The Doctor of Professional Studies in Computing

The Doctor of Professional Studies (DPS) in Computing program began its first semester in the Fall of 1999. The program is now in its seventh year and in May graduated its fourth class. DPS students maintain full-time jobs, while completing the three-year program. Student dissertation areas have included: Biometrics, Broadband Wireless Network Access Services, Data Warehousing, Distributed Systems Architecture, Pattern Recognition, Patterns and Pattern Languages, Visualization of Data, Genetic Algorithms, Software Component Integration, Web site Personalization and Privacy, Data Security, and Web Services for Businesses.

As David Ulmer, a 2004 graduate wrote in reference to the program, "My experience at Pace was great! .....I particularly enjoyed the camaraderie of the 2004 DPS cohort. The professors were experts in their field, and they were very supportive of the students who were balancing full-time occupations with the doctoral program."

• The Students - With three classes in attendance in the fall of 2005, there are a total of 53 students, 44 men and 9 women from 7 states. The classes are ethnically diverse with 9 African-American, 13 Asian, and 9 Hispanic students. They entered the program with master's degrees from institutions such as Columbia, CUNY, Johns Hopkins, Iona, NYU, Penn State, Polytechnic, SUNY, Syracuse, University of CT, and, of course, Pace. DPS students are employed full time by a wide range of employers including: AT&T, IBM, ITT, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife, Montefiore Medical Center , Norfolk State University , Prudential, St. Francis College , SIAC, Sun, Westchester County , and Verizon, among others.
• Faculty and Staff - Dean Susan Merritt holds primary responsibility for overseeing the DPS program with Dr. Fred Grossman, Program Chair, and Dr. Charles Tappert, Associate Chair. Chris Longo handles administrative duties and provides support on the resident weekends. The program also has a graduate assistant.
  
  Teaching faculty include Joseph Bergin, Howard Blum, Sung-Hyuk Cha, Paul Dantzig, Michael Gargano, Fred Grossman, Fran Gustavson, Allen Stix, Lixin Tao, and Charles Tappert. Many other Seidenberg Faculty members participate in the Research Seminar and serve as dissertation advisers and dissertation committee members.
  
  Distinguished guest lecturers this year were: Dr. Henry S. Baird, Computer Science and Engineering, Lehigh University ; Jim Coplien, Research Scientist and Author, Lucent Technologies; and Dr. Nalini Ratha, IBM Research.
• Curriculum - The first year's (fall, spring, and summer) integrated core curriculum is designed to provide an understanding of computing as a coherent discipline and the environments in which computer-based systems operate. In the second year, students pursue elective study in selected areas that support the projected dissertation research. In addition, students participate in a Research Seminar sequence for each of the six semesters of the first two years of study. These seminar courses introduce students to the various methods and styles of computing research. Students devote the third year to completing their research and to writing the dissertation. A total of 48 credits are required for graduation.
  
  Although students come to campus approximately once a month (5 times per semester), their participation in educational activities is ongoing. Outside of class, in addition to doing their assigned and supplementary readings, writing papers, and preparing presentations, they maintain on-going communication with the faculty and their fellow students via the Internet. Unlike traditional graduate programs, students do not feel isolated. Strong bonding occurs among the students and faculty.
• Object-Oriented/Agile/Java Workshop - Agile software development and object technology figure prominently in the three-semester sequence of courses on software design and development taken by all first year students. Therefore, a free, non-credit, jumpstart workshop is offered to entering students in August at the Graduate Center . Instruction continues online for four weeks, and in genuine workshop style, students proceeded at their own rates and in accordance with their interests in the more advanced topics.
• Assessment - Feedback from both students and faculty is important. Program assessment and course opinion surveys for students are completed at the end of each semester for each DPS class. Faculty also complete an assessment of learning and teaching in the DPS. Survey results have assisted in fortifying novel aspects of the program that are working well and in pinpointing shortcomings.
• Recruitment - Efforts that seem to have the best results are bulk mailings to targeted groups, e-mails to past inquirers, and DPS information sessions. Most of the DPS inquiries and applications are received through the DPS Web site, http://csis.pace.edu/dps , as the Web site address is displayed on all promotional material. A total of ten information sessions, five at the Graduate Center and five at the Midtown Center , were held to promote the program.
• Scholarship Fund - The Marilyn Mead Endowed Scholarship Fund was developed in 2002 through the efforts of Dr. V. Sadagopan, a consultant to the school and president of Network and Multimedia Services of Scarborough, New York. The fund is named in memory of Dr. Marilyn Mead a 2002 DPS graduate. Dr. Sadagopan is impressed with the care and planning that DPS takes in addressing two primary concerns in computer-oriented doctoral programs on the national level: the under-representation of women and of minorities
• Special Events - Include an annual Barbecue and Kick-off Luncheon.