International Differences Degree programs and career requirements

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3.3. International Differences

This report and the five other volumes of the Computing Curricula Series on which it is based have benefited to some degree from international input, especially from the United Kingdom. Our goal has been to provide advice and illustrations that would have international relevance. While our future efforts must feature significantly expanded international participation, we can claim some modicum of success, as some interesting points of comparison arose. There are differences in the structure of the academic year, in the emphasis given to the study of computing within a degree program for example, in the U.K. almost all classes in a computing degree program will be oriented toward computing, in the quality control mechanisms e.g., different expectations and practices re: accreditation, and so on. In addition, there are different approaches to defining the focus of degree programs: • In the US there is a very strong sense of a “core” for each discipline. The core for each discipline is intended as a specification of those elements of the discipline that are deemed fundamental and which all students of that discipline should fully understand. This approach has at least two benefits: it helps create a shared understanding of the abilities that can be expected of graduates, and it facilitates transfer between institutions. Argument and eventual agreement about the definition of the core helps support strong discipline definitions and a clear understanding of the meaning of degree titles. • The idea of a core is far less prominent in countries such as the U.K. where degree titles are seen as providing strong marketing opportunities. As a result, by U.S. standards the U.K. offers a vast number of kinds of computing degrees. The rich variety of degree titles reflects different emphases and different career opportunities. In the U.K., guidance and quality issues associated with degrees are taken care of by criteria and mechanisms such as those outlined in section 3.5

3.4. The pace of change in academia: The disciplines and the available degrees