University of Georgia Computer Science

The Computer Science Department at the University of Georgia is managed under the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. The Computer Science department was established in 1984 and, as a result, the college is managed under the Franklin College and not the College of Engineering, which was founded in 2012.^[2]

2014 - 2016 Growth

Computer Science is, as of September 2016, the 3rd most enrolled major at the University of Georgia and is the University's fastest growing major. The number of undergraduates enrolled as Computer Science majors increased from 614 in fall 2014 to 751 in fall 2015 (an increase of 22%).^[1] In 2016, the Computer Science department was able to hire more faculty to keep up with its own growth and the national need for IT and programming related skills. This hiring process was primarily sparked by a student petition, which ammased over 1000 signatures, to the Computer Science department head and the dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. The petition requested more funding and instructors for the department.^[3] Computer Science is also the 3rd highest paying major at UGA, with each student making a $59,800 starting salary and a $102,000 mid career salary on average.^[4]

Student Involvement and Achievement

Being the 3rd most enrolled major at the University of Georgia, the Computer Science department has a plethora of student groups and organizations.

Hackathons

In 2015 the University of Georgia's first hackathon was organized by a student organization, led by an undergraduate Jaicob Stewart, known as UGA Hacks. The hackathon was co-run by Paul Hwang, who also designed all of the digital art for the event.^[5]

The UGA Hacks team put on a 36-hour coding and engineering event that was officially endorsed by Major League Hacking. UGA Hacks is planning a second hackathon in November 2016.

Association for Computational Machinery

The University of Georgia of has an Association for Computing Machinery branch that operates at the school. The University also has a branch of ACM-W, which focuses on empowering collegiate women in computer science.^[6]

Small Satellite Research Laboratory

The UGA Small Satellite Research Laboratory was founded in 2016 by Caleb Adams, an undergraduate computer science student, and involves around 20 students. This organization will be building the university's first satellite, which will deployed in late 2018 from the International Space Station.^[7][8]

References