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University of Florida shutting down research in Computer Science department

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Re: University of Florida shutting down research in Computer Science department

#11

Post by dfranke »

I graduated from UF in 2007 and have in no way since kept up with departmental politics, but as of then, CISE was a bit of a Frankenstein creature. As an undergraduate, if you were looking for a computing-related degree, you had five possible majors to choose from:

* Computer Science (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; CISE Department)

* Computer Engineering with Software Emphasis (College of Engineering; CISE Department)

* Computer Engineering with Hardware Emphasis (College of Engineering; ECE Department)

* Electrical Engineering (College of Engineering; ECE Department)

* Computer Information Sciences (College of Business; CISE Department).

So basically, the CISE department was answerable to three different colleges, and some of those colleges offered very-closely-related degrees that weren't in the CISE department.

As for myself, I started out in Computer Engineering with Software Emphasis. I later switched to Computer Science. The reason for this change was that I wanted to double in Mathematics, which belongs to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Having a double major is a lot easier when both majors are in the same college, because you then don't have to worry about satisfying conflicting and redundant gen. ed. requirements.

So, as a CISE alumnus, I have a vested interest in maintaining the reputation of that department, and this reorganization sounds likely to damage it. However, the status quo (as of 2007) is a mess, and this change might overall be for the better.

Re: University of Florida shutting down research in Computer Science department

#12

Post by hkmurakami »

joshhart wrote: post #4

I graduated from UF in 2009, with degrees in both Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. UF was running into huge budget issues, which they mostly took out on Liberal Arts. At the time, the Computer Science department was under Liberal Arts and Sciences, not engineering. The department chair at the time, Sartaj Sahni, responded by cutting teaching funding and letting some of the best teachers go. UF had a few t…

Letting go of your best teachers sounds like a brutally flawed decision. The only reason I am now getting back into learning programming after a 8 year hiatus, is because of how great my untenured lecturer was in teaching us and inspiring us in the ways of C programming.

If not for him, there would be far fewer students from my school who would have stuck with programming. In 2004, we made a facebook group called "Everything I know about C I learned from [insert guy's name]". From what I can tell, the number of former students in this group keeps growing every year. He is beloved by all his current and former students, and I would vehemently protest to the school/department if he ever got cut prematurely for any reason.

Re: University of Florida shutting down research in Computer Science department

#13

Post by quanticle »

The fertile environment for software tech companies in Gainesville and Florida as a whole will be severely damaged.

Is Gainesville really that fertile a ground for software startups? Moreover, will reducing research funding at University of Florida necessarily make the existing environment for startups worse? For example, what if the savings are invested into a greater emphasis on teaching?

Re: University of Florida shutting down research in Computer Science department

#14

Post by Danieru »

ahelwer wrote: post #8
lbrandy wrote: post #6

As a 2004 graduate of UF (ECE, not CISE) this news worries me. Can anymore more familiar with the situation explain whether or not this more about consolidating ECE/CISE, or if this is just a simple gutting of the computer science at UF. Many schools suffer the issue of CS being extra-engineering, and then having a "computer engineering" department within engineering, and you end up with quite a bit of duplication. I…

Yep. University of Calgary went the opposite route a few years back and shut down the computer engineering degree stream. I'm actually not sure what the effects of that were, I'll have to ask my coworkers (some of whom are graduates of that degree).

Are you sure that is what OP is talking about?

U of Calgary still has a software engineering program within engineering, which I think is the situation OP is talking about.

With that said I'm in the computer science program and it is still very computer sciencey so I think we've avoided the duplication.

Re: University of Florida shutting down research in Computer Science department

#15

Post by [deleted] »

joshhart wrote: post #4

I graduated from UF in 2009, with degrees in both Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. UF was running into huge budget issues, which they mostly took out on Liberal Arts. At the time, the Computer Science department was under Liberal Arts and Sciences, not engineering. The department chair at the time, Sartaj Sahni, responded by cutting teaching funding and letting some of the best teachers go. UF had a few t…

[deleted]

Re: University of Florida shutting down research in Computer Science department

#16

Post by checker »

quanticle wrote: post #13

The fertile environment for software tech companies in Gainesville and Florida as a whole will be severely damaged. Is Gainesville really that fertile a ground for software startups? Moreover, will reducing research funding at University of Florida necessarily make the existing environment for startups worse? For example, what if the savings are invested into a greater emphasis on teaching?

Keep in mind that "software tech companies" is a superset of startups.

Re: University of Florida shutting down research in Computer Science department

#17

Post by ahelwer »

Danieru wrote: post #14
ahelwer wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. University of Calgary went the opposite route a few years back and shut down the computer engineering degree stream. I'm actually not sure what the effects of that were, I'll have to ask my coworkers (some of whom are graduates of that degree).

Are you sure that is what OP is talking about? U of Calgary still has a software engineering program within engineering, which I think is the situation OP is talking about. With that said I'm in the computer science program and it is still very computer sciencey so I think we've avoided the duplication.

Yes, the software eng program is still around. There is quite a bit of overlap with comp sci though - unless you're taking an honours degree there will be a number of software eng students in most of your classes (networking, operating systems, etc.)

I think the fate of computer eng was to have it split between computer science and EE. I'll have to ask coworkers at lunch.

Have we met? I'm Andrew Helwer. The guy that runs Problem Solving Club.

Re: University of Florida shutting down research in Computer Science department

#18

Post by [deleted] »

quanticle wrote: post #13

The fertile environment for software tech companies in Gainesville and Florida as a whole will be severely damaged. Is Gainesville really that fertile a ground for software startups? Moreover, will reducing research funding at University of Florida necessarily make the existing environment for startups worse? For example, what if the savings are invested into a greater emphasis on teaching?

[deleted]

Re: University of Florida shutting down research in Computer Science department

#19

Post by guelo »

dfranke wrote: post #11

I graduated from UF in 2007 and have in no way since kept up with departmental politics, but as of then, CISE was a bit of a Frankenstein creature. As an undergraduate, if you were looking for a computing-related degree, you had five possible majors to choose from: * Computer Science (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; CISE Department) * Computer Engineering with Software Emphasis (College of Engineering; CISE Dep…

That's funny because I graduated from UF in 1996 and computer degrees were just about as confusing back then.

Re: University of Florida shutting down research in Computer Science department

#20

Post by achompas »

dfranke wrote: post #11

I graduated from UF in 2007 and have in no way since kept up with departmental politics, but as of then, CISE was a bit of a Frankenstein creature. As an undergraduate, if you were looking for a computing-related degree, you had five possible majors to choose from: * Computer Science (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; CISE Department) * Computer Engineering with Software Emphasis (College of Engineering; CISE Dep…

I'm also a 2007 alum, and I steered clear of CS as an undergraduate because of the confusing organization you describe above. If that organization wasn't so confusing, I would have tried CS out (vs. the econ BA I hold right now and the MSCS I'm working on now).

The department may have problems, but shutting down research throws the baby out with the bathwater. Degree consolidation would go a long way to improving student enrollment.

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