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Wheaton College     Norton, Massachusetts
Computer Science > FAQs

FAQs


Do I need to have taken computer classes before coming to Wheaton?

What makes Wheaton's Computer Science program unique?

What is an Independent Study, and what types of Independent Studies do students take?

What is the typical class size?

Do you have teaching assistants?

What are the major's requirements?

Can I minor in Computer Science at Wheaton?

What if I am not planning to major or minor in Computer Science; should I still take a course or two?

Would this major be good for me if I want to study web design?

What programming languages do you teach?

What type of research/internship opportunities are there?

What does Computer Science at Wheaton do to stay "with the times"?

What do students usually do when they graduate?

Do I need to have taken computer classes before coming to Wheaton?

Absolutely not! One of the biggest misconceptions about Computer Science is that you need to have experience from high school in order to start in college; on the contrary, our first Computer Science course, offered every Fall, assumes absolutely no previous programming experience. What does help is a background in studies that stress:

  • creativity
  • problem-solving
  • the ability to express ideas and concepts

Courses that would "fit the bill" include a background of three to four years of Mathematics (up to but not necessarily including Calculus) and a rich background in Science.

What makes Wheaton's Computer Science program unique?

Good question! Our strengths include small class sizes with high levels of professor-student interaction, opportunities to create Independent Study courses (see the next question), an emphasis on writing and oral presentation skills, strong connections with other disciplines including both the Sciences and the Humanities, and many opportunities for students to be involved in active research.

I understand many Computer Science majors at Wheaton take an Independent Study. What is an Independent Study, and what types of Independent Studies do students take?

An Independent Study (course number COMP 399) is a course between one professor and one to three students. As the title suggests, Independent Studies require students to assume a greater responsibility for a review of the literature and planning. Rather than meeting in the classroom, the students often meet with a professor in their office and work together at the white board on the current set of issues. The intent is to emulate a professional working climate. Here is a sample of recent Independent Studies that students have pursued: Programming Mobile Devices, Experiments in Putative Regulatory Sites, Educational Software for Word Problems, Systems Engineering in Genomics, Java and Security, Neural Networks, Advanced Object-Oriented Programming, Advanced Computer Graphics, Web Programming and E-Commerce, Networked Game Applications, and Network Administration. Almost every Computer Science graduate takes advantage of this opportunity and takes at least one Independent Study as part of their major program.

What is the typical class size?

Wheaton classes in general have a 12:1 student:faculty ratio. Computer Science classes are typically in the range of six to ten students per class. Translation: your professors know you, your current successes and problems, and how best to move you to the next level. If you like to be lost in a crowd, Wheaton's Computer Science program is probably not the place for you; on the other hand, if you think that individual attention and a close-knit community atmosphere is appealing, we should be perfect.

Do you have teaching assistants?

Yes, and they help courses in many ways, although they do not lecture as would graduate students in a large university. Typically, three to five students a year are paid to work as teaching and lab assistants and system administrators. For example, upper-level students often attend first and second year labs to aid the professor in giving individual help to the beginning students. These assistants are also available for tutoring help through the Collaborative Learning Center. Other student helpers work to keep our lab of 18 dual-boot Win-Linux servers ready for classes and labs.

What are the major's requirements?

You can check out the Computer Science requirements in the Wheaton course catalog.

Can I minor in Computer Science at Wheaton?

But of course! Wheaton is proud of our liberal arts strengths and Computer Science is closely connected to the Sciences, Humanities, and Social Science disciplines. A number of students minor in Computer Science, pairing it with a range of majors from Art to Physics, Economics to Theatre, Biology to Psychology, French to Spanish. We do not think we have ever found a course of study that is not enriched with the kind of background our minor provides.

What if I am not planning to major or minor in Computer Science; should I still take a course or two?

Absolutely. Consider how you will convince a potential employer how you are different than the applicants represented by the pile of resumes on the desk. Everyone is a computer user, yet few truly understand the nature of the software that makes computers do what they do. You may not be hired as a programmer; however, you will almost certainly work with programmers or their products in your career and a semester or two of exposure can make all the difference in getting hired. An ability to "script," to "program," or to "code" makes you an asset in interdisciplinary groups that increasingly rely on computing to retrieve and analyze the information that is needed. In many of the Sciences and areas of Mathematics it is inevitable that writing small programs yourself will be part of your job; and while you could learn the skills you need as you go, learning the discipline from a perspective of good design and careful planning will help to ensure that what you write will be better-designed, more reliable, and easier to maintain.

Would this major be good for me if I want to study web design?

That depends. If you want to be a graphics designer, then a focus on Studio and/or Graphical Arts may be a more appropriate choice, possibly coupled with a Computer Science minor. However, if you want to be a force behind the software that drives highly interactive sites, then a deep knowledge of computing systems and the know-how of writing software is what you will need. In that case, a degree in Computer Science would be a wise move. Note also that Wheaton allows students to craft their own majors, and a few students have recently crafted 'Art-Computer Science' majors that combine their passion for graphical design and programming.

What programming languages do you teach?

Our initial year teaches C++. Subsequent courses cover other languages including Java, Perl, Lisp, and Prolog.

What type of research/internship opportunities are there?

Wheaton has an excellent center, the Filene Center for Work and Learning, to help students find internships. Each faculty member also has an active research program and students are regularly paid to work during the summers, January break, and/or during the semester. You can learn more about potential research opportunities in the fields of:

Computational Linguistics
Computer Graphics
Genomics

What does Computer Science at Wheaton do to stay "with the times"?

As you might imagine, the world of computing is one of the fastest paced disciplines. Like our students, the faculty are "in school," constantly staying current in their research field and thinking hard about how the research should and can impact the curriculum. For example, embedded devices in general and PDAs in particular are a hot market item at the moment. So the question arises: how does one program these small devices? What are the concerns that are different than for programming on big machines? One of the Computer Science professors got a small grant to buy 10 PDAs. We then offered a new course in Programming Mobile Devices and gave each student their own PDA for the semester with the charge: find a client who needs an application on a PDA, design it, and build a prototype. In computing, learning is doing; staying current is just part of the plan.

What do students usually do when they graduate?

The majority of graduates are working in various aspects of the field as software engineers and other systems-related positions. We have graduates currently working at both Microsoft and Raytheon. A number of our graduates work for a year or so and then return to graduate school. Two of our recent graduates are presently working on their PhDs and four others currently in industry are applying to graduate programs.

 

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