Ellen sez, "In article by Charlie Anders in the San Francisco Bay Guardian highlights the Mills Interdisciplinary Computer Science program, which provides a unique path for nontraditional students, especially women, to go into computer science or interdisciplinary work. The program takes a highly successful feminist approach to teaching computer science, with a nurturing environment and attention to applying computer science beneficially, without sacrificing rigor. (Note: I direct the graduate program.)"
The interdisciplinary part of the Mills College ICS program's name means students combine computer science with another area of study to produce their master's theses. "It gives you a really broad brush," says Wetherby, the former casino worker. When a student comes to Spertus with a thesis idea, she always asks how it uses what the student has learned about computer science. But she also asks why the thesis is something that she, a narrowly trained computer scientist, couldn't do. She finds the interdisciplinary approach helps students make more of a contribution and also realize they can do things that Spertus, who has a PhD from MIT, can't.
(Thanks, Ellen!)
