Despite my efforts, I couldn’t make it into CS 1110 before the waitlist was in the dozens. This is alarming, since the ability to code is rapidly becoming necessary in an increasing number of jobs — and not just for those just in Silicon Valley. As my fellow Opinion columnist Lauren Jackson argued in February, although “not every person needs to be a master coder,” students and employees should become at least code-literate so they can communicate intelligently with programmers. Being able to code is fast becoming a requisite, so it’s hard to understand why the University Computer Science department only allows engineering students to declare the minor in Computer Science. The department is, of course, swamped with a new and unforeseen demand for introductory classes — which can be mitigated in time as the department expands — but the more compelling reason to keep the minor out of the College is to avoid encroaching on job prospects for majors.
A minor is all about signaling to employers or graduate schools or even to yourself that you are a bit more well-rounded than just one’s major implies. A minor in business says you’re business-savvy; a minor in English says you’re thoughtful and a good writer. All of these minors, however, are fundamentally less valuable than a major. A business minor says you’re savvy indeed, but it doesn’t say you’ve taken multiple accounting courses and done countless case studies. Minors universally don’t provide the breadth or depth that majors do.
But Computer Science is an intrinsically different type of discipline in that it is highly vocational, more so than any other major in the College or the Engineering School. A study on return-on-investment for universities came to the conclusion that a Computer Science degree is the most valuable in the nation almost across the board. And the reason for that is that almost everything taught in the department correlates to a job skill. Just a quick look at Lou’s List confirms this: almost every course has a definable and practical use. It’s only at the higher levels when things get more academic or niche, with courses like “Defense Against the Dark Arts,” that skills learned wouldn’t immediately translate to any conceivable job as a programmer. This is in stark contrast to a minor in Economics or Math, where the material is measurably more theoretical from the outset and thus less useful.
It’s because a Computer Science degree is so vocational that the minor is so desirable. A minor in French doesn’t necessarily imply fluency in French. A minor in Computer Science, on the other hand, implies fluency in programming, strictly because almost every class in the department is instructive in a practical sense. An 18 credit minor in Computer Science is constructed entirely of relevant skills. But the problem with such a valuable minor — and I think this is part of the reason why the University’s Computer Science department has been restricting it — is that it approaches the value of the major. Most of the marketable skills Computer Science majors have, minors have as well: an understanding of multiple languages, the ability to develop software and data manipulation. Majors perhaps have a deeper and more intricate understanding of the theory behind coding and probably have a more diverse skill-set, but it’s telling that so many of the political figures in Jackson’s article are calling simply for increased coding literacy. For many jobs, it’s more important that the ability to code is demonstrated than the mastery, and as such, a minor in Computer Science could get students into the running for the same jobs as majors.
I do agree that the Computer Science department should expand introductory and intermediate programming classes, as programming is indeed a necessary skill and something all students should be able to acquire and perfect. I also agree that students should be able to explore all their intellectual interests. But allowing intellectual curiosity and barring the minor aren’t mutually exclusive. And it’s not the department’s obligation to offer the minor; it’s their obligation to look after their majors. If offering the minor could undermine that obligation, it’s understandable why the department is keeping it close to the vest.
Brennan Edel is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at b.edel@cavalierdaily.com.
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