<p>I'm wondering what the impact of closing the Computer Science department has been on Tulane as a whole. Computing is woven into the fabric of many engineering and science fields and at many schools, CS faculty frequently participate in interdisciplinary research collaborations. CS departments typically offer service courses to students in other majors who need to learn programming skills. Thus a CS department is a valuable resource to a university that goes beyond just offering a major in that field to undergrads. What is Tulane doing to compensate? What options do students have for programming and more advanced CS courses such as algorithms and data structures? </p>
<p>(I asked this as one of the on-line chats a couple of weeks ago and it wasn't answered.) </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Those are great questions motherbear. I did send an e-mail to Dean Altiero asking a somewhat different question, but part of his answer does pertain to some of what you ask. See this thread, and post #9 specifically talks about what he said. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tulane-university/844178-computer-science.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/tulane-university/844178-computer-science.html</a></p>
<p>I think the gist of it is that there are significant computer science resources at Tulane, it just is not a major. Instead, the work is intertwined with other majors on a more applications oriented approach. This would apply to fields like finance, health, obviously the sciences, and many other areas. Also it would be worth looking at what Loyola next door offers, because if there were a course like the one you mention and they offered it and Tulane didn’t, you can take that at Loyola. I have no idea about that course, but one can certainly ask.</p>
<p>Still, I would not hesitate at all to e-mail Dean Altiero with your specific questions. He is extremely nice and very responsive. If you do, it would be great if you told us what he says. This area of questions comes up a lot.</p>
<p>My son attended Loyola this summer as part of an enrichment program. As part of his research, he did learn Matlab and enjoyed it very much. I asked if there was indeed a computer science major at Loyola, and there was not. University of New Orleans has a very good computer science program, and students there intern at the UNO Technology Center located on campus, which houses many government offices and their contractors, including Lockheed, Northrup and the like. They offer programming courses during the summer, should your child decide to stay in New Orleans for the summer and perhaps pick up one of those courses. They are offered at night, so he/she could work during the day. I would of course check with Tulane if they would accept the credits, but it is a fairly inexpensive college and may be worth taking the courses if one had a job in New Orleans for the summer. UNO is very far from Tulane, though. Public transportation does run there, but it would involve lots of transfers and may not be doable. If your child has a car, no problem. They will have to acquire a permit to park at UNO.</p>
<p>I sent Dean Altiero an email. Thanks for the suggestion.</p>
<p>Dear Dean Altiero:</p>
<p>My son has been admitted to Tulane for next fall and is seriously considering attending. We are planning to visit during the Honors Weekend in April.</p>
<p>Although he is not currently interested in studying computer science, one of my concerns about Tulane is the impact of closing the Computer Science department on the university as a whole.</p>
<p>Computing technology permeates our society and computer science is woven into the fabric of most engineering and science fields. At many schools, CS faculty frequently participate in interdisciplinary research collaborations and CS departments typically offer service courses to students in other majors who need to learn programming skills. Thus a CS department is a valuable resource to a university that goes far beyond just offering a major in that field to undergrads. What is Tulane doing to compensate for this loss? What options do students have for programming and more advanced CS courses? </p>
<p>I am aware of the 4+1 program in Computational Science, but that is not Computer Science. </p>
<p>I asked about this on one of the Tulane on-line chats a couple of weeks ago and it wasn’t answered. I also asked about it on the Tulane forum at CollegeConfidential.com and another poster suggested contacting you. With your permission, I’d like to post your reply there.</p>
<p>Thank you and best regards,</p>
<p>I apologize for taking so long to respond but, between travel and a nasty virus, I have fallen a bit behind. Below is my response to your question. Please feel free to post it as you wish.</p>
<p>You are certainly correct that computing is woven into the fabric of every discipline in the sciences and engineering. And that is certainly the case at Tulane. A perusal of the areas of expertise of the faculty in the Tulane School of Science and Engineering ([Tulane</a> University - Faculty of the Biomedical Engineering Department](<a href=“http://tulane.edu/sse/faculty/departments/faculty-biomed.cfm]Tulane”>http://tulane.edu/sse/faculty/departments/faculty-biomed.cfm)) reveals that a significant number of them are engaged in computing-intensive scholarship and they have brought this expertise to the classroom in many of the course offerings available to our students. While we do not currently have a BS degree program in Computer Science, per se, we certainly have a computing intensive environment at Tulane. With respect to engineering, just this past year we had our accreditation renewal visit from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) and the visiting team found no weaknesses or deficiencies in our ABET accredited engineering programs.</p>
<p>Having said that, I currently have a task force in place that is looking into the establishment of a formal computer science program at Tulane. This task force is made up of faculty, members of the School of Science and Engineering Board of Advisors, and other outside consultants. I anticipate that we will start with a coordinate major, i.e. a computer science module that would be coordinated with a primary major in another discipline, and evolve to a full blown BS degree in computer science. At this point, I do not know the exact timetable for implementation but we are hopeful that we can get programs in place over the next two to three years.</p>
<p>Best,
Nick Altiero
Dean of Science and Engineering
Tulane University</p>
<p>So what do you think, motherbear?</p>
<p>Well, it was nice of him to reply but …</p>
<p>While it’s possible I’m not searching properly, I didn’t find much in the catalog and many of the courses they do have are continuing education courses at another campus. Seeing courses like “Object-oriented Programming thru Video Games”, which sounds cool but is taught by someone who has a PhD in Spanish syntax, is not very reassuring. I’m sure the engineering departments have the necessary basics covered for their students, but computer science is important in many fields. Cognitive science programs, for example, are very interdisciplinary and usually have people from linguistics, philosophy, psychology, and computer science involved. Tulane’s program has the first three covered with faculty in that area, but the computer science aspects seem to be handled by the linguist. </p>
<p>Definitely not a strong point for Tulane, IMO.</p>
<p>Can’t argue with you on that. I hope Dean Altiero is getting enough ammo based on the interest levels expressed that he can convince the university to upgrade this area quickly. Of all the areas they reduced or eliminated after Katrina, this is the one I hear the most about.</p>