your student should ask for a copy or link to one, assuming it exists. |
Anonymous
Will you tell us which LAC your daughter attended? Thank you! |
Anonymous
| For me the appeal of a LAC is for humanities courses where small class discussions are beneficial. In my experience, this isn't as much of a need in STEM courses, so no need for a LAC to study STEM. There are STEM oriented small schools, e.g. Harvey Mudd. OP you might expand your search to mid-size uni's or smaller state schools if the huge ones seem overwhelming for your DC. |
Anonymous
LACs tend to produce a disproportionate number of STEM PhDs, though. It could be because LAC students may get to work closer with professors. Regarding computer science, there are many more positions than there are students. This is why the U.S. is so heavily dependent on India for developers. I work in software product management and my impression is computer science majors often transition into the business side for career advancement. Being well-rounded can help in this transition. |
Anonymous
So, a while ago, I started a thread on the percentage of STEM graduates at various elite schools. Much to my shock--not really--i found that my alma mater Carleton had nearly the highest % STEM (even without an engineering program) except for specialized STEM elites like MIT, Mudd, and Caltech. This seems to be more of a Midwest LAC phenomenon than nationwide. Sorry, but I don't think PP knows what he/she is talking about.. |
Anonymous
What a shame. Lots of good college graduates seeking work here. |
Anonymous
Question is what do they go on to do. An academic told me they know relatively few practicing academics in their field with LAC undergrad degrees. Not sure why that is. |
Anonymous
Foreign workers are cheaper and don't act entitled. And more skilled. |
Anonymous
For Carleton (NP, parent of a current student) you can get a sense from this page and reports. The visualization linked to from here is pretty interesting. https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/ira/outcomes/ Most people don’t wind up in or pursue a life in academia. There just aren’t enough positions compared to the private sector. |
Anonymous
I would rather not "out" her, but it's one of the Ohio LACs. Ohio Wesleyan, Oberlin, and Denison both have good computer science departments. Swarthmore does as well. |
Anonymous
| *Ohio Wesleyan, Oberlin, and Denison *all* have good CS departments. |
Anonymous
|
The NCES "College Navigator" can show you how many students at a given college are majoring in CS.
Look at "Programs/Majors". https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=202523#programs Carleton had 56 CS majors in the 2018 graduating class: a very large amount for a LAC, at least compared to East Coast and Southern ones I had looked at previously. https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Carleton&s=all&id=173258#programs Swarthmore had 54 CS majors, also very high for a LAC. https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Swarthmore&s=all&id=216287#programs Williams had 45 majors https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=williams&s=all&id=168342#programs Grinnell had 37 CS majors https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=grinnell&s=all&id=153384#programs Colgate had 36 CS majors https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=colgate&s=all&id=190099#programs Middlebury had 30 CS majors https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=middlebury&s=all&id=230959#programs Bowdoin had 29 CS majors https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=bowdoin&s=all&id=161004#programs Barnard had 19 CS majors https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=barnard&s=all&id=189097#programs Denison had 17 CS majors https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=denison&s=all&id=202523 Oberlin had 17 https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=oberlin&s=all&id=204501#programs Colby had 11 CS majors https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=colby&s=all&id=161086#programs Goucher had 5 https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=goucher&s=all&id=162654#programs Pitzer had 3 https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=pitzer&s=all&id=121257#programs Ohio Wesleyan had 3 https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=ohio+wesleyan&s=all&id=204909#programs Davidson had 1 CS major, so unless I knew otherwise (perhaps that there were a ton of CS minors, or that some CS majors were classified as engineering or math in their stats), I wouldn't send a student there as a prospective CS major. https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Davidson&s=all&id=198385#programs Kenyon lists Scientific Computing as a major, but doesn't list any grads with that major in NCES, so I'd ask questions. https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=kenyon&s=all&id=203535#programs My student is at a medium-sized school majoring in something where there are only 9 other majors a year, but it's not a large major at any college (or it's folded into a related STEM department), there are plenty of upper-level courses offered, and a good number of students minoring in it. So I'm not concerned about his access to classes or resources. But for CS at a LAC, I might rule out any LAC with just a few CS majors, and check into those with 10-15 and up, with a focus on if all the courses are offered every year, if all the courses your student might want to take are currently offered, and whether students have difficulty getting into upper-level classes. For the schools with 25-30 and up, same thing, and compare to the ones with 10-15 and up. Look at post #26 in this College Confidential thread (a few years old) to see what to look for in LAC CS departments, to see if they have classes in specific areas: https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/math-computer-science-majors/1814245-computer-science-at-some-smaller-schools-including-liberal-arts-colleges.html |
Anonymous
This is like asking how I can get a nice burger from a fine French restaurant. Why do you go ask for something you know they are not best at making? |