One year in, Emmanuel's new Computer Science major already feels like family

“It’s pretty great for year zero,” said Assistant Professor of Computer Science Dr. Mark Sherman. In its first year, the College has seen its first cohort of students coming in specifically for the Computer Science major – and expects to see its first graduate of the program as well.

Computing at Emmanuel is taught through a unique lens and a “carefully designed” curriculum which treats the field as a true liberal art: a key, universal piece of knowledge that students should be able to understand, analyze and use to affect change in the modern world.

Computer Science major Molly Hans ’25 will be the first and longest standing member of the major to graduate from the College. She began her Emmanuel journey in a personalized major before the Computer Science program existed, which started with the Intro to Programming course.

Things have come a long way since then: Dr. Sherman and the small group of students in the program, including Hans, make up the self-proclaimed “Computer Science Family,” both pioneering the early stages of the curriculum and actively shaping its growth by sharing their input on the courses. Together, Hans said, they have fostered a great feeling of community and made themselves feel at home in the new major.

Hans thoroughly enjoys Emmanuel’s approach to Computer Science, and particularly the fact that it’s not limited to just math or coding. “It’s a more well-rounded education that includes people skills and being able to communicate, which is crucial… it’s not just about what you know, it’s about what kind of person you are,” she said.

Still early on in her time at Emmanuel, Isabella Franzese ’27 is one of the first students who sought out the College’s Computer Science major. She initially applied as a preferred Psychology major, but when she was informed about the new major offering, she switched to computing and made the decision to do it at Emmanuel.

The small class sizes were a major pull for Franzese, who wanted personalized guidance and support diving into a major that she had no prior experience in – and so far taking on that challenge has been super rewarding for her. “I can already see how much I’m improving very clearly – it shows my growth,” Franzese said. 

It helps to have a support system within the major too, and that’s exactly what Franzese found as a first-year student. Her peers have been super welcoming, she said, and since they’re so close, it doesn’t feel like they’re competing with each other, but working together towards their success.

“It’s so refreshing to have so many women in Computer Science when it’s typically a male dominated field,” Franzese added, “I’m super happy that I’m able to learn surrounded by other women who were supportive.”

Discoverable and variable Computer Science foundation

“In computing specifically, we are granting our students great power [when they graduate]. The curriculum provides multiple frameworks throughout on how to wield that power well – or just make sure the question of how to do it well is being asked,” Dr. Sherman said.

Another aspect that makes Emmanuel’s Computer Science curriculum so unique is that it’s so discoverable, Dr. Sherman said. Its entry-level programs are as low-barrier as possible to allow students of any level of interest to take a course, but they still set the groundwork needed to segue into a deeper computing education if they choose to do so. Like Franzese, students can come in with no prior experience and get all they need to succeed in the field post-graduation.

And since it’s so new, Dr. Sherman, with the help of current students, faculty across every school at Emmanuel and industry experts, has been able to consistently tailor course material to what students will need to succeed in the ever-changing field.

“[It’s] born out of the content and materials that professionals wished students would graduate with. We can do that here – that’s the beauty of building a new program from the ground up in 2023,” he said.

Experts who are hiring in the field directly informed the content of the Software Development Tools course, for example. Dr. Sherman consulted experts to ask exactly what they’re looking for from graduates as they begin in entry-level roles, and then it was directly applied to the course, one which both Franzese and Hans are currently enrolled in.

So far, it’s been Franzese’s favorite class at Emmanuel, complete with enough flexibility in the lesson plan to make adjustments within the three-hour class period. She said she hopes to pursue her creative and personal interests and become a game developer – but in general, she looks forward to gaining work experience in a group setting anywhere with the knowledge she builds over the next few years.

Students are getting a feel for that at Emmanuel too: “it’s the first real taste of working with a team in a professional setting,” Hans said. The Software Development Tools course is their first chance to partake in collaborative programming – working in tandem on one project, but on multiple machines. In these tight knit classes, Hans said that everyone has grown in their group participation and come out of their shell.

As she prepares to graduate in May, Hans is confident in the skills she’s built in her time at Emmanuel. She said it’s her dream to use stats and programming to work for the Detroit Lions data team, but she’s open to a number of possibilities.

“[It’s] really cool that I don’t know exactly what I want to do, but I have options,” Hans said.

Especially in Computer Science, she added, where a lot of learning happens situationally on the job, it’s the fundamentals that are the most important, and Hans said she appreciates how the Emmanuel curriculum focuses on being practical and putting emphasis on those fundamental and variable skills.

“Tools for a lifetime is a high priority,” Dr. Sherman said, “we want them to be growing upon that great foundation and network they got here.”