Stanford Announces New CS & Humanities Major

Do the math or else.

 Grace Hopper & UNIVAC Computer, 1960. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Stanford University announced a new Fall 2014 major – Computer Science and Humanities in response to Computer Science (CS) majors wanting more than tech training, and Humanity majors wanting to be tech competitive, reports The SF Gate. The problem is only the CS majors will benefit while the Humanities-oriented student are forced to be CS major or look elsewhere.  The key is math.

I once asked a CS major graduate, “What’s the difference between a CS and Computer Information Systems/Information Systems Management major?”  He laughed, “CIS/ISM majors are former CS majors who can’t do the math.”  

Simply, Computer Science majors are closet Math majors, they learn how to code using higher math skills learned in Calculus and beyond.  Doubt me?  Stanford's CS majors take 26 units of Math. Check any four year college catalog for what kinds of math CS majors are required to master.  It’s not unusual for a CS major to double major in Math because they share the bulk of the same requirements

A Humanities/Liberal Arts major will have to master a similarly high level of math and coding.  If not they’re not a Computer Science major but something else – CIS/ISM.

Simply, can those Humanity majors seeking a competitive tech edge with Stanford’s new hybrid major hack the math?  Or, is this a program a new way for Humanity-Liberal Arts departments to keep jobs and slow their shrinking budgets compared to their science and technology colleagues?