Communications of the ACM
CLA's Computer Science Curriculum Fails to Teach Applicable Skills in the Field
UCLA's computer science classes don't give students applied experience, students say.
UCLA's computer science students have long complained that their curriculum is not practical enough. Students raised these concerns with their department during a department town hall co-hosted by the Association for Computing Machinery student group, pointing out they needed to learn more applicable skills relevant to the industry.
UCLA's computer science curriculum is just a series of textbooks. Many of the courses the program offers focus on giving undergraduates a strong sense of the mathematical and conceptual foundations without much focus on the practical applications of the major. The department stresses teaching students the C programming language—an archaic code scheme developed in 1972.
The department expects students to obtain practical skills from their student-run extracurriculars, rather than teaching them. One of these extracurriculars is ACM, which helps students pick up machine learning, cybersecurity, and application design.
Richard Korf, a professor and undergraduate vice chair of the computer science department, says the disparity between theory and practicality is intentional. "We're trying to train people for a career that lasts 40 years or more," Korf says. "What do you teach people to become productive professionals in a field that's changing very, very fast?"
Students say they need more practical skills to cut it in the field. While a strong theoretical foundation is helpful, they still have to actually land a job.
From The Daily Bruin
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