The number of students graduating from Brown with a concentration in computer science was at a 10-year low last year, part of a national downward trend in the number of college students studying the subject.
Only 37 students completed a concentration in computer science in 2006, down from a high of 73 in 2000 and 2002, according to data from the Office of Institutional Research. The number of concentrators steadily increased through the 1990s before falling off after the high-tech bubble burst at the end of the decade - even as more job opportunities in the field become available.
Associate Professor of Computer Science Thomas Doeppner, vice chair of the department, said the department has seen a cyclical waxing and waning of interest several times in the 30 years he has taught at Brown. He said there was a similar spike in interest in the 1970s and early 1980s, but after that interest diminished as computer use became more common in other disciplines.
The current drop in interest - both in terms of concentrators and enrollment in courses - seems to have been at least partially caused by a perceived dearth of jobs for computer science concentrators, Doeppner said. That misperception, he said, is causing a shortage of specialists in computer technology.
"The demand is so high," he said.
Doeppner said though low-end programming jobs are being outsourced, those positions would typically not be sought by graduates of a university computer science program - in reality, he said, demand for computer science graduates is at a high.
Though the number of concentrators has decreased, the number of faculty and graduate students in the department has been increasing, Doeppner said - meaning that there are actually more courses being offered now than there were at peak enrollment in 2000.
In addition to the perceived tough job market, Doeppner said the greater integration of computer science into other fields of study with could draw some prospective concentrators away. He mentioned the Computer Science-Economics and Computational Biology majors as examples of such integration.
"Certainly what may be happening now is that people who decide to concentrate in CS are really interested in it," he said, rather than those who might want the expertise for other areas.
Computer science concentrators interviewed by The Herald said their interest in the subject - not necessarily later career prospects - is what drew them to the field.
Joseph Browne '09 said he is studying computer science because he thinks it will allow him greater flexibility down the road.
"If I do computer science, then I can easily move into other fields after I graduate," Browne said, adding that "it's definitely not just about the job prospects."
Bo Chen '08, another computer science concentrator, said he "like(s) computer science. I became interested in it in high school and started studying it." Chen said job opportunities did not greatly influence his choice of concentration.
"I find computer science interesting," said Rob Manchester '07.5, a computer science concentrator. But, he added, "I like the career prospects as well - they are definitely a plus."
