Computer Science Department
Mission Statement
The Computer Science Department strives to provide a high-quality major in the context of the liberal arts, while simultaneously providing service courses for students who major in other areas. Through both its curriculum and its environment, the department creates a community that is welcoming and encouraging to all DePauw University students, regardless of high school preparation, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or disability. Senior Computer Science majors should compare favorably with Computer Science majors at similar schools, where periodic statistical analysis of our placement data and comparable data from similar schools provides a mechanism for comparison. The department offers a curriculum and supporting learning experiences (with the aid of excellent computing resources) that will prepare majors to either enter graduate school or the workforce directly after graduation. In either case, graduates will be prepared to be life-long learners, so that they maintain current skills and knowledge in a rapidly changing world.
Faculty Research
DePauw computer science faculty and staff members have diverse research interests. Areas represented include: programming languages, artificial intelligence, databases, cluster computing, 3D virtual reality, genetic algorithms, networking, gender issues, 3D image processing, pen-based computing, and instructional technology.
Department History
Here is a PDF Document detailing the history of our department.
Facilities
General University Facilities
Every DePauw student owns a laptop computer through DePauw’s laptop program. The University also provides Windows and Mac laboratories for general student use.
Pen-based Collaboratories
Computer Science courses are typically taught in one of our pen-based collaboratories using DyKnow classroom interaction software.
Robotics
The department’s upper level Autonomous Robotics course is taught in our robotics laboratory. Students enrolled in some sections of our introductory computer science course also make use of various types of robots.
Linux
The department also maintains a state-of-the-art laboratory of Linux workstations with high-end servers that provide robust file services and a full array of software development tools.