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机工作人员对于确保我们国家未来的经济成功和解决从高效和有效的医疗保健、环境保护、技术创新和国家安全等领域的社会挑战是必不可少的。学习计算机的学生群体缺乏多样性，既限制了合格的计算机毕业生的数量，也限制了构建健壮的开发团队所必需的视角和经验的广度。对计算机感兴趣但在其他领域获得本科学位的学生代表了一大批有潜力发展成为计算机专业人士的有才华的候选人。东北大学的这个项目将为64名没有计算机科学背景但有经济需要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。学生将从非传统来源招收，包括女子学院和少数民族院校，并将提供广泛的支持，以促进他们进入计算机科学。支持基础设施将包括一个新的学者休养所、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机会。学生们还将参加东北大学的合作项目，在这个项目中，他们将被安排在工业实习，在那里他们既可以赚钱，又可以获得职业安置的途径。对该计划的不同要素的研究将表明哪些活动是导致坚持计算机科学教育并最终在计算机科学劳动力中就业的最强因素。该计划包括两个学期的密集桥梁课程，随后是计算机科学硕士课程。除了奖学金，该项目还将开发、实施和评估以研究为基础的干预措施，旨在解决来自代表性不足群体的学生在准备和攻读计算机科学研究生课程时面临的特殊挑战。该计划的目标是调整以前成功的计划（ALIGN学者计划），为一群在性别，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提供服务，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静修、第一年研讨会、技术支持小组、教师和同行指导、领导力发展和服务学习机会。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6到8个月。合作社将为职业安排提供战略途径。该项目将通过设计、实施和评估一个基于队列的计算机科学研究生课程，为拥有其他领域本科学位的学生设计，提高人们对如何增加传统上在计算机领域代表性不足的学生成功机会的认识。具体而言，该项目将：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/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价方法评价模型要素的有效性；3)广泛传播该模式，以便在其他有类似目标的大学中采用。

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.