The Best Small Liberal Arts Colleges for Computer Science TKG

The Best Small Liberal Arts Colleges for Computer Science Computer science is one of the broadest and most relevant fields today. While most people think of schools such as MIT and Carnegie Mellon when computer science is mentioned, there are a number of small liberal arts schools with strong computer science programs. Nearly every discipline today is and/or can be impacted by computational thinking, and studying computer science at a liberal arts school that emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and communication skills is worth considering. Below you’ll find a few of our favorites, and as always we do not rely on rankings to create our roundups. We looked for schools with unique offerings and special opportunities.  Harvey Mudd: Harvey Mudd is a liberal arts college for scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. Their computer science program is small (the college has a total undergraduate enrollment of less than 900 students) but mighty. Every faculty member in the computer science department at Harvey Mudd has an active rese arch program that involves undergrads, and most of the research is funded by the National Science Foundation. Summer long research projects are held every year, and students apply by filling out an application and then meeting with professors and discussing their primary interests. And then there is the Computer Science Clinic, a collaborative capstone project done by seniors at HMC. Teams of 4-5 students explore a technical challenge, design a system to address it, and deliver a prototype.  Swarthmore: Full disclosure: it’s very hard to get into Swarthmore. But if you do, you’ll have access to their computer science department and you can also take courses at Bryn Mawr, Haverford, or UPenn. Within the CS department, you’ll also have a team of student mentors (that are called ninjas!). Ninjas share their expertise in class, and also hold study sessions at night. We think this is pretty cool because while it’s certainly not impossible to schedule extra help with professors, standing blocks of time that are always available to students might be even better. Williams:CS course offerings at Williams range from introduction to computer science to operating systems, with a lot in between. You’ll obviously have to complete the required courses, but Williams also urges students to make course selections beyond the requirements. For example, if you’re interested in computer graphics, it’s suggested that you take art courses. If hardware issues are more your style, check out their physics department. There are also a few unique offerings such as video game appreciation and electronic textiles. Amherst:At Amherst, you’ll find the Ginsburg fund for computer science and algorithmic thinking fellowship program. Ginsburg fellows assist faculty members by providing academic support to other students, do interdepartmental work and research, and collaborate with other fellows in data science and statistics. You can read more the research and work of past and cu rrent fellows here. Vassar:Perhaps more so than the rest of the colleges on our list, Vassar emphasizes the importance of studying computer science within the framework of a liberal arts education. To that end, computer science students at Vassar are involved with the Center for Collaborative Approach to Science, where there are research and collaborative lab work opportunities. Colgate:There are three computer science academic offerings at Colgate. They have a computer science major, a computer science and mathematics major, and a computer science minor. Outside of the classroom, there are a few student clubs and organizations that host workshops, hackathons, lectures, and networking opportunities.  Pomona:Pomona is tiny, and hard to get into, but the school offers both a major and minor in the field of computer science. What makes Pomona stand out is the robust colloquium schedule. There are seminars held almost every week, during which students learn about research that’s curr ently being done in the field and introduced to career options.    Bowdoin:In addition to academic offerings that are similar to the rest of the schools on our list, Bowdoin also has research opportunities. But Bowdoin students are making moves, too. One student recently launched a club called Students of Color in Computer Science in response to a lack of diversity in the field, and a recipient of a fellowship just built a visual web tool that portrays the complexity of voting patterns and strategic behavior on capitol hill. Keep in mind that our list focuses on small liberal arts schools. We encourage you to use this information as a starting point for your own research. It can be overwhelming to compare programs because a lot of them are quite similar. The best way to go about it is to create a list of what specifics you’re looking for, and then find schools that fit the mold.  If you need help figuring out where to apply, or if a liberal arts education is a good fit for you, contact us here.