CS2013-final-report

Computer Science Across Campus
An argument can be made that computer science is becoming one of the core disciplines of a
21st century university education, that is, something that any educated individual must possess
some level of proficiency and understanding. This transcends its role as a tool and methodology
for research broadly across disciplines; it is likely that in the near future, at many universities,
every undergraduate student will take some instruction in computer science, in recognition of
computational thinking as being one of the fundamental skills desired of all graduates. There are
implications for institutional resources to support such a significant scaling up of the teaching
mission of computer science departments, particularly in terms of instructors and laboratories.
While CS2013 provides guidelines for undergraduate programs in computer science, we believe
it is important for departments to provide computing education across a broad range of subject
areas. To this end, computing departments may consider providing courses, especially at the
introductory level, which are accessible and attractive to students from many disciplines. This
also serves the dual purpose of attracting more students to the computing field who may not have
had an initial inclination otherwise.
More broadly, as computing becomes an essential tool in other disciplines, it benefits computer
science departments to be “outward facing,” building bridges to other departments and
curriculum areas, encouraging students to engage in multidisciplinary work, and promoting
programs that span computer science and other fields of study (for example, programs in
“Computational X,” where X represents other disciplines such as biology or economics).
Computer Science Minors
Further to positioning computer science as one of the core disciplines of the university,
departments may also consider providing minors in computer science. A minor should provide
flexible options for students to gain coherent knowledge of computer science beyond that
captured in one or two courses, yet encompass less than a full program. Indeed, the use of such
minors can provide yet another means to allow students majoring in other disciplines to gain a
solid foundation in computing for future work at the intersections of their fields.
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