I would like to know if anyone has feedback on Alabama’s computer science department. I am comparing this school to a few others and they do not seem to offer the most updated degrees as other schools (cybersecurity, data scientist, ect). What are your thoughts about this department???
Hi,
I took your question and gave it to the CS dept head at Bama and he very promptly (within a couple of minutes!) responded (he is like that…always quickly responds). Here is his reply:
“We offer a degree in computer science. UA is not offering specialized degrees that change with the current fad (cybersecurity now, robotics and networking 10 years ago, neural networks before that, etc.). We offer courses in all the areas listed below (cyber security, big data, data analytics, cloud computing, data science, etc.). We just do not have an official degree with the latest buzzwords in it. Our goal is to produce students who can contribute to the field for the next 50 years, not just someone who is trained in the current “hot area” of computing.
Hope this helps”
He should be promoted.
^^ and he will be. I’m sure he’ll be an asst provost or similar soon. He’s amazing.
CS is a tough major at UA, but the kids who survive it seem to be doing very well. I know of students hired by Google, Amazon, and several other in-demand companies.
My son is in his third year as a CS major at Bama. He will graduate this year and return for one more year to finish up his CS Masters. He found that fall semester taking grad classes was brutal. Undergrad he did not find to be overwhelming. Bama is amazing with CLEP and AP credits! He was able to get a paid internship after his sophomore year and will return there this summer. Just signed up for Bama Bound with my daughter who will be a freshman in Environmental Engineering. Roll Tide.
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CS is a tough major at UA, but the kids who survive it seem to be doing very well. I know of students hired by Google, Amazon, and several other in-demand companies.
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Agree. CS, like engineering, is a tough major anywhere. Students need strong math and other skills. The grads get very good jobs at the companies mentioned.
Does UA keep a record of where the kids get their jobs?
My UA son interned at Facebook between his 3rd and 4th year, and got a job at Google upon graduation. Through the University Scholars program he was able to earn his CS undergrad and masters while there. CS is a tough major for those who are not strong in math and logic. For the students I know of who did graduate, they all got very good jobs.
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Does UA keep a record of where the kids get their jobs?
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A school can only know where their students get jobs if the students tell their schools. Some students do this, the majority probably don’t. About 6 months after graduation, Bama sends out a questionnaire hoping to capture that info and their salaries …as you can imagine, some take the time to answer, but many do not.
Colleges have no means to get this info w/o the students’ cooperation.