CISC News and Events

Clearly, the major news is the renaming of the department as well as a complete redesign of major fields.

New Name

The department name started out in the late 1960's as "Quantitative Methods" (QM), a name that was intended to encompass not only numerical methods using computer technology, but anything that could be digitzed and manipulated within a computer system. The major was so unique that we sought a unique name, avoiding the traditional "computer science" and similar labels. In the 1980's the "and Computer Science" was added to make the full name "Quantitative Methods and Computer Science" (QMCS). This was done to more clearly delineate what the department did. However, the department remained firmly embedded in the liberal arts tradition. After another 20 years, it was time to change the name again. After much deliberation, the name "Computer and Information Sciences" (CISC) was chosen, again to try to encompass all that the department endeavored to accomplish.

 New Major Fields

There has been a move within the computing education arena to better clarify the many areas that can be studied. Also, employers of graduates wanted better descriptions of what students studied. One movement came from the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) whereby they described a number of distinct areas of study. Using those categories as a guideline, we defined the major fields below, keeping in mind the liberal arts context of student learning.

• Computer Science- a more traditional approach to the study of computers with emphasis on the technical details of hardware and software. Students graduating with this major are prepared to work in highly technical areas of computer software design and networking as well as being prepared to enter traditional graduate programs of Computer Science.
• Information Systems - a major with emphasis on using computers to manage information within organizations. This major prepares students to work as business analysts and information system designers as well as preparing them for graduate work in areas such as Management Information Systems.
• Information Technology - a major field with a more pactical, application orientation. Graduates with this major are prepared to work in organizations as system implementers and support personnel in a variety of technical areas. They will have obtained practical experience apply their learning to real world situations.
• Information Security - a major with emphasis on security and privacy of computer and network systems. Graduates with this major are in high demand to work as security administators and security system designers. Today's technologies are experemely complex and require specialized expertise to make sure they are secure from attack.
• Applied Statistics and Decision Theory - a major for those interested in applying mathematics and statistics to solve real world problems. Students in this major will study advanced statistics, simulation, modeling, data mining, and other mathematics based approaches to decision making.
• Fast Track to a Master's - a major that will allow students to complete the Bachelor of Arts degree and then spend one more year to obtain a Master's degree. In cooperation with the Graduate Programs in Software (GPS) department, we've devised a major whereby in four years you can obtain a BA degree and then spend one more year of full-time study and obtain a Master's degree.