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 ninth year and in May graduated its sixth class. DPS students maintain full-time jobs, while completing the three-year program. Student dissertation areas have included: Agile Methods, Pattern Languages, Visualization of Data, Genetic Algorithms, Distributed Systems Architecture, Software Component Integration, Web Personalization, Software Testing, Data Security, Information Assurance, Web Content Management, Knowledge Management, Software Product Quality and CMMI, Cybercrime, Biometrics, Pattern Recognition, Robotics.

Robert Zandoli, a 2006 graduate, said in reference to the program, "I used my research in Agile Development Methods to manage an enterprise-wide project, completing it on time and on budget. This success led to added responsibilities and more visibility by top executives at my firm."
 

• The Students - With three classes in attendance in the Fall of 2007, there are a total of 48 students, 40 men and 8 women, from 9 states. The classes are ethnically diverse with 10 African-American, 11 Asian, and 6 Hispanic students. They entered the program with master's degrees from institutions such as Baruch College, CUNY, Florida State, Iona, Polytechnic, Sacred Heart University, SUNY, University of IL, University of PA, and, of course, Pace. DPS students are employed full-time by a wide range of employers including: Bloomberg, Blue Sky Studios, DannonUSA, GEICO, IBM, Lehman Brothers, MetLife, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, Oracle, Sun, Verizon, Westchester County , and Yale University 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, Paul Dantzig, Michael Gargano, Fred Grossman, Fran Gustavson, Allen Stix, Lixin Tao, and Charles Tappert. Many SCSIS faculty members participate in the Research Seminar Course and serve as dissertation advisers and dissertation committee members
  
  Among the distinguished guest lecturers who visited DPS this year are: Dr. James Coplien, industry speaker, author, and innovator, whose latest book, co-authored with Neil Harrison, is Organizational Patterns of Agile Software Development; Dr. Linda Rising, an internationally known presenter on topics related to patterns, retrospectives, and customer interaction, and the author of four books and numerous articles; and Dr. Nalini Ratha of 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, seidenberg.pace.edu/dps , as the Web site address is displayed on all promotional material. A total of thirteen information sessions, seven at the Graduate Center and six at the Midtown Center , were held to promote the program. At each, Dr. Fred Grossman gives an overview of the program, and a representative of Graduate Admission explains the admission process. A professionally designed fact sheet, and full-page ad are used in our recruitment campaigns and promotions.
• Special Events - Include a four-day orientation for new students, annual barbecue, and "kick-off" luncheon.