Work

Faculty Perspectives on Developing Interdisciplinary Computing Programs: Benefits, Necessary Supports, and Recommendations

Year: 2024

Type: conference-paper

Abstract: Graduates of computer science programs continue to be predominantly male and White or Asian [3], and the need to diversify the workforce is well recognized [4].To address these issues, there is a growing movement to develop interdisciplinary computing opportunities for non-computer science majors [see 6,7].To encourage more faculty to develop interdisciplinary computing programs, faculty need to understand the obstacles to these programs as well as the benefits, not just to students, but for themselves.This paper describes results from an evaluation of the 2021 Interdisciplinary Computing Summer Institute (ICSI), that brings together faculty and program directors who are involved in interdisciplinary computing programs.Data were collected via a post-meeting survey from 27 participants representing a variety of fields, (e.g., computer science, biology, psychology).Three sets of results are reported.The first describes the barriers and challenges that faculty reported experiencing while developing and running these interdisciplinary computing programs (e.g., minimal support, different requirements in different colleges, challenges meeting the needs of under-represented students, and lack of resources).The second describes the benefits to faculty that arose from working in an interdisciplinary computing program (e.g., learning new skills, interdisciplinary collaborations, and being able to create a more inclusive campus).The final set describes takeaways that faculty believed would be beneficial to their programs and students (e.g., content and skills to include in the curriculum, co-curricular experiences to develop, how to prepare students for job interviews).We conclude with a set of recommendations for faculty who are currently developing or planning to develop interdisciplinary computing programs at their institutions.

Source: ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

DOI: 10.18260/1-2--41936

Authors: Valerie Carr, Belle Wei, Maureen Smith

Institutions: San Jose State University, Stanford University

Language: English

Topic: Information Systems Education and Curriculum Development

Subfield: Information Systems

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Quality education, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Science Foundation, Directorate for STEM Education