Digital and Computational Studies

Professors Diaz-Eaton (chair) and Lawson; Associate Professors Castro (Digital and Computational Studies and Neuroscience), Shrout (Digital and Computational Studies and History), and Tamirisa (Music); Assistant Professor Ricci; Visiting Assistant Professors Agbonkhese and Segal (Digital and Computational Studies and History).

Digital and Computational Studies (DCS) at Bates requires students to engage in understanding the most fundamental aspects related to fields that DCS encompasses, including computer science, critical digital studies, data science, and human-centered design. The Program offers a major, minor, and concentration, providing a curriculum through which students learn the fundamentals necessary to design, build, analyze, and critique digital and computational solutions. The focus is on transferable knowledge and skills rather than on specific programming languages or technologies, while requiring students to interrogate the assumptions of the digital world, encouraging the use of computing for social good.

Students graduating with a major in DCS will (a) be able to demonstrate proficiency in fundamental aspects of computer science and data science, including theoretical and practical limitations, with a focus on algorithmic thinking; (b) develop related skills in teamwork, interdisciplinary collaboration, community engagement, and communication; and (c) develop an ability to critique solutions, both in terms of examining the limitations of algorithmic and analytical approaches, as well as identifying and addressing ethical, social, and inequity issues, and the potential consequences of human choice and human impact throughout.