Students in the computer science program are drawn from many backgrounds including pre-engineering, IT, science, and liberal arts. The Eastern Nazarene College computer science program does not require extensive knowledge in mathematics and physics to attract students representing a diversity of backgrounds and experiences. Students have the opportunity to work with faculty who conduct research in key areas of computer science such as big data, artificial intelligence, robotics, and earthquake forecasting.
The computer science program at Eastern Nazarene College uniquely combines a foundation in the liberal arts, a strong computer science core curriculum, and an 18-month senior design/research requirement. The goal of the senior design/research is to provide original contribution to science and/or technology, culminating in a thesis defense and publication in a peer reviewed journal. Students have published their senior design/research theses in some of most prestigious peer reviewed undergraduate journals in the world such as The Journal of Undergraduate Research and the Journal of Young Investigators. Student publications have been highlighted as best in the science category in the Journal of Young Investigators in 2015 and 2017.
Faith based education is integrated into the senior design/research course sequence, providing students with a powerful platform to interface with their communities and use their education for the common good. In the last three years, the majority of the senior design/research has used innovative technology to reach the most under-served communities around the world.
Students pursuing computer science benefit from an advanced laboratory with maker space and support hardware and software, providing students with the ability to bring forth an idea, develop a concept, prototype, and develop a product within the same space. In addition, students have a dedicated super computer with data networking and storage support to tackle computationally intensive problems in trending areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics, data cloud and big data, cyber security and networking, mathematical modeling, and others.
Students in the computer science program form strong bonds, routinely organizing recreational activities on Wollaston Beach, a five-minute walk from campus. In addition, students join clubs including, the Engineering Club, Shrader Club, and Sailing Club. With Boston only a 15-minute train ride from campus, there are many academic and recreational opportunities for students as well.