Bridging the Gap from a Non-Computer Science Bachelors to the Masters in Computer Science

Northeastern University, Boston MA

Investigators

Abstract

A diverse, highly skilled, and well-educated computing workforce is imperative for securing our nation's future economic success and addressing societal challenges in areas ranging from efficient and effective health care, environmental protection, technological innovation, and national security. A lack of diversity in the group of students studying computing limits both the number of qualified computing graduates and the breadth of perspective and experience necessary to build robust development teams. Students with an interest in computing but undergraduate degrees in other fields represent a substantial pool of talented candidates with the potential to develop into computing professionals. This project at Northeastern University will provide scholarships for 64 highly qualified students with demonstrated financial need who do not have a background in computer science to support their entry into a Masters program in this important field. Students will be recruited from non-traditional sources including women's colleges and minority-serving institutions and will be provided with extensive support to facilitate their entry into computer science. Support infrastructure will include a new scholar's retreat, a first-year seminar, technical support, faculty and peer mentoring, leadership development and service learning opportunities. Students will also participate in Northeastern's co-op program, in which they are placed in internships in industry where they will both earn money and access a pathway to career placement. Research on the different elements of the program will indicate which activities are the strongest factors leading to persistence in computer science education and ultimately to employment in the computer science workforce. The program involves a two-semester intensive bridge program, followed by a Masters in Computer Science curriculum. In addition to scholarships, the project will develop, implement, and evaluate research-based interventions intentionally designed to address the particular challenges of students from underrepresented groups preparing for and pursuing graduate study in computer science. The objective of the program is to adapt a previously successful program (the ALIGN Scholars Program) to serve a group of students that is more diverse in gender, race, and educational and economic background than past students, supporting them as they move into a traditional Masters degree program. Support infrastructure will include a new scholar retreat, first year seminar, technical support group, faculty and peer mentoring, and leadership development and service learning opportunities. In addition, all students spend six to eight months working in industry through Northeastern University's highly successful co-op program. Co-ops will provide a strategic pathway to career placements. This project will advance the state of knowledge about how to increase opportunities for success of students from groups traditionally underrepresented in computing through the design, implementation, and evaluation of a cohort-based graduate program in computer science designed for students with undergraduate degrees in other fields. Specifically, this program will: 1) Implement a cohort program to enable students with undergraduate degrees outside computing to earn graduate degrees in computer science, with an emphasis on increasing the participation and success of women, African American, Native American and Latino/Latina students, first generation college students, and veterans; 2) Evaluate the effectiveness of elements of the model using both formative and summative evaluation methods; 3) Broadly disseminate the model so that it may be adopted at other universities with similar goals.