Curricular Complexity Versus Quality of Computer Science Programs

TL;DR

This study investigates the relationship between curricular complexity and program quality in computer science departments, finding an inverse correlation similar to previous electrical engineering research, suggesting higher quality programs tend to have less complex curricula.

Contribution

It extends prior findings on electrical engineering to computer science, demonstrating an inverse relationship between curriculum complexity and program quality in CS departments.

Findings

Higher quality CS programs tend to have less complex curricula

An inverse relationship between curriculum complexity and quality exists in CS

The phenomenon observed in electrical engineering also applies to computer science

Abstract

In this research paper we describe a study that involves measuring the complexities of undergraduate curricula offered by computer science departments, and then comparing them to the quality of these departments, where quality is determined by a metric-based ranking system. The study objective was to determine whether or not a relationship exists between the quality of computer science departments and the complexity of the curricula they offer. The relationship between curricular complexity and program quality was previously investigated for the case of undergraduate electrical engineering programs, with surprising results. It was found that if the US News & World Report Best Undergraduate Programs ranking is used as a proxy for quality, then a statistically significant difference in curricular complexities exists between higher and lower quality electrical engineering programs. Furthermore, it was found that higher quality electrical engineering programs tend to have lower complexity curricula, and vice versa. In the study reported in this paper, a sufficient amount of data was collected in order to determine that an inverse relationship between program quality and curricular complexity also exists in undergraduate computer science departments. This brings up an interesting question regarding the extent to which this phenomenon exists across the spectrum of STEM disciplines.