CS program accreditation?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Denver
1

<p>so i'm going to DU in the fall as a freshman, but i realized that the CS program doesn't appear to be ABET accredited (some of the other majors at ritchie school of engineering and computer science are) and i was wondering if anybody knows what accreditation the CS program has?</p>

<p>a friend of mine is in CS at a different school and i told her that i couldn't find what the accreditation was, and she expressed a lot of concern about that. i don't know much about what it means, but she thought it was pretty suspicious that the information wasn't readily available on the website, so i want to make sure the program is, like, legitimate, because i don't want to get a worthless degree here.</p>

<p>thank you!</p>

2

<p>I have read that ABET accreditation is less important in CS than in other engineering disciplines, since the field is not licensed. Many good CS schools are not ABET accredited (e.g., WUSTL; UW; CMU - recognized as one of the best CS schools in the country; there are many others). DU’s programs in Computer Engineering, MechE and EE are ABET accredited, but the CS program is not (AFAIK). I know many people with CS degrees from non-ABET-accredited programs who are doing just fine (my niece is finishing up one at UH Manoa next year, and she’s not worried - they, too, have ABET accreditation for their “hard” engineering programs, but not CS).</p>

<p>You could e-mail a prof at DU and ask if they know anything about a move to seek accreditation in CS, given the major changes and expansion of the Ritchie School that is going on. But I wouldn’t be upset if they say no.</p>

<p>BTW, I read that there are 170 new admits to the Ritchie School this year, up from 112 last year. My son is one of them, also.</p>

3

<p>Also, did you see this? Quoting from article in the DU Magazine:</p>

<p>"In 2002, with their naming donation to The Newman Center for the Performing Arts, Robert and Judi Newman engaged the heart of the University of Denver, bringing together DU student musicians and performers with the larger Denver community.</p>

<p>"Now, with their new gift to the ASCEND campaign — one that bolsters the computer science program — the Newmans are hoping to further engage the minds and talents of University of Denver students. Their generous gift helps fund the construction of the computer science floor in the new home of the Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science.</p>

<p>"Though well known as art lovers, the Newmans are just as passionate about computer science, having both worked in the field for many years. “We were both computer programmers and systems designers, as well as managers of various technical groups,” says Robert Newman, a DU trustee and co-founder of J.D. Edwards & Co., a large Denver software company that is now part of Oracle Corp. “Computer science has been good for us, and we have seen immense progress in the field during our careers,” he says.</p>

<p>"Their gift specifically will fund the department chair’s office, a visiting faculty suite, and 12 DU faculty offices on the new floor.</p>

<p>"“The computer science floor helps satisfy a critical need for more lab and facility space for the rapidly expanding department,” says Judi Newman. The Newmans will name the rooms after innovators in the field, “recognizing key contributors to the evolution of computing with a short biographical plaque at each office and study space.” The hope, the Newmans say, is that the biographies will motivate students — in the sense that they will have role models in their field of study.</p>

<p>“The Newmans say they admire DU’s hands-on, collaborative and interdisciplinary approach to engineering education and hope their gift helps the Ritchie School advance to a new level, establishing itself as a leader in some emerging area of information science.”</p>

<p>CS is up-and-coming at DU. Class of 2018 is going to ride the wave.</p>

4

<p>You should email the DU Computer Science Department Chair and/or the dean of the School of Engineering & Computer Science to get specific answers. I’'ve always found everyone at DU to be very helpful (son will be a sophomore in Sept. and majoring in Computer Science). Also check the department and school web pages at du.edu. Dean Keables gave a good presentation during last year’s Parent’s Orientation about the school.</p>

5

<p>sweetbeet, that is such an immense relief! thank you so much. i still sort of wish they were ABET-accredited because the society of women engineers only seems to associate with ABET-accredited programs, but hopefully there will be another way to get involved with them.</p>