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About Us

Consortium Member Schools

  • Rider University
  • Roosevelt University
  • Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi
  • Tufts University
  • Tulane University
  • University of California Davis
  • University of California Riverside
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • University of Maryland, Baltimore County
  • University of North Texas
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • University of South Florida
  • University of Southern Mississippi
  • Vanderbilt University
  • Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Virginia Tech
  • Washington University in St. Louis
  • William and Mary

New Members

New members are always welcome! If you have or are considering developing a bridge program, we would love to hear from you and explore whether joining the Consortium could make sense for you. Please reach out to Caitlin Kidder, c.kidder@northeastern.edu. You can review the most current version of our membership agreement here.

Tufts University sign

“Tufts is one of the first universities in the US to offer a Postbac in Computer Science, a bridge for those who have come to computer science after graduating college in another major. It allows students to fill in the backbone of a CS undergraduate major and prepare themselves for M.S. studies, PhD studies, or whatever else might come next.”

– Diane Souvaine, Tufts University

“Inspired by the MS Pathways to Computing Consortium, the University of South Florida has launched USF Pathway to Computing, a fully online 15-credit certificate program, which prepares students with non-CS backgrounds for a master’s degree in computing and to transition into a tech career.”

– Sudeep Sarkar, University of South Florida
Sudeep Sarkar

“The Illinois Computing Accelerator for Non-specialists (iCAN) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is an innovative graduate certificate in computing fundamentals for college graduates who have little to no background in the field. Offered both on campus and online, the one-year program is broadening participation in computing with a curriculum that prioritizes collaboration and mentorship and that includes a customized capstone that prepares students for graduate studies or a career in tech.”

– Nancy Amato, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Consortium by the numbers

2019

Year of Consortium’s launch

36

Number of Consortium member schools

23

Number of states + District of Columbia represented by Consortium members

5-800

Range in size of enrolling student cohorts at Consortium member schools

Organization and structure

The MS Pathways to Computing Consortium is an organization led a volunteer leadership team and supported administratively by the Center for Inclusive Computing at Northeastern University. Member institutions, after signing the membership agreement (see current version here) invite 1-2 representatives to attend Consortium meetings and participate in committees to advance our work.

Current Consortium leadership:
Samik Basu, Iowa State University
Anu Bourgeois, Georgia State University
Alex Duncan, Georgia Tech
Yael Gertner, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Catherine Gill, Center for Inclusive Computing, Northeastern University
Beth Hawthorne, Northeastern University
Raffaella Settimi-Woods, DePaul University
Administrator: Caitlin Kidder, Center for Inclusive Computing, Northeastern University
Past Chair: Jodi Tims, Northeastern University

Leadership team roles and responsibilities can be found here.

Current Committees:
Communications (leads: Samik Basu & Yael Gertner)
Research (leads: Anu Bourgeois & Alex Duncan)
Funding (leads: Catherine Gill & Anu Bourgeois)
Peer Engagement (leads: Beth Hawthorne & Samik Basu)
Student Engagement (leads: Raffaella Settimi-Woods & Yael Gertner)