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• Western Michigan University

Welcome from the Chair

 

Welcome to the website for the Department of Computer Science at Western Michigan University. We are glad that you are visiting the website and invite you to give it a thorough examination to learn more about our department and its activities. I will attempt to highlight a few things here.

Many of our past graduates will remember when computer science was part of the College of Arts and Sciences. That has changed. Our department is now in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS), a change that was made about six years ago. More recently we physically moved with CEAS from the main campus into a new facility located in the Business and Technology Research Park. Here students and faculty benefit from new state-of-the-art technologies that support teaching, research, and learning. Classrooms are well equipped with latest teaching technology, and wireless access to the Internet is provided throughout the building. Student stations in the classrooms are also equipped with hardwire Internet connections as well as electrical supply for computers.

Our department continues to offer two undergraduate major programs, the General Option and the Theory and Analysis Option. The Theory and Analysis program is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (CAC/ABET). Nationally there has been a trend of declining enrollments in undergraduate computer science programs, and our programs have been affected by this. We currently have about 180 undergraduate majors in computer science, which is down considerably from five years ago. There are signs, however, that the trend is turning around. Our current graduating seniors are reporting success in obtaining positions in a number of career paths, and we receive reports from employers that it is often not easy finding qualified computer scientists to fill positions.

This year our department contracted to have a promotional DVD produced. Dr. Donna Kaminski had the faculty lead in this project, and the DVD is ready for production. You can see the video via the link on our home page. We invite you to see it.

Our master’s and Ph.D. programs continue to thrive. We recently instituted a number of changes in the master’s program. This year we expect to graduate our largest number of Ph.D. students, and we currently have about 20 students enrolled in the Ph.D. program.

Faculty research areas have continued to grow and expand. The main research interests of our faculty members are summarized in the following research areas:

I hope you will find the website informative. Please feel free to contact us if you desire additional information or have suggestions.

J. Donald Nelson
Department Chair