What exactly makes a liberal arts college different from a non-LAC? Also, would pursuing a major in computer science at a liberal arts college a good idea, or is that a question that is completely irrelevantt?
A liberal arts college is dedicated almost purely to undergraduate studies, so bachelors degrees and below.
As far as CS at an LAC goes, it depends on the college. There may be an LAC that’s strong in CS, but none that I’m aware of.
LACs are smaller schools that only have undergraduates. There are a number of LACs that would be excellent for computer science – a few I can think of offhand are Harvey Mudd, Lafayette College, Union College, Bucknell, URichmond and I’m sure there are tons more – just do some research online and try the supermatch to the left.
Liberal Arts Colleges tend to be smaller in overall size and with smaller class sizes. The faculty is more student oriented (as opposed to research oriented).
As for CS one of the best schools for any science or engineering in the nation, Harvey Mudd College, is a liberal arts college. (I’m sure others will chime in with other LACs with CS).
I think you can get lots more information by a simple google search. Here is one article on why an LAC:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/5-reasons-to-attend-a-liberal-arts-college/
And another that compares LACs to Universities:
http://www.wesstudentadvisor.org/2014/09/liberal-arts-versus-national-university.html
Just to clarify: Many LACs do offer some grad programs (the CDE and Art History programs at Williams, for example), but they generally do not offer undergrad majors in “pre-professional” disciplines or sub-specialties. In other words, at most LACs you won’t be able to major in “Poetry” but you’ll be able to major in “English Literature,” you won’t be able to major in “chemical engineering” but you’ll be able to major in “chemistry” (although the STEM LACs like Mudd do offer engineering, as does Swarthmore, somewhat uniquely).
LACs are typically very small and exclusively (or almost exclusively) undergrad. They support and exemplify the notion that undergrad is still an important time for general/broad education and that graduate school is the appropriate place for further specialization or career preparation.
With an exception or two it’s not a good idea. Success in CS studies requires: a critical number of core CS courses taught frequently, faculty deeply involved with state-of-the-art research or contemporary CS centric engineering projects, a critical number of students engaged and passionate in CS – this is essential for effective “staffing” of course related projects, and corporate interest and sponsorship of aspects of the CS program. Also critical is effective job placement – both for internships and permanent positions. With few exceptions leading software/hitech firms do not recruit at LACs. There is also a benefit to have CS graduate students around which typically is not the case at LACs.
The exceptions are a handful of small colleges that have a strong science/technology emphasis. Think Caltech, Harvey Mudd. But the culture at these colleges differs greatly from that at more traditional LACs
I think that there are some LACs that would provide excellent CS opportunities. I have a friend studying CS at Lafayette College and he has been very happy with the program and is working with a prof. on campus this summer. The OP would have to do some research but the schools in post #2 has some options. It boils down to finding the environment where the OP will feel comfortable and happy because that is where he/she is most likely to meet with success.
LACs frequently have smaller class sizes, and classes taught by profs instead of TAs. The flip side is that the classes you want/need can be difficult to get into sometimes.
midwestDad3 comments
I see this statement often on CC – regarding classes being taught by TAs. At least in the engineering, science and math sphere I’m not aware of any reputable university where this is the case. Are there examples of universities and courses where this is common?
Just a note: Mount Holyoke’s CS department is sponsored by Google, and at least 4 people from the school are interning at Google this summer.
@fogcity,
I haven’t heard of TA’s teaching an entire course, but they often teach discussion or lab sections and grade papers. At a LAC these duties are performed by a professor.
To see whether a LAC or any other school has a good CS department, take a look at the catalog and schedules to see what junior/senior level CS courses it offers and how frequently.
I picked a college at random and found this:
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/biology/careers/undergraduateteachingassistantutaprograminformation_ci
I’m certain that’s consistent across state flagships (and the TAs described are Undergrads…)
On the TA thing, people seem to use a shorthand to say that TAs teach when in fact, the model is that professors lecture and Ph.D candidates in the subject matter (a/k/a TAs) lead small discussion sections, typically of 15-25 students, to review the material, discuss the concepts, explore it in more detail. Those Ph.D. candidates typically grade the exams, papers, participation in discussion section etc., so the course grade comes from the TA rather than the professor who lectures. TAs are the ones who know the student’s work in a large lecture class.
While there are less than stellar TAs out there, anywhere, there are also superb ones. These are essentially young academics preparing to enter their field. They are energetic, excited to share the subject with students, and can be great role models and instructors. My kid at UW has had great TAs and perfectly fine TAs. There isn’t anything inherently wrong with that model of instruction, its just different from the LAC model which is a professor who leads course, and grades the student work. Sometimes, Ph.D. candidates who are close to completing their program may teach an upper level seminar course in their area of expertise, an opportunity to learn from an expert in the field.
^Yes I think that’s the standard arrangement I’ve seen, although the TA’s are usually graduate students. The prof. give the lectures but a TA runs the discussion session and/or lab.
The basic debate becomes whether it’s better to have access to the brightest lights in the field, often (but not always) found at a large research university, or a lesser light but with more access, often (but not always) found at a LAC. My undergraduate professors were experts in their fields and strong teachers who wanted to be in the classroom, but they were not the people everyone was quoting. My grad professors were the big names in the field but even as a master’s candidate I found access more limited. Most of the professors were too busy with their own research and doctoral students to have a lot of time for undergraduates and master’s students.
Profs at LACs usually have TA’s but they don’t teach. My work as a TA was more along the lines of retrieving books from the library or searching a work for references to a certain author. The TA’s I knew at my LAC didn’t correct student work unless it was the rare multiple choice quiz.
I go to Case Western Reserve University and they sometimes have a graduate student listed as the instructor for a course (as in, there’s no professor involved).
I was once the graduate coordinator for a major department at a HYPS school and was responsible for assigning TA’s. Some of the TA’s I worked with were amazing teachers. I learned more from one grad student from a series of casual conversations in my office than I retained from an entire semester’s course on the subject. Others were not good. One of the problems we had was that sometimes we’d get a new doctoral candidate from another country who did brilliant academic work but who couldn’t teach their way out of a paper bag. Sometimes it was a matter of basic personality-they were shy or lacked basic people skills or didn’t really understand the American system of undergraduate education, but more often it was a language issue, with the TA’s language skills just not what they needed to be to make the material clear. During my time at the university we had to pull a couple of TA’s after a rash of complaints. It was unfortunate because grad students, particularly international students, are often dependent on their teaching stipends to pay living expenses.
What types of courses? Seems like such courses as beginner foreign language courses would be the most likely candidates (not really suitable for a large lecture format, but enrollment too large for a typically sized department to have faculty teach every section and still have enough capacity to teach advanced courses and do research).
I’ve noticed it happening for lower-level math classes (e.g., linear algebra).
Finding an excellent CS program at a LAC will not be an extreme challenge. A good CS program, either at LAC or a university, will offer these classes or similiar versions:
An introductory course
Data Structures
Applied Theory
Principles of Programming
Computer Organization
Compilers
Computer Architecture
Algorithms
Operating Systems
Database Theory and Practice
Artificial Intelligence
A research project course
Additional electives, such as courses related to digital threats, etc.
Even this list may represent a course or two more than you might realistically need to take.
In terms of particular LACs, Hamilton appears to have a good program, with two of their current professors having co-authored a textbook that has been used nationally.