W&M new computer and data science school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The William and Mary board of visitors just voted to establish a new school with the computer, data, applied sciences and physics departments.

https://news.wm.edu/2023/11/17/alma-mater-of-innovation-proposed-new-school-positions-wm-as-a-leader-in-the-evolution-of-liberal-arts-and-sciences/

Will be curious to see what effect this will have on interest/applications with CS extremely difficult to get into at Tech/UVA/UMD

This never ceases to baffle me. As long as I can remember, which is a long time and spans a few countries, you hear about this massive lack of people with computer / math / engineering skills. Then, if anyone wants to acquire such skills - nope! It's really selective! Well, all those screaming about China's 300 million engineers / STEM is so much fun! / we're falling behind!!!! - let those who want to do it, do it.

No one will teach it because you make so much more in the industry than you ever will in academia. We need tech companies to start endowing chairs to get people to teach CS.

Actual computer science is highly theoretical and more like graduate math than like what you do in industry. I'm a programmer, love what I do, and I would absolutely hate to have to do academic computer science.

[Anonymous]

yeah, and if your kid lives and breathes it already, prepare an impressive project portfolio for palantir instead

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Great. Now another LAC has become a trade school. It’s the poor people fault. Get out of our colleges you proles!!

W&M has had CS for 60 years. This is an evolution.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At WM, I would have included Statistics, but not included Physics.

UVa's Data Science is odd by excluding CS. UVa should have moved CS there and out of both Engineering and A&S.

My guess is that colleges haven't quite figured it all out and that adjustments will come later.

I thought UVA should have tried to co-locate CS and Data Science. They are a long way apart physically. It seems to me to they would want to foster interdisciplinary discussions and work. But I'm sure they had their their reasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great. Now another LAC has become a trade school. It’s the poor people fault. Get out of our colleges you proles!!

W&M has had CS for 60 years. This is an evolution.

CS is a liberal art. Software engineering and data analytics are too applied.


Science (liberal art) = building to learn. Engineering (trade) = learning to build.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At W&M, what major/college would be good for a student strong in math and statistics but not interested or experienced in CS? Econ or something in the data science school?

My son is there and is majoring in Data Analytics in the Business School

As one of the other posts suggested - consider a different and more pertinent major like accounting.

Data Science 'major' just covers some SQL, Python and Stats - basic stuff that 99% Of W&M grads know and something that the student can learn on their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At W&M, what major/college would be good for a student strong in math and statistics but not interested or experienced in CS? Econ or something in the data science school?

My son is there and is majoring in Data Analytics in the Business School

As one of the other posts suggested - consider a different and more pertinent major like accounting.

Data Science 'major' just covers some SQL, Python and Stats - basic stuff that 99% Of W&M grads know and something that the student can learn on their own.

SQL is something 99% of graduates know? Who knew?

-database devleoper

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The William and Mary board of visitors just voted to establish a new school with the computer, data, applied sciences and physics departments.

https://news.wm.edu/2023/11/17/alma-mater-of-innovation-proposed-new-school-positions-wm-as-a-leader-in-the-evolution-of-liberal-arts-and-sciences/

Will be curious to see what effect this will have on interest/applications with CS extremely difficult to get into at Tech/UVA/UMD

This never ceases to baffle me. As long as I can remember, which is a long time and spans a few countries, you hear about this massive lack of people with computer / math / engineering skills. Then, if anyone wants to acquire such skills - nope! It's really selective! Well, all those screaming about China's 300 million engineers / STEM is so much fun! / we're falling behind!!!! - let those who want to do it, do it.

No one will teach it because you make so much more in the industry than you ever will in academia. We need tech companies to start endowing chairs to get people to teach CS.

Haha, I wish! I’m a CS postdoc and trust me, competition for academic positions is heavy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At WM, I would have included Statistics, but not included Physics.

UVa's Data Science is odd by excluding CS. UVa should have moved CS there and out of both Engineering and A&S.

My guess is that colleges haven't quite figured it all out and that adjustments will come later.

Statistics is part of the math department so they can't move just that. Physics and CS want to partner on further engineering-lite majors

It does seem odd to me to break off a separate school and pull just Physics out of Arts & Sciences. I think VT's approach makes more sense -- the major is in College of Science as a major combining Math/Stats + CS from the Engineering school. Most of the tracks within the major incorporate other majors in the College of Science -- biology, physics, economics, geosciences.

Physics voted to join the new school - it was originally CS, DS, and Applied Sciences, but I think because physics is so much more research heavy than the remainder of CAS and because it partners with Applied Sciences on an Engineering & Design major they wanted to be with the others.

Plus a wide majority of physics students need computational skills. Astro is basically a degree in machine learning, data science, and occasionally collaboration with engineering.