Technologically minded students will soon have a new degree program to add to their choices thanks to the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), if chair Hank Levy has his way.

The program received approval for funding for an initial run of 10 students beginning next fall.

"The provost's office is responsible for the development of new academic programs," said Norm Arkans, director of media relations for the UW.

Executive Vice Provost Ana Mari Cauce listed a number of reasons for why she has enthusiastically backed the proposal for a five-year program.

"A number of national studies indicate that there is a great need for more highly educated, well-trained graduates with degrees in computer science," Cauce said. "The need is especially great here in Washington state, where our economy is very technology-driven."

Cauce also mentioned the quality of the faculty in the CSE department as well as their consistency in producing skilled graduates. Professor Yoky Matsuoka, for instance, was recently chosen as one of Popular Science's "Brilliant Ten," and one of the seniors in the department, Michael Skinner, recently won the "TopCoder" international competition in Orlando, Fla.

"The five-year-degree proposed by ... chair Hank Levy makes a lot of sense to me, and I have every confidence they will do it well," Cauce said.

Five-year degree programs are not a rarity. Such programs can be found throughout the country, and indeed, throughout the UW.

"There are a number of departments on campus that already offer such a program (e.g., bioengineering), and there are several computer science programs around the country that do this as well," said Hank Levy, chair of the CSE department. "Our students are quite excited about the possibility."

The point of most five-year programs and other such accelerated degree initiatives is just that — accelerated degrees. These programs allow the students who undertake them to achieve a high level of accreditation — in this case, a Masters degree — in less time than it would take had they gone through the standard academic route.

"The [master's] program gives them an opportunity to become both broader and deeper technically, and possibly to specialize in a particular area," Levy said.

It is not hard to imagine that such a program could find 10 students for its initial run next fall, assuming all goes smoothly. While it is hoped that in a few years the program could attract dozens of students, there is already a strong demand for such a program.

"I almost chose a different university because they had a fast-track degree program for computer science," said freshman Randell Stevens, a potential computer science major.

"If this was around when I was looking at colleges, the UW would have been ahead of my other choices by a mile rather than an inch," he said.

While the proposal has been approved by the provost, it still needs to go through a number of other processes before it can kick into gear. Despite this, Levy seems very confident.

"Our hope is to get support to grow the program to around 30 students per year within several years from now," Levy said.

[Reach reporter Anthony Michael Erickson at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]