Why Study Computer Science?
Computer Science is an exciting and ever-changing field. Computer scientists solve complex, challenging, global, and impactful problems in areas such as business, entertainment, medicine, and climate change —through creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. Computer Science graduates are in high demand in a range of industrial and corporate settings and have excellent job prospects.
Salary Potential
median salary, computer programmer
* U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Hands-on Learning
Independent Study
Through independent study, students work one-on-one with faculty members to apply their classroom skills to a range of research projects in areas such as bioinformatics, discrete event simulation, mobile apps, data mining and computer hardware.
Clubs
Outstanding Computer Science students are inducted into the Alpha chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon, the national honor society for computing and information systems.
Internships
Computer Science students intern in a variety of locations, including Cigna’s on-campus Technology Early Career Development program.
Faculty Spotlight
Scott M. Smith
Assistant Professor
“Do something you like doing. More than likely, you will be doing it for a long time so you have to enjoy it!”
Read More
Garrett M. Dancik
Professor and Department Chair
Professor Dancik has dedicated much of his work to teaching and developing courses in computer science, data science and bioinformatics, an interdisciplinary field that uses computational and mathematical tools to organize and analyze biological data.
Read More
Career Options
Students who pursue undergraduate degrees in Computer Science can have rewarding and successful careers in a variety of professional fields, including:
- Computer, data and network security
- Programming
- Systems administration or analysis
- Data and information engineering
- Database design and administration
- Digital media production
- Network administration, systems, or data communications analysis
- Software engineering
- Web design and development
- Embedded and mobile apps
Successful Alumni
Recent Eastern students who earned a bachelor’s degree or a minor in Computer Science are at the following companies and graduate schools:
- Boston University
- Cigna
- Computer Sciences Corporation
- Electric Boat
- IBM
- Pfizer
- Pratt & Whitney
- RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies)
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Rochester Institute of Technology
- Sonalyst
- The Travelers
- United Technologies
- University of California Berkley
- University of Connecticut
In the News
Math major presents at regional computing conference
April 24, 2024
Undergraduate students from across the Northeast traveled to The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY, for the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Northeast Region (CCSCNE) on April 12-13. Among them was mathematics major Carter Kelly from Eastern Connecticut State University.
Faculty workshop considers AI use in higher education
March 05, 2024
Artificial intelligence (AI) programs like ChatGPT have raised concerns across college campuses and Eastern Connecticut State University is no exception. In a workshop sponsored by Eastern’s new Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment on Feb. 28, computer science professor and department chair Garrett Dancik spoke with faculty about the abilities and limitations of AI and how it can be used to enhance student learning.
Alumni Testimonials
Computer Science
Vanessa Zetino ’20
Vanessa is a data engineer at Travelers, where she works with Python and AWS services. “I build architecture solutions to solve different issues that come up in the company. I’m truly grateful for that mentorship I received at Eastern. I believe having someone you can connect with and who was once in your shoes is truly important when trying to navigate through your journey.”
Computer Science
Courtney Combs ’17
Courtney is a software engineer at Pratt & Whitney, as well as a company commander and pilot for the Army National Guard. “My Eastern education gave me the full picture of what a software engineer basically does. Both my careers engage me in problem solving, troubleshooting and working as a team. I perform coding, debugging, testing, trouble shooting for the software development side of the house.”
Computer Science
Josh Molyneaux ’17
Josh is an associate software engineer at Travelers Insurance. “My Eastern education helped prepare for my career by providing me with a solid technical foundation, improved logical/critical thinking skills, and the ability to thrive in a team environment. I find myself being constantly challenged by new advancements in technology, as well as the varying issues that we are tasked with daily.”
Software Developer
Kyle Weise ’16
Kyle earned his M.S. in bioinformatics at Northeastern University and is a software developer/data manager at RCH Solutions. “The computer science program at Eastern definitely prepared me for graduate school. The selection of classes provides background from the operating system/assembly level all the way to the cloud/big data level. The professors are both accessible and thorough in their teaching.”
Cigna
David Ngibuini ’14
Computer Science major David Ngibuini is a portfolio manager at Cigna, a global health services company. “All of life’s problems can’t be solved with a few lines of code. Having a liberal arts background helps me to draw from different branches of knowledge so that I can reach a creative solution, rather than facing the world purely as a computer scientist.”
Jackson Laboratory
Michael Gargano ’16
Computer Science major Michael Gargano is a scientific software engineer at The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine. “Eastern cemented the foundation to my career. I owe my success to Professor Garret Dancik. Not many people get to say that their professor is also their mentor; he’s an expert in bioinformatics and truly a one-of-a-kind teacher.”
Google Tech Program Manager
Nate Belay ’20
A native of Ethiopia, Nate was the only international student in Eastern’s Honors Program. He is now lead technical program manager of Google’s Android Jetpack program. “I am responsible for spearheading the critical end-to-end pipeline of more than 200 Android Jetpack libraries to internal teams (e.g. Google Search, YouTube), and millions of external developers (e.g. WhatsApp) to build mobile applications that reach billions of end users.”
Data Engineer
Jafet Aparicio Santos ’21
Computer science and mathematics double-major Jafet Aparicio Santos ’21 is a data engineer at Travelers Insurance. “I knew that I wanted a career that dealt with technology and data. Eastern's math and computer science programs worked impeccably to prepare me for my current position. The rigorous courses and supportive professors allowed me to grow as a data and technology professional throughout my time at Eastern.”
Cybersecurity Engineer
Juan Matiz ’20
Computer Science major Juan Matiz ’20 is an information protection advisor at Cigna. “My Eastern experience exceeded my expectations. Never would I have thought that I would have the opportunity to be president of a club (College Democrats), form another club (Freedom at Eastern) and eventually end up working for a Fortune 500 company.”
Sema4
Julia Medina ’20
Computer Science major Julia Medina ’20 participated in the Connecticut Governor’s Innovation Fellowship, which landed her a job as a cloud engineer with Sema4, a predictive health company and leader in diagnostic testing.
