History of Computer Science Education

2015: Celebrating Fifty Years of Changing the World!

Carnegie Mellon is known worldwide for our broad view of computer science. We build upon the strong foundations our history has provided and act quickly to explore new directions. We are fearless in pushing the frontiers of our field. Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon is also distinctive for our research style, educational programs, commitment to diversity, culture and organizational structure. It is the union of all these factors — not just one of them — that truly distinguishes us from other programs.

Mission
Since our inception 50 years ago, the Computer Science Department’s mission has remained steadfast: to lead in computer science research and education that has real-world impact — to push the frontiers of the field and produce the next generation’s leaders.

Values
In the Computer Science Department, we believe that our success rests on these four pillars.

Leadership in education. From the beginning, we designed our programs to prepare our students to be leaders in academia and industry. Our Ph.D. program believes strongly in research from day one, and we consistently monitor our graduate curriculum to ensure that it’s a perfect balance of rigor and flexibility. Our enthusiasm for undergraduate education is unparalleled, and we consistently rank as the top undergraduate computer science program in the country.

The quality and impact of our research. We strive for both high-quality, high impact research, collaboratively and across disciplines. We build things for real users with real-world impact. And we think big, taking risks in our research agendas to support uncommon research areas, to start uncharted research areas, and to dream of projects beyond what a single faculty member could accomplish alone.

A supportive culture that brings out the best in people. We live by the Reasonable Person Principle, which relies on mutual trust and support among all faculty, staff and students. We take collective responsibility for our students and faculty, through shared oversight of grad students and faculty processes, like assigning teaching duties. We presume success, and admit or hire only those candidates we expect to excel.

Diversity. The percentage of women out of all students receiving undergraduate degrees in computer science at Carnegie Mellon now hovers around 33 percent — almost twice the national average.

HISTORY

1956: Herbert A. Simon, associate dean of Carnegie Institute of Technology’s business school, joins forces with several faculty members to establish the Computation Center. Alan Perlis (S’42), a Pittsburgh native and MCS graduate, is brought from Purdue University to be the center’s director.

August 1956: The university’s first computer, an IBM 650, is delivered to basement of the Graduate School of Industrial Administration building.

1958: Carnegie Tech offers the first freshman-level computer programming course in the nation. It is taught by Alan Perlis.

1961: The Systems and Communication Sciences program is established. This interdisciplinary program combines computer science, mathematics, psychology, business and electrical engineering, and provides the exams for Carnegie Mellon’s first computer science-related Ph.D. students.

1962: CIT receives a $600, 000 contract to research the theory of computer programming, AI, interpretation of natural languages, man-computer interactions and design of computing machinery from the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Defense Department.

1965: Carnegie Mellon establishes the Computer Science Department with the support of a $5 million grant from the Richard K. Mellon Foundation. Alan Perlis is its first head. The first students enroll in the Ph.D. program in CS.

1967: The first computer science doctoral degrees are awarded.

1971: Joseph Traub takes over as head of the computer science department.

1975: Herb Simon and Allen Newell win the Turing Award, often called the Nobel Prize of computer science.

1978: Herb Simon wins the Nobel Prize in Economics for decision-making theory.

1983: The Andrew Project begins, making Carnegie Mellon the first wired campus. One outcome was AFS, a widely used network file system.

1985: The Computer Science Department becomes a floating unit at Carnegie Mellon, not tethered to a particular school or college.

1985: Carnegie Mellon develops and launches its groundbreaking “Andrew” campus-wide communications network, one of the first in the nation. Leadership in developing and implementing the network came from the Computer Science Department, most notably from a campus-wide committee chaired by Allen Newell.

1988: The Computer Science Department becomes the School of Computer Science. Nico Haberman is the first dean.

1989–90: The School of Computer Science creates an undergraduate program.

1992: Raj Reddy becomes dean of the School of Computer Science.

1999: James Morris (CS’63) becomes dean of the School of Computer Science.

2000: The Wireless Andrew network is installed — the first of its kind in the country.

2000: BusinessWeek and Yahoo! Internet Life magazines rate Carnegie Mellon as the Most Wired University.