Integrating “depth first” and “breadth first” models of computing curricula

Traditional undergraduate Computer Science curricula have been increasingly challenged on a host of grounds: undergraduate computing education is attracting fewer majors, is not producing graduates who satisfy the needs of either graduate programs or business and industry, and is not effectively responding to the increasing needs for computing education among the larger student population. In the face of such challenges, there has been a recent movement to restructure undergraduate computing curricula. At Georgia Tech we have design (AY 91-92) and implemented (AY92-93) a new computing curriculum that features a radical restructuring of subject matter. During the design and implementation process, we paid close and critical attention to the particulars of both the ACM recommendations and reports from our colleagues at other institutions who had already gained some experience with “Breadth First” approaches. We have conclude that curriculum modernization should integrate key aspects of both “Depth First” and “Breadth First” approaches. Our new curriculum is an example of such integration. We present data (measures of student performance and of student and faculty opinion) that confirm that our approach is viable, and we now believe that it can be a useful model for others. In this paper, we outline the structure of our integrated curriculum and report on key facets of our experience with it.