Computer science sees rising enrollment

A new report released by the Computing Research Association revealed the first upward trend in computer science majors in years, a trend which is being echoed at Virginia Tech.

Calvin Ribbens, the computer science associate department head for undergraduate studies, said Tech saw a nearly 5-percent increase in declared computer science majors, up to 325 this year from 310 in 2007-08.

The number of students taking introductory computer science classes has risen even more, up 25 percent since the previous year. This marks the first increase since the "dot-com bust" in 2001, which scared many away from computing related fields as the Internet market went sour.

Barbara Ryder, the computer science department head, said this sudden upward trend might in fact be partly because of the larger economic woes currently facing the country.

"People are wondering if students who once would have gone into finance may have gone into computer science instead. ... Companies are crying for people in this (field)," Ryder said.

Students pursuing computer science degrees do face an eager market coming out of school.

Ribbens said almost all of the recent graduates he has talked to either already have jobs or have received offers.

"(The job market) really is very strong," he said.

Ribbens explained that the market is simply returning to historical numbers. He described the apprehension after the dot-com bust as an "overreaction" while the job market continued to be good. "The rumors were false," he said.

It seems that many Tech students now agree. Freshman university studies major Chris Jones plans to switch to computer science next semester. "Computer science is big," Jones said. "There are a lot of places you can go, especially with an engineering degree from Tech."

Freshman general engineering major Zach Dancy echoed Jones' statement. "It's still an expanding field," he said. Dancy plans to declare a computer science major next semester as well.

Computer science is indeed a broad field.

"It's an enabling technology," Ryder said.