A student wearing glasses sitting in front of a desktop computer.
Program Overview

Computer Science

Help define the future.

Isabel Taylor ’19, currently a software engineer at Google.
Photo credit: Tanya Rosen-Jones ’97

Computers Permeate Our Modern Lives

Computers are everywhere, from cell phones to cars. Increasingly experts use computer science in their work, from neuroscience to sociology to music. Oberlin provides a background in fundamentals of data science, logic, theory and programming, but we go beyond just coding. With an Oberlin CS degree, you will learn how the computer revolution is changing society and our lives, and how you can help shape its impact.

Collaboration and Teamwork at Applied Problem-Solving

At Oberlin Computer Science students are more than a number. Our classes are gathering places, and we host over 40 special events a year including resume workshops, alumni talks, and affinity group lunches for international students, women and non-binary students, and students of color. We offer a broad curriculum with options for double majoring and exploring CS alongside other interests at a liberal arts college.

1 out of 3 of our majors double major, and we have the most double degree majors of any college department

Embodying Technology

From smartphones to surveillance systems and automated machinery, sensor technologies and computers permeate our modern world. A new Oberlin learning community explores the liminal space between the physical and the digital.

Two professors standing in the hallway, smiling.
672 drop-in lab tutoring hours per year, including weekly safe space hours for women & transgender students and student of color

Conduct Original Research

From projects funded by the National Science Foundation to the Oberlin Summer Research Institute, students have the opportunity to collaborate with a faculty member on diverse research areas within computer science.

A smiling student sitting in front of a desktop computer in a computer room.

Undergraduate Research

Iago Braz Mendes

Iago is researching methods for analyzing black holes. “We will be able to compute the mass and energy during a collision…which has never been done before.”

Featured Courses

CSCI 150

Introduction to Computer Science

Learn the basics of Computer Science and coding in this course.  Interactive class discussion and weekly coding labs will teach you everything you need to know to write programs to process data, draw pictures, play games, or make music.

Taught by
Sam Taggart
CSCI 313

Human-Computer Interaction

This course explores how humans interact with computers, and how computers mediate our interactions with the world. Topics covered include interface design, user studies, accessibility, and ubiquitous computing. We read current research papers in this area, and students complete a group programming project exploring some aspect of human-computer interaction.

Taught by
Cynthia Taylor
CSCI 344

Privacy, Anonymity and Social Networks

In today’s networked and electronic society, personal information and social habits are increasingly available to potentially unauthorized parties. The protection of this information requires balancing social, legal, and economic pressures. This course will introduce students to current research that tackles such privacy challenges in an interdisciplinary approach.

Taught by
Roberto Hoyle
CSCI 374

Machine Learning and Data Mining

Machine learning and data mining enable computers to learn to perform tasks without explicit programming, as well as discover interesting information from data. Students gain hands-on practice with popular machine learning and data mining algorithms, as well as discuss challenges, issues and solutions to working with complexities in real-world data.

Taught by
Adam Eck

Student Profiles

He's Feeling Lucky

Matt Blankinship ’17 is a cybersecurity expert who began his career at Amazon before joining another tech giant: Google. Passionate about data privacy in this digital age, Blankinship works to improve security measures for a variety of Google products.

Matt Blankinship

Programming for Professionals

A computer science graduate and former member of the men’s tennis team at Oberlin, Manickam Manickam ’18 has brought enthusiasm and a robust work ethic to his first postgraduate job.

Manickam Manickam.

What does Computer Science at Oberlin look like?

A student smiling in front of their poster.

Jane Hsieh ’19 (currently a PhD student at Carnegie Mellon) presents her research at IEEE Symposium on Visual Languages and Human-Centric Computing in Lisbon, Portugal.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Jane Hsieh ’19
A group of students standing behind large letters that read W-E.

Students attend the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.

 

Photo credit: Courtesy of Cynthia Taylor
Computer science students in a classroom.

A course on machine learning with Professor Adam Eck.

Photo credit: Matthew Lester
Students discussing in class.

Discussion and collaborative learning are integral parts of the classroom experience.

Photo credit: Matthew Lester

Next Steps

Get in touch; we would love to chat.


Wilder Bowl in early fall.