Computer science department gets a new major in Service Oriented Computing

The Computer Science department at Stevens has a new undergraduate major. The Bachelor of Science in Service Oriented Computing (BS/SOC) was approved by a vote of the faculty of the Imperatore School of Sciences and Arts. The new major reflects a shift away from the classic hardware/software focus of computer science, towards domain-specific applications and end-user skills in requirements engineering, human computer interaction, and other domain-specific skills. Other such programs have appeared around North America, commonly under the title of informatics. The new major is also a reflection of trends in the IT industry, particularly with respect to distributed applications, inter-enterprise integration and service oriented software architecture.

The new major in service oriented computing joins an existing major in information systems as two majors that focus on applications of information technology. Whereas the BS/IS major emphasizes business and enterprise skills, the BS/SOC major combines its application domain focus with technical depth in concurrent and distributed application development. The other majors in the department continue the focus on software systems and the hardware/software interface. These include the classic computer science major, and a one-of-its-kind undergraduate major in cybersecurity that is now in its second year.