Communication freshman Jordan Moore marvels at the intersectionality of his two chosen majors. Studying both theater and computer science, he said although they may seem like two very different worlds, he can see the similarities between them.

“Computer science has its creative side,” he said. “Coming from a math and science background, I can use that logic-based thinking within theater as well as the emotional side of theater too, so it kinda helps me do better in both scenarios.”

Moore is part of a growing group of Northwestern students interested in majoring in computer science. The major has seen an increase of 164 percent in degrees awarded since 2008, picking up from a drop in enrollment rates between 2006 and 2011.

Although computer science majors have increased in the last five years, the major is still ranked number 19 in popularity at NU. Economics, journalism and psychology remain NU’s three most popular majors, with 252, 178 and 152 degrees conferred in 2013-2014 respectively.

Electrical engineering and computer science Prof. Ian Horswill attributes this drop to parents and students thinking there were no programming jobs following the burst of the dot com bubble.

“That was false,” Horswill said. “Microsoft, for example, was spending a considerable amount of money to promote majoring in computer science because they were frustrated that they couldn’t hire enough programmers.”

Today, Horswill said, students and parents are better informed about job prospects for computer science majors, especially those students who are also interested in entrepreneurism and who use their computer science background to found startups. He said students are interested in computer science because of its intersectionality with other majors at NU.

Moore said he was advised by his parents to pick up a double major if he was planning to pursue his interest in theater. This, however, wasn’t the only motivation for taking up computer science. Moore said he developed a genuine interest in the subject after taking an Advanced Placement computer science class in high school.

Moore said he’s aware there’s a “huge hole in the market” right now for computer scientists.

“As the years go on, this is going to become more and more popular because … a lot of people just think ‘OK, well, if I can get a computer science major, I’ll have a job guaranteed,’” he said. “You can’t say that about a lot of majors, so a lot of people do it for the practical reasons or just because they’re into it in general.”

Although computer science does not function under its own department — it’s part of the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences’ Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department — this new influx of majors has caused some issues for computer science faculty.

For example, EECS 111, the introductory course on computer programming, had only 50 students five years ago, Horswill said. Today, the class has more than 300 enrolled.

“If the rate of increase continues, then next year we will have to turn people away from 111 because they won’t fit in the auditorium,” Horswill said. “It’s been a huge challenge for the CS faculty to cover the demand of courses.”

Medill’s bachelor degrees in journalism awarded have been on the rise for the third consecutive year following a 5.5 percent decrease in majors conferred between 2010 and 2012. Meanwhile, economics majors remain on top, with year-by-year numbers unchanged. Conferred bachelor degrees in psychology have grown 11 percent following a consecutive four-year rise.

Mark Witte, director of undergraduate economics studies, said a lot of people come to NU wanting to major in economics because of future job prospects, while others get influenced by their peers to pick up the discipline.

“A lot of students come to Northwestern with strong math and science backgrounds,” he said. “And to an extent, their college experience is replaying what they did in science in high school, and it’s not as exciting the second time around. So they take economics. And it reviews some parts of the brain, but it’s fresh and new for them.”

Witte credits the department’s strength to its faculty. He said he’s excited about professors who have just been hired by the department because of the diversity of ideas and expertise they bring to their courses.

“Our faculty win a lot of awards,” he said. “It’s a strong, exciting department.”

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