College of Computing
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College of Architecture
College of Computing
College of Engineering
Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
College of Management
College of Sciences
History
Georgia Tech invested in the future when it established the College of Computing in 1990, one of several college-level computing units at a major U.S. research university.
Our history began in 1963 with the establishment of the School of Information making us one of the first computer science departments in the country. The name was changed to the School of Information and Computer Science in 1972. We were formally recognized with College status in 1990 and given a charge to promote interdisciplinary research.
Focus
In naming the new College, it was essential to indicate that our interest would be in computing, not just the discipline of computer science. Our educational and research activities collaborate with many other disciplines in order to push the frontiers of computing throughout the Institute. The College has also forged relationships in educational and research programs with several other universities both nationally and internationally.
Building on our strong foundation of computer science fundamentals, the College conducts cutting-edge research in strategic areas ideal for collaborative work. By blending research with education in a variety of disciplines, the College is leading this interdisciplinary effort in order to meet the challenges of the future.
Academics
The College of Computing has built a reputation for providing challenging courses and an overall rewarding academic experience at all levels. In the undergraduate program, the College awards bachelor’s degrees in computer science, and in the graduate program, the College offers master’s and doctoral degrees in computer science. The College offers an undergraduate certificate in Information Systems jointly with the DuPree College of Management and an undergraduate minor and undergraduate and graduate certificates in Cognitive Science jointly with the Schools of Psychology and Industrial and Systems Engineering. The College also offers the M.S. degree in Human-Computer Interaction in collaboration with the School of Literature, Communication and Culture and the School of Psychology. The College is a sponsor of a multidisciplinary program in Algorithms, Combinatorics and Optimization (ACO), an approved doctoral degree program at Georgia Tech, and master’s and doctoral degrees in bioengineering can be pursued through the College as one of the units participating in the Institute-wide interdisciplinary Bioengineering Program. The College recently added a master’s degree in information security, one of a handful of such programs in the country.
The College also offers students the opportunity to participate in a growing number of summer study abroad programs. In addition, the College's Continuing and Professional Education Program offers a series of non-credit short courses (1-5 days) and certificates in core computing competencies. More details about each of these programs is available on the Academics pages of the College’s web site.
Statistics
Currently the College is comprised of 68 academic faculty, 39 research and instructional faculty, 1 postdoc fellow, 47 technical and support staff, 10 administrative staff, 260 Ph.D. students, 158 M.S. students and 1500 undergraduate students (based on Fall 2002 enrollments).
The latest US News and World Report ranks our program as #9 nationally. In specialty areas, Graphics/User Interaction is #4 and Databases is #7.
Students
The College awards bachelors, masters, and doctoral degrees in Computer Science, with strong instructional and research programs in Computer Architecture, Database Systems, Graphics and Visualization, Human-Computer Interaction, Intelligent Systems (including Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Science, and Robotics), Networking and Communications, Programming Languages and Compilers, Software Engineering and Methodology, Systems (including Operating Systems, Distributed and Parallel Systems), and Theoretical Computer Science, as well as other areas of computing.
The computer science students at Tech are the cream of the crop. As of Fall 2001, the average SAT average is 1336 for entering freshmen, while the average for computer science students is 1355, the highest of any college on campus.
This year we are offering a study abroad program focusing on computing but open to all majors. The program will be held at the Universidad Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona.
We encourage undergraduate research, and to that end several of our faculty members developed the Undergraduate Research Opportunities in Computing (UROC) program to encourage our computer science undergraduates to become involved in research projects.
Our women faculty actively participate in the Computer Research Association's Collaborative Research Experience for Women in Undergraduate Computer Science and Engineering (CREW) program, which is designed to provide collaborative research experiences for groups of two to three undergraduate women. This program increases the opportunity to do research and decreases the isolation that may be experienced in doing independent research, encouraging participants to pursue similar work in graduate school.
Faculty
We have an outstanding faculty which includes 3 IEEE Fellows, 3 ACM Fellows, 1 Fulbright Fellow, 2 Sloan Fellows, 1 IEEE Sr. Fellow, 1 Eurographics Fellow, 1 Guggenheim Fellow and 1 member of the National Academy of Engineers. Collectively they are recipients of 10 NSF Career Awards, 1 National Young Investigator Award, 3 Presidential Young Investigator Awards and 1 IBM Young Investigator Awards.
The faculty members at the College of Computing take the interdisciplinary focus of the College seriously with collaborative efforts involving all of the academic colleges on campus. In keeping with the interdisciplinary emphasis, the College has several joint faculty appointments with schools including, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Industrial and Systems Engineering, Mathematics, and Public Policy, as well as the College of Architecture.
Research
Our research areas include cognitive science, computer architecture, database systems, educational technology, future computing environments, graphics and visualization, human computer interaction, intelligent systems and robotics, networking and telecommunications, programming languages and compilers, parallel and distributed systems, software engineering, and theoretical computer science.
The College houses four Centers: the Center for Experimental Research in Computer Systems (CERCS), the Georgia Tech Information Security Center (GTISC), the Graphics, Visualization and Usability Center (GVU) and the Modeling & Simulation Research and Education Center (MSREC). CERCS provides the infrastructure to support experimental efforts in the design of the future generations of computing systems. GTISC conducts interdisciplinary research and development focusing on all aspects of information security, including systems-level vulnerability assessment, theory development, and public and organizational security policies. GVU focuses on the effectively communicating information between humans and computers by implementing the principles and methods of graphics, visualization, and user interface design and usability. MSREC creates and manages education, research, and development programs concerned with modeling and simulations technologies and their application to real-world problems and systems.
Interaction with the Community
The faculty is proactive in its interaction with the business community. Through the Industrial Partners Association (IPA), faculty members are assigned as liaisons of the College. The partnership allows for exploring a myriad of possibilities for collaborative ways to forge mutually beneficial and long-term relationships.
Complementing our traditional academic program is the College of Computing Continuing Education program, which offers non-credit courses and certificate programs in core computing competencies. The clientele for these courses includes IT professionals seeking new skills or honing existing capabilities, as well as people preparing for a computing career. Instruction is provided by the faculty of the College of Computing, as well as by selected professionals from the computing industry. This combination of cutting-edge knowledge and up to the minute industry experience in a fundamentals-based curriculum is what has established the College's Continuing Education program as a leader in this competitive field.
The College of Computing website may be visited by clicking here. (opens in new window)