Since the dot-com boom went belly-up, some computer science courses have experienced a significant drop in enrollment.
Just four or five years ago, around 220 students were shopping CS 15: "Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming and Computer Science" at the beginning of the year, and this fall, only about 100 students shopped the course. "It's been going down every year for the past four years and this year, I think there are close to 60 students in the course, and I haven't had that few since the '60s," said Professor of Computer Sciences and Vice President for Research Andries van Dam, who teaches CS 15.
While CS 15 has seen a pronounced drop in the number of students interested in the course, CS 17: "Computer Science: An Integrated Introduction" has continued with relatively flat enrollment figures throughout the past several years. Students who enroll in an introductory computer science course in the fall typically enroll in either CS 15 or CS 17. Around 50 students are taking CS 17, van Dam said.
Van Dam attributed the drop in CS 15's enrollment to the change in people's perception of computing in the past four years. He said many view the industry as mature. In addition, computer technology has become commonplace and information-technology jobs are all being outsourced to other countries where labor is cheaper.
"It did not escape parents and students that a lot of people were making a lot of money by being in the computer business. When the bottom dropped out, there was an equivalent overreaction."
"My hope is that the kids who are genuinely interested will continue taking computer courses," van Dam said.
Despite the appearance of a downturn in the computer industry, programming jobs appear to be holding steady and there is continued growth in all fields related to computer science, van Dam said. "More companies are recruiting this year than last year. Traffic has gotten worse again in the Silicon Valley, things are starting to come back, but they won't come back to the ridiculous craziness of the late '90s."
In addition, the need for IT literacy is growing, and IT professionals are needed in every field, he said. In many cases, computing has been integrated into another discipline, such as bioinformatics. Computation has even grown into programs where it might not typically be seen, such as using applied math and computer graphics to do 3-D simulations for anthropology.
Brown is known for its strong program in computer science, and its undergraduate CS program has existed since the 1960s. While the job market is not inflated like it was before, computer science concentrators from Brown typically don't face an extraordinary struggle when looking for jobs, van Dam said.
In an e-mail, Kimberly DelGizzo, director of the Career Development Center, wrote that CS students can find jobs through on-campus recruiting and online networking. "Our office is receiving an increased number of calls and emails from employers who are seeking students for technical positions," she wrote.
"People are wrong when they think the computer revolution is over - not only is it not over, but it's scarcely begun," van Dam said.
