Posted on 04/23/2005 8:30:02 PM PDT by anymouse
Survey results from the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles (HERI/UCLA) show that the popularity of computer science (CS) as a major among incoming freshmen has dropped significantly in the past four years. Alarmingly, the proportion of women who thought that they might major in CS has fallen to levels unseen since the early 1970s.
The percentage of incoming undergraduates indicating that they would major in CS declined by over 60 percent between the Fall of 2000 and 2004, and is now 70 percent lower than its peak in the early 1980s (Figure 1).
Freshmen interest levels at any given point have been an accurate predictor of trends in the number of degrees granted four to five years later. It therefore seems likely that there will be a sharp decline in the number of bachelor's degrees granted in CS in the coming decade. Results from CRA's Taulbee Survey of Ph.D.-granting CS departments reinforce this: the number of newly declared CS majors has declined for the past four years and is now 39 percent lower than in the Fall of 2000. Enrollments have declined 7 percent in each of the past two years (see www.cra.org/info/taulbee/bachelors).
Figure 2 provides a sense of changing interests among incoming freshmen. The majors included within the groupings can be found below.
The upcoming drop in CS degree production will highlight the field's inability to appeal to incoming female undergraduates. Overall, interest in CS among women fell 80 percent between 1998 and 2004, and 93 percent since its peak in 1982.
Although newly-enrolled women have always been less likely than men to indicate CS as their probable major, the gap between them remained relatively narrow through 1980 (Figure 1). During the surge and drop in interest that occurred in the 1980s, however, the difference between men and women more than doubled. While their interest levels continued to parallel each other, it was at this time that CS appears to have lost its ability to attract incoming undergraduate women. During the second surge of interest in CS that occurred in the mid- to late 1990s, women's interest in the field did not grow at the same rate as men's. As a result, the gap between men and women who thought that they would major in CS tripled between the early and late 1990s. Although the difference might appear to have narrowed in recent years, this is because the percentage of women interested in CS was low to begin with, whereas men's interest levels have had room to fall.
Unsurprisingly, freshmen women's dwindling interest in CS has affected degree production trends (Figure 3). Unlike most other fields, which have seen women's representation increase over time, the portion of CS degrees granted to women fell in the late 1980s and has yet to return above 30 percent. With a fall in degree production looming, it is difficult to see how CS can match expected future demand for IT workers without raising women's participation at the undergraduate level.
Sources and further information:
HERI/UCLA's "CIRP Freshman Survey" is an annual survey of the characteristics of students attending colleges and universities as first-time, full-time freshmen: www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/freshman.html.
National Science Foundation data on degree production are available at www.nsf.gov/statistics/ and on CRA's website at www.cra.org/info/education/us/
Fields included in Figure 2's groupings:
(Computer Science is categorized by HERI/UCLA in a group called 'Other', which was not included in this article).
Arts and humanities
Art, fine and applied
English (language and literature)
History
Journalism
Language and literature (except English)
Music
Philosophy
Theater or drama
Speech
Theology or religion
Other arts and humanitiesBiological science
Biology (general)
Biochemistry or biophysics
Botany
Environmental science
Marine (life) science
Microbiology or bacteriology
Zoology
Other biological scienceBusiness
Accounting
Business administration (general)
Finance
International Business
Marketing
Management
Secretarial studies
Other businessEducation
Business education
Elementary education
Music or art education
Physical education or recreation
Secondary education
Special education
Other educationEngineering
Aeronautical or astronautical engineering
Civil engineering
Chemical engineering
Computer engineering
Electrical or electronic engineering
Industrial engineering
Mechanical engineering
Other engineeringPhysical science
Astronomy
Atmospheric science (including Meteorology)
Chemistry
Earth science
Marine science
Math
Physics
Statistics
Other physical scienceProfessional
Architecture or urban planning
Home economics
Health technology (medical, dental, laboratory)
Library or archival science
Medicine, dental, veterinarian
Nursing
Pharmacy
Therapy (occupational, physical, speech)
Other professionalSocial Science
Anthropology
Economics
Ethnic studies
Geography
Political science (gov't, int'l relations)
Psychology
Social work
Sociology
Women's studies
Other social scienceTechnical
Building trades
Data processing or computer programming
Drafting or design
Electronics
Mechanics
Other technical
“Grove giveth, and Gates taketh away.”
-- Bob Metcalfe.
"10 year later, and *still* MS is not as good as UN*X. "
Once again, another statement that proves how ignorant those in the industry really are.
"Practically worthless, none of the programmers I know have them. Few jobs require them."
Yes, many jobs aim low.
" Get a degree in business if you are a good programmer, that way you can always start your own after working for someone else for awhile."
Talk about useless degrees ... 'degree in business' ... geez.
Very few of the hig-tech CEOs got their start from a 'degree in business'.
If you want to learn business, start one!
As someone who has started two businesses (not necessarily successful), you can learn a lot of what not to do by jumping into starting a business without formal business school training, but it will be a painful lesson. My suggestion is to work for a while in the industry you like and then go back to school (not necessarily a university) and learn some theory to augment your practical experience.
The challenge in going back into the Academic world after working in the "real world" is to avoid telling the instructor that they are full of crap too often. :)
Try to find instructors that themselves also work in the "real world" and teach part-time. This is good advice for whichever field that you study.
Outsourcing is devastating the field.
What I have learned after several degrees and a fair amount of life experience in more than one field
- What is taught in schools is only of passing relevance/significance to what is actually done in the real world.
- Your odds of succeeding in life are improved by going to one of the aforementioned schools.
There is a great paradox embedded in these two statements. I think what it says it that if you are innovative, talented and brilliant you don't need school. If you are something less than that, school will at least get you in the door - at which point you will sink or swim based on hard work, good luck, political astuteness, native ability and how you combine all fo those.
Duh!
Atleast SOMEONE gets it!
I wish ADULTS not in school would GET IT!!!
No one, I repeat NO ONE is OWED a LIVING. So start earning a living doing something else.
Yay to your post!!
"This is where the US still leads the world - in operational management."
The US leads the world in management, period.
We are the first nation to have built up management as a professional endeavour, and continue to lead.
see 'The Visible Hand' for a history of how modern management came about (in the railroads and factories of the late 19th century).
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