University of Florida Eliminates Computer Science Department

It looks like computer science is becoming obsolete. As most programmers train themselves with the use of youtube, wikis, etc, less people see the need to take these programs. There is also the perception that most computer science jobs will go to India.

I wonder if this trend will be followed by other schools.

University of Florida Eliminates Computer Science Department, Increases Athletic Budgets. Hmm. - Forbes

 

Are you serious?

 

People you have to read the facts and not take some bloggers word for things.

They are merging the Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. There is a lot of duplicate overhead. The only big thing I see is they are reducing or eliminating computer research and teaching assistants. The professors will be full-time teaching now. We are in tough economic times and I think this is a good cost savings move. When your tax revenue goes down the smart thing to do is cut your spending.

The most frightening statements was "the college's students already graduate with an average debt of more than $140,000. We just hate to put more of this burden on our students"

Engineering College chairman blasts cuts as wrong time, wrong place | Gainesville.com

 

CS, IT, MIS, etc.

There will always be a need for "pure" Computer Science departments in schools. There may be fewer of them, but someone has to train people to write highly technical software such as operating systems and compilers.

There are a few reasons for the shift away from pure CS in the schools. One is that current computing is more geared toward the use of provided (sold, downloaded, etc.) applications rather than building them from scratch. Another is that computer implementation and support in business is centered around systems that require less technical background to configure/use, thus the expertise needed becomes increasingly directed toward how to best manage these systems as they're put in place.

Over time, you will see more IT programs part of/aligned with business schools rather than heavily technical CS programs. That's just the way things are trending.

 

The mergure is just part of the trend of low enrollments in computer science deparments.

I have seen few online programs in computer science closing down in the last 10 years.

I'm currently teaching at online program in IT that runs courses with one or two students, I'm afraid that the program might just close down soon too.

Many students feel that a degree in computer science is not longer an advantage in a world where you can learn most of the programming concepts by using youtube or wikipedia.

Many companies hire people from different backgrounds for computer related positions and put more emphasis in certifications.

It looks like a degree in computer science might become obsolete soon.

 

Highly doubtful. As I noted above, there will always be a need to have trained programmers, etc. in various systems fields. There just won't be many pure CS programs offered at colleges-- I would think they'll mostly end up at a small number of scattered Ivy League and state schools.

Would a degree in CS have less utility than a degree in IT? It's quite possible depending on your chosen field. If you want to become a DBA or a network guru, yes, it might be nearly useless. But if you want to work alongside Linus Torvalds writing the next version of Linux, a CS degree might fill the bill.

 

This.

Along with creating new programming languages, language paradigms, research like quantum computing (to get passed the upcoming plateau concerning Moore's Law), etc.

 

The issue with UF was that the computer science department (technically called the Department of Computer and Information Science and Engineering, or CISE for short) was a single department spread out over 3 schools within the university. The engineering school, the college of arts and science, and the business school all had degree programs that utilized the CISE department.

Even today, you can get a bachelors degree in Computer Science from the college of arts and science OR the school of engineering. The main difference is that the school of engineering requires more science and (obviously) engineering courses, whereas a CS major in the college of arts and sciences would still take mostly liberal arts classes.

To understand why this is the case, you have to understand that CS affiliated with different schools within a university depending on the historical growth of the CS program at that university. For instance, at MIT, CS is in the engineering department. In fact, IIRC, you do not get a CS undergrad degree from MIT, you receive an EECS degree (Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering AND Computer Science). As a result, your experience is as an ENGINEERING STUDENT who is concentrating in CS.

However most schools do not have an engineering department. As a result, CS is most often affiliated with (or at least has historical ties to) the math department (you often see "department of mathematics AND computer science). I suspect that this is the setup for the majority of CS programs in the country. This is also why ABET accreditation of the CS program has so little value.

Another, less common, affiliation is to have CS (usually renamed CIS) put inside the school of business. In general, I only see this in smaller, less well known schools. IIRC, Dakota State University does this.

Personally, I am not a fan of having a CS department/major put inside of an engineering school. In almost every case, it results in piling on of additional (NEEDLESS) engineering classes just to get the CS degree.

 

Lots of employers would rather hire programmers in India than here in the US due to lower costs and a perceived higher capability for advanced software development. Salaries in India are going up while salaries in the US are stagnating. This is good for us. If our salaries stay low and theirs go up, the jobs will come back. Then CS and CIS enrollment will go up as well. I do think that the old school CS degree needs to be refreshed a bit. Most jobs in the IT industry are about enabling business with technology, not creating new knowledge and research.