Joseph Layden had no formal computer science education when he began earning his master\u2019s of computer science degree at UWM. Yet by the time he graduated, he had created an app in his capstone research project called SlippAway\u2014a tool for Lake Michigan boaters to locate open marina slips capable of accommodating the size and power requirements of their boats for a day, a week or even the entire season. He plans to market it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Layden was one of 24 final-year computer science master\u2019s student who recently presented their capstone research projects in which, under the supervision of a faculty mentor, they applied what they learned to a technical problem of their choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While many of these master\u2019s students have earned their undergraduate degrees in computer science, an increasing number have not. Current students hold undergraduate degrees in such fields as meteorology, music education, English and film studies. Layden had earned his undergraduate degree from UWM in information science and technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During their capstone presentations, students spoke about the reasons they enrolled in either the professional track (for people interested in careers including senior software engineer, computer systems analyst, computer network architect and machine learning engineer) or the regular track (which adds career options including computer science professor and computer research scientist and opens the door to earning a doctoral degree).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Professional track is most in-demand program<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The majority of students, including Layden, had followed the professional track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy goal was to really challenge myself and learn as much as I could,\u201d Layden said. \u201cI had worked freelance as a web developer and database coordinator, and I sought the structure and knowledge a formal education brings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another professional-track student, Marissa Bedard, earned her undergraduate degree in music education from a college in Cleveland. She discovered it was a comfortable switch from studying music to studying computer science topics, such as artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is a lot of overlap between synthesizing a lot of small [musical] pieces in order to make something bigger and learning a new language,\u201d Bedard said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bedard, who graduated in December, said that her employer\u2014Boston-based Alegeus– paid part of her tuition. \u201cIt worked out very well for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before starting his computer science master\u2019s degree, Sam Kersebet worked as a videographer in Door County. While at UWM, he interned at Kohls as a front-end web developer and accepted a full-time job upon his December graduation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe graduate program gave me a good groundwork for the future,\u201d he said. \u201cI learned the soft skills and the hard skills.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kersebet had earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from UWM in digital arts & culture and selecting a graduate school was easy, he said. \u201cI had chosen UWM for my undergrad because it\u2019s part of a real city with soul to it,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought the education here was worth the value.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regular track is program of choice for students pursuing research<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Several of the students at Capstone Day had followed the regular track and anticipated earning doctoral degrees or pursuing careers that included research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mohit Ramesh and Omana Anne both earned undergraduate degrees in electronics and communication engineering in India. Ramesh said he was drawn to UWM for two reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFirst, I saw that it was a top research university,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I saw that Satya Nadella graduated from UWM in computer science, I thought \u2018Yay!\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nadella (\u201990 MS Computer Science) is a UWM alumnus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anjali Venugopal also earned her undergraduate degree from India and was eager to graduate in December. \u201cUWM\u2019s program was wonderful\u201d she said, \u201cand I worked with amazing professors.\u201d During her time at UWM, she completed an internship as a software developer with Amazon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What was next? Before graduating, she was offered a full-time job with the company in Seattle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n