Boston University’s relatively small computer science department was ranked seventh in the nation by a New York-based research company that evaluated more than 170,000 faculty member profiles from 354 universities.
Academic Analytics determined the rankings, published in The Chronicle of Higher Education on Jan. 12, from its Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index, which ranks records of professors’ original publications from 2005, how often their work has been cited, amount of government funding awarded and honors and distinctions received at almost 7,300 doctoral programs around the country.
In addition, the research company, partially owned by the State University of New York at Stony Brook, ranked other areas of study at BU, including cognitive sciences, social work and Hispanic studies, in the top 10 for faculty member efficiency.
Computer science chairman Azer Bestavros said his department is small by choice, and its focus on quality teaching places it in direct competition with larger computer science departments, like the one at Columbia University, which ranked second.
Although the department integrates teaching and encourages independent research, one reason it ranks so high is because of advanced group projects developed by faculty members, Bestavros said. One such project, a device called “Sensorium,” developed the use of sensors to perform simple tasks, like opening doors.
Bestavros predicts devices like the Sensorium will be used often in the near future, which is why the computer science department installed the sensors in its labs to troubleshoot potential bugs before the device becomes commonplace.
The department will continue to develop technology like the Sensorium, which Bestavros said will place the program and faculty ahead of a constantly changing field.
“You have to be 10 to 15 years ahead of the curve to . . . solve these technological problems,” he said. “We are pushing the envelope to what you can do to level this technology.”
The computer science department’s high ranking comes from its qualified faculty and research opportunities, said Diane Hirsh, a 2004 BU graduate in Computer Science
“[The department] offers their students opportunities to be exposed to many different areas of computer science,” she said.
According to an information packet produced by Bestavros, the department’s strategic plan outlines the program’s record and future plans.
“While our department is the smallest in size in terms of faculty members, it boasts one of the highest rates of funding per faculty, a formidable record of securing National Science Foundation Career Awards, an impressive citation record and one of the highest percentages of faculty on top editorial boards,” the packet states.
After separating from the mathematics department in 1983, the computer science department experienced significant growth in the mid 1990s and reached its peak of 17 faculty members in 2001. This growth, according to the strategic plan, allows the department to expand programs in theory, software, systems, algorithmics and informatics.
“The broadening of our department’s coverage of applied computer science has allowed us to adapt to the greater and rapidly changing needs in computer science education ,” the plan states. “Also, it allowed us to sustain our research funding, without which we cannot have a thriving graduate program.”
Hirsch said the department’s student-oriented focus prepares graduates with the analytical skills and experience necessary to pursue careers in technology, science, medicine, law and education. She said her research with computer science professors directly led her to her former job at the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Despite positive comments about the department, Hirsh suggested the department should require more math courses, specifically in probability and statistics.
Bestavros said students typically believe the math requirement is too heavy, and he said the department has “a wonderful balance in math and hands-on requirements.”