Communications of the ACM
Nsf Grant Targets Liberal Arts Grads For Software Engineering
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $632,000 scholarship grant to Stevens Institute of Technology to help fund liberal arts graduates in the software engineering master's degree program.
Supported by the $632,000 grant, this innovative program will consist of 10 required courses, a summer bridge component, an internship, and a part-time option for the final semester that allows students to work full-time while attending classes in the evening. It is set to launch in time for the Fall 2015 semester.
The program aims to help broaden access into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professions by creating another pathway specifically for talented liberal arts graduates who are adept in technology. In addition, the program enhances overall opportunities for students as STEM knowledge and skills are in increasingly high demand throughout the job marketplace.
"This can be a transformative program that gives U.S. citizens, who are potentially under or unemployed with existing student debt, the opportunity to compete for highly rewarding, high-impact STEM jobs, which will benefit the U.S. economy and U.S. society," says Professor Linda Laird, software engineering program director at the School of Systems and Enterprises at Stevens. "In addition, this program answers the national call for more homegrown scientists and engineers."
Professor Laird believes that this grant will have the added benefit of diversifying the field by bringing in individuals who come from non-traditional science and engineering backgrounds to software engineering settings.
"Consistent with recommendations from the National Science Board, the School of Systems and Enterprises at Stevens Institute of Technology is proud to partner with NSF to help realize the national priority to broaden participation in STEM fields for enhanced national competitiveness," says Dinesh Verma, School of Systems and Enterprises dean and executive director of the Systems Engineering Research Center.
NSF's grant will provide funding for 53 $10,000 scholarships over five years. To qualify, students must demonstrate their quantitative skills evidenced by GRE scores and their GPA in STEM undergraduate courses, be U.S. citizens, and require financial assistance. No formal computing background is required.
This is the first NSF sponsored attempt to recruit liberal arts students into software engineering. If successful, the new program will become self-sustaining and replicable across the United States.
Students will graduate with an MS in software engineering and be well prepared to enter the workforce as software architects, developers, testers, and requirements engineers. The national average salary for software engineers is around $90,000, according to the employment website Glassdoor.com.
Students are being actively recruited for the first cohort. Details are available at http://www.stevens.edu/software-LA.
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