Connecting across campus

Computer science holds a unique position to craft multidisciplinary curricula for the new generation of faculty and students across the academy who increasingly rely on computing for their scholarship. We propose that computer science programs cease curricula models that begin with a two-course sequence that emulates the natural sciences and mathematics. We report on an aggressive strategy to work with faculty from across the disciplines of arts, humanities, and the social and life sciences to help design and deliver sets of multidisciplinary, applied, and "connected" pairs of introductory courses. Preliminary results at our small liberal arts college include an increase in the percentage of women enrolling in our connected courses, more students taking an additional course in computing, a faculty energized with sharing their research early on, and new interdisciplinary research opportunities for computer science faculty and students.