Prometheus 6

Computer science gets a real-world focus
By ANDREA JONES
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/10/06

Instead of churning out cookie-cutter programming experts who have all taken the same track of classes, the college instead is turning traditional computer science education on its head. Beginning this fall, students in the school will choose various "threads." They are individualized sets of courses designed specifically with students like Peshterianu in mind — creative kids who want more than code and software training. The nine threads will give students a base in how computing fits into everything from health care to homeland security as soon as they get on campus, said college Dean Richard DeMillo.

DeMillo, who was chief technology officer at Hewlett-Packard Co. in California before returning to Tech in 2002, said the curriculum is the right way to help computer science majors compete in the global environment. Instead of training students in concepts for jobs that may be sent offshore to India or China, the curriculum focuses on figuring out how computing works with other fields, giving students a broader, horizontal education base, he said.

"The sad fact is that four years ago, students dreaded coming into the freshman curriculum," DeMillo said. "That's not the case anymore."

While the major rollout of the "threads" curriculum is slated for the fall, the college already has made some changes.

Senior faculty members once reserved for graduate students are now teaching freshman seminars. Classes in special effects and video gaming have long waiting lists, and four computing professors have been named among Tech's instructors of the year. Enrollment is up at the 16-year-old school and DeMillo sees big growth in its future.

The new curriculum has been earning national accolades from business leaders and professors alike, and the school recently earned a nod in New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman's newly updated best-selling book, "The World is Flat." Friedman, a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist, praises the Tech program for its horizontal approach.