Presenter: Carla Brodley, Dean, Northeastern University College of Computer and Information Systems The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2020 there will be 1M more computing jobs than applicants. Contributing to this shortfall is a field that seems to signal, “it’s too late to come to this party” to anyone who didn’t study computer science as an undergraduate. What’s more, our education system continues to fail to attract women and underrepresented minorities to the field. In 2018 more than half undergrad degree earners were women and a quarter were underrepresented minorities, but only a fraction of them got a degree in tech. We need a new way of thinking about how colleges and universities can make computer science accessible and attractive to everyone. In this talk, Carla Brodley, the Dean of the College of Computer and Information Science at Northeastern University, will present the results of a five-year pilot that is attracting hundreds of students from every background to pursue a Master’s in computer science. Graduates of this program, which started in 2013 at Northeastern’s Seattle campus, are working in top tech firms in the area and are proving that an MS in CS is the new MBA. Northeastern is now working with other universities to adopt this new program to create systemic change in higher ed to address the pipeline problem in tech.

1. Solving the tech pipeline
problem:
The Master’s degree in
Computer Science
as the new MBA
Carla E. Brodley
Professor & Dean
Northeastern University – College of Computer and Information Science

2. The Demand and Appeal for the MBA is Declining

3. Increased Demand for Tech Jobs

4. U.S. High Tech Workforce Challenges
• By 2020 the U.S. Bureau of Labor projects 1M more computing jobs than
applicants
• A large part of the problem is an education system that fails to attract
women and underrepresented minorities (URM) to CS
• Women: > 50% of BS/BA degree recipients and 18% of BSCS
• URM: 25% of BS/BA degree recipients and 10% of BSCS
• If we can close these gaps, we will not only address a major economic
issue, but also a major issue of social equity and inclusion

5. Four Key Observations
• Only 25% of MS in CS 2016 graduates nationwide were domestic students
• Current MS programs (which require a BS in CS) are either geared for
PhD preparation or designed to generate revenue from foreign students
hoping to win the H1B visa lottery
• Code academies do not prepare our workforce for leadership positions and
we do not have time to wait for our K-12 programs and undergraduate
programs to solve these challenges
• 1.8M people graduated in the US last year without an undergraduate
degree in CS

6. Computer Science is for
EVERYONE
Our Mission

7. The Align MS in CS
provides a 2-
semester on-ramp
for people who
studied something
other than CS

8. After Completing the Two Semester Bridge,
Students Choose One of Three MS Degrees

9. Experience: 6-8 Months of Real Work
• This is part of Northeastern’s famous co-op program; the College of
Computer and Information Science has partnerships with over 450
companies
• On average students earn on $35,000 for 6 months
• Co-op alleviates the fear factor and provides powerful inroads to
companies that might seem too intimidating to approach for students
making a career transition
• Increases job prospects – both with experience on their resume and
because many students receive an offer of permanent employment from
their co-op company

10. Location: Designed for In-Market
Settings in Tech Hubs Across the U.S.
San Francisco
2018

11. Commitment: Our Program Takes 2.5 Years
and All Classes are Offered in the Evening
• Evening classes allow students to keep up with other commitments; the
majority of our domestic students have a part or full-time job which
supports their living expenses
• Classes run year-round to shorten time to graduation
• In contrast to an undergraduate degree, our program develops leaders in
tech in 2-2.5 years

12. The Align MSCS is for Everyone

13. And students
come from
every
discipline…

14. Northeastern has the capacity to dramatically
scale this program to produce 1,000+ graduates
per year whose demographics reflect those of
the population (50% female and 25% under-
represented minorities)…thereby increasing
diversity of race, gender and thought in the US
tech workforce.

15. In partnership with the NSF in 2016, we have demonstrated
that the key to attracting women and URM is a first semester
scholarship to help make the leap into CS

16. A First Semester
Scholarship…
• Ameliorates the financial risk to the student (retention after
second semester is 99%; all graduates have $100k+
salaries)
• Encourages students to try CS and will ultimately (because
of our retention rate) ensure that we do not contribute to
student debt
• Cost of one scholarship: $12,500

17. Progress towards
$11M scholarship goal

18. Initial Results for the
Align MS in CS

19. Overall, Retention is High:
88% 1st to 2nd semester, 90%+ thereafter

20. Starting with Spring 2018 our enrollment
goals are 50% women and 25% URM

21. Cumulative GPA for all Align students
as of Spring 2018 (n=320)
0
5%
0 - 2.49
3% 2.5 - 2.99
2%
3 - 3.19
3%
3.2 - 3.49
12%
3.5 - 3.99
59%
4.0'
16%

22. 104 ALIGN MS in CS Co-op
Placements at These 47 Companies
• Our tech company partners tell us that the Align masters program produces graduates
that are vastly better equipped to succeed than “boot camp” code academy graduates, for
whom they only have a limited number of openings
• They find the diversity of thought that stems from coupling an undergraduate degree in
another field together with an MS in CS an exciting employment opportunity

23. Fall 2018 Co-Op & Internship Placements
Software Development Engineer (9)
Software Development Engineer (4)
Site Operators (3)
Software Development Engineer
Business Technology Solutions Engineer
Software Development Engineer
Software Development Engineer
Software Development Engineer

24. All Graduates Have $100k+ Paying Jobs in Tech
Company Job Title
Allen Institute of AI Research Software Engineer
Amazon (15) Cloud Support Associate, Software Development Engineer
Apple Software Development Engineer
Code Technology Software Developer
Comcast Client Solutions Engineer
Coral Docs Co-Founder
eBay Full Stack Engineer
Facebook (5) Software Engineer
Google (2) Software Engineer, Technical Writer
Microsoft Software Engineer
Nordstrom (2) Software Engineers
Porch Java Engineer
Providence (DIG) Software Engineer
Simba Technologies Computer Scientist
Staples (2) Software Development Engineer
TecAce Software Ltd. Software Engineer
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Scientific Analyst
WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. Computer Science Consultant
Zillow (2) Software Development Engineer

25. Other Pathways at
Northeastern University

26. College of Professional
Studies
Applications
Development
Path #1 Path #2
System
Administration
&
Cybersecurity
BS in IT
BS Degree BS Degree
Online &
On-Ground
in Boston
Align MSCS
(one year)
Path #3
Align Bridge
+
2 MSCS
Courses
On-Ground
at all
campuses

27. D’Amore-McKim School of Business
MBA+Tech
“We are a tech
business”
– Insurance Company
CIO
Find Your Path
I have…
CS-Background
No CS-
Background
2-Semester Align
Bridge (1 Year)
MBA Classes
+
3 MS-Level CS Classes in 1 of 4
Concentrations
(2 Years)
CS Concentration
Options
Software
Development
Security Data Science
Artificial
Intelligence

28. Our Align Students
Share Their Experience

29. Monish
Naidu

30. Kate Schulz

31. Northeastern’s Commitment to
Lifelong Learning
• Align MS in CS
• BS in IT for degree completion for adult learners
• MBA + Tech