Bridging the Gap from a Non-Computer Science Bachelors to the Masters in Computer Science

多样化、高技能和受过良好教育的计算劳动力对于确保我们国家未来的经济成功和解决高效医疗、环境保护、技术创新和国家安全等领域的社会挑战至关重要。 学习计算机的学生群体缺乏多样性，限制了合格的计算机毕业生的数量以及建立强大的开发团队所需的视角和经验的广度。对计算感兴趣但拥有其他领域本科学位的学生代表了一个有潜力发展成为计算专业人员的人才库。东北大学的这个项目将为64名没有计算机科学背景的高素质学生提供奖学金，以支持他们进入这一重要领域的硕士课程。 将从非传统来源，包括女子学院和为少数民族服务的机构招收学生，并将向他们提供广泛的支助，以便利他们进入计算机科学。 支持基础设施将包括一个新的学者的务虚会，第一年的研讨会，技术支持，教师和同行指导，领导力发展和服务学习的机会。 学生还将参加东北大学的合作项目，在该项目中，他们将被安排在行业实习，在那里他们既能赚钱，又能获得职业安置的途径。 对该计划的不同元素的研究将表明哪些活动是导致计算机科学教育的持续性，并最终在计算机科学劳动力就业的最强因素。该计划涉及两个学期的密集桥梁课程，其次是计算机科学硕士课程。除了奖学金，该项目将开发，实施和评估基于研究的干预措施，旨在解决来自代表性不足的群体的学生准备和攻读计算机科学研究生的特殊挑战。该计划的目标是适应以前成功的计划（ALIGN学者计划），以服务于一群在性别，种族，教育和经济背景方面比过去的学生更加多样化的学生，支持他们进入传统的硕士学位课程。支持基础设施将包括一个新的学者务虚会，第一年的研讨会，技术支持小组，教师和同行指导，以及领导力发展和服务学习的机会。此外，所有学生都将通过东北大学非常成功的合作项目在工业界工作六到八个月。 合作社将为职业安置提供战略途径。该项目将通过为其他领域的本科学位学生设计的基于队列的计算机科学研究生课程的设计，实施和评估，推进关于如何增加传统上在计算中代表性不足的群体的学生成功机会的知识状态。具体而言，该计划将：1）实施一项队列计划，使拥有计算机以外本科学位的学生能够获得计算机科学研究生学位，重点是增加女性，非洲裔美国人，美洲原住民和拉丁裔学生，第一代大学生和退伍军人的参与和成功; 2）使用形成性和总结性评估方法评估模型要素的有效性; 3）广泛传播该模型，以便在具有类似目标的其他大学中采用。

A diverse, highly skilled, and well-educated computing workforce is imperative for securing our nation's future economic success and addressing societal challenges in areas ranging from efficient and effective health care, environmental protection, technological innovation, and national security. A lack of diversity in the group of students studying computing limits both the number of qualified computing graduates and the breadth of perspective and experience necessary to build robust development teams. Students with an interest in computing but undergraduate degrees in other fields represent a substantial pool of talented candidates with the potential to develop into computing professionals. This project at Northeastern University will provide scholarships for 64 highly qualified students with demonstrated financial need who do not have a background in computer science to support their entry into a Masters program in this important field. Students will be recruited from non-traditional sources including women's colleges and minority-serving institutions and will be provided with extensive support to facilitate their entry into computer science. Support infrastructure will include a new scholar's retreat, a first-year seminar, technical support, faculty and peer mentoring, leadership development and service learning opportunities. Students will also participate in Northeastern's co-op program, in which they are placed in internships in industry where they will both earn money and access a pathway to career placement. Research on the different elements of the program will indicate which activities are the strongest factors leading to persistence in computer science education and ultimately to employment in the computer science workforce.The program involves a two-semester intensive bridge program, followed by a Masters in Computer Science curriculum. In addition to scholarships, the project will develop, implement, and evaluate research-based interventions intentionally designed to address the particular challenges of students from underrepresented groups preparing for and pursuing graduate study in computer science. The objective of the program is to adapt a previously successful program (the ALIGN Scholars Program) to serve a group of students that is more diverse in gender, race, and educational and economic background than past students, supporting them as they move into a traditional Masters degree program. Support infrastructure will include a new scholar retreat, first year seminar, technical support group, faculty and peer mentoring, and leadership development and service learning opportunities. In addition, all students spend six to eight months working in industry through Northeastern University's highly successful co-op program. Co-ops will provide a strategic pathway to career placements. This project will advance the state of knowledge about how to increase opportunities for success of students from groups traditionally underrepresented in computing through the design, implementation, and evaluation of a cohort-based graduate program in computer science designed for students with undergraduate degrees in other fields. Specifically, this program will: 1) Implement a cohort program to enable students with undergraduate degrees outside computing to earn graduate degrees in computer science, with an emphasis on increasing the participation and success of women, African American, Native American and Latino/Latina students, first generation college students, and veterans; 2) Evaluate the effectiveness of elements of the model using both formative and summative evaluation methods; 3) Broadly disseminate the model so that it may be adopted at other universities with similar goals.