About Seidenberg

Ahead of our time then, forward looking now

• Overview
• Seidenberg Scholars
• Career outlook
• Teaching philosophy and program offerings
• Research

As one of the first comprehensive schools of computing in the country, the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems remains in the forefront of the field. Though much has changed since we were founded in 1983, we still maintain the same core values: a diverse, practical education founded in theory and based in reality. We teach our students to think and problem solve as well as to master the latest technologies and practices in associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees, and in certificate programs.

Whether you want to prepare for a career in computing or stay current in your field, Seidenberg has the right program for you.
 

Overview

The Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, established in 1983, is the youngest school within Pace University. It’s mission is to prepare men and women for professional work, research, and lifelong participation in a new and dynamic information age. The school offers a student-oriented environment; small classes; committed teaching; research with faculty; innovative programs, projects, and partnerships; and convenient multicampus locations in New York City and Westchester County as well as online and blended courses and programs. Inherent in the school’s activities and services to students, businesses, and the community is the belief that information technologies are tools for the empowerment of people.

With undergraduate and graduate programs spanning the computing disciplines, the school attracts a geographically and culturally diverse cross section of students. In 2010, the school enrolled 619 undergraduate and 492 graduate students. Students came from regions extending from Canada to China, from Alaska to Argentina.
 

Seidenberg Scholars

In September 2005, the Pace University trustees renamed the school the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, honoring Ivan G. Seidenberg, the chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications, Inc., who made a $15-million gift to help endow the school. Seidenberg, who earned his MBA from Pace in 1981 and serves as a university trustee, is widely recognized for transforming the telecommunications industry by pioneering uses of wireless technology and for recently setting the goal of taking broadband to every home. His donation is the largest gift ever given to Pace University and represents his long-standing commitment to Pace’s mission of providing opportunity to a diverse student population.

A portion of the new gift has gone towards the creation of the Seidenberg Scholars program, making it possible to recruit the brightest students and finest scholars and researchers in the country. The Seidenberg Scholars are expected to help propel the school to new heights and a position of national leadership among its peers.

Career outlook

Despite the recent downturn in the economy, computing and IT professionals have fared comparatively well. Organizations have come to view their IT employees as core assets and rely on them to implement and maintain the technologies that keep them competitive. The future looks bright for those preparing to enter the field as well as those who continue to update their skills. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), job growth through 2018 will be much better than average in all computing fields requiring a college degree and particularly strong for network systems analysts, software application developers , and database administrators. And as “Careers in Technology” published by www.dice.com, points out, young IT professionals “can take advantage of countless points of entry and all sorts of interesting paths for career advancement as the world continues to become more digital, more mobile and more Internet-dependent.”

Over the years, Seidenberg School graduates have taken their expertise to such diverse industries as financial services, computer manufacturing and application development, telecommunications, consumer products, health care and pharmaceuticals, entertainment and communications, governmental agencies, and nonprofit organizations.

Teaching philosophy and program offerings

Pace University’s Seidenberg School has been a leader in computer literacy for college students. For more than two decades, the school’s basic course, “Introduction to Computing,” has been part of the Pace required undergraduate core curriculum. In recent years, additional courses satisfying general education requirements have been added that combine computing class work with service internships in computing at nonprofit organizations. We also offer courses such as “Computers and the Environment” and “Close Encounters: Observation and Expression in Writing and Drawing” taught in interdisciplinary learning communities.

The school’s approach to computer science and information technology reflects Pace University’s emphasis on balancing classroom instruction with practical experience. Many Seidenberg students gain practical, pre-professional experience through internships obtained through Pace’s outstanding internship and Career Services Office. As a result, undergraduates become knowledgeable and self-confident professionals before they even enter the workforce full time.

At the graduate-level, the Seidenberg School offers five master’s level programs ranging from Information Systems to Software Design and Engineering to meet the varied needs of working and aspiring computing professionals. In addition, it is credited with developing an innovative doctoral program, the Doctor of Professional Studies in Computing designed for working IT and education professionals who already hold a master’s degree. It transforms the traditional doctoral experience by making it possible to complete the program in three years of part-time study, enhanced by online interaction combined with monthly weekend study on campus.

Working in partnership with many industries to develop programs that meet their needs, the school develops innovative offerings like the National Coalition for Telecommunications Education and Learning (NACTEL) program. This union-management collaboration gives employees of companies like Verizon, Qwest, AT&T, and Frontier Communications as well as members of the major telecommunications unions, the chance to obtain a college-level degree in telecommunications, networking, video and mobile technologies online, from anywhere in the country. The school offers courses leading to degrees and advanced certificates in both Software Development and Engineering and in Security and Information Assurance on site at the Bank of New York Mellon. In addition, students in India take courses online along with American students and Chinese graduate students will begin their studies and complete them on Pace's New York City campus.

Research

Research in the Seidenberg School transforms significant sectors of society with practical computing applications. Professor Paul Benjamin, PhD, heads a robotics lab that develops intelligent agents to perform operations that are dangerous to humans. He and others, including Professors Li-Chiou Chen, PhD, Chienting Lin, PhD, and Bel Raggad, PhD, work on security and intrusion detection as part of the school’s designation as one of a select group of institutions to be named a National Center of Excellence in Information Assurance. Professors Sung-Hyuk Cha, PhD, and Charles Tappert, PhD, direct the Pervasive Computing Lab, studying and applying human-computer interaction and machine learning techniques to a wide variety of wearable and handheld devices.

Students at all levels have the opportunity to pursue research independently or with faculty. Often their findings are presented at professional conferences. The school also hosts an annual Student-Faculty Research Day.

Ultimately, the Seidenberg gift is benefiting the national economy and workforce by encouraging and preparing a new generation of talented, industrious, and knowledgeable computing professionals. The Seidenberg School is now empowered to address the threat to our nation’s historical leadership in computing, both by increasing the number of first-rate computing professionals and by supporting research in critical areas of information technology.