Harvard Offers New Program For Advanced Computer Degree

Harvard will offer a new professional program combining technical and managerial aspects of advanced computer technology starting next fall, Harvey Brooks, dean of the Division of Engineering and Applied Physics, said yesterday.

The new program, leading to the Master of Engineering degree, will include courses in the relationship between computer technology and the needs of business, industry, and government.

Currently, Brooks said the typical graduate of most business administration programs lacks the technical knowledge necessary to guide advanced computer systems, while the graduate of the average Ph.D program in computer science is often too technically oriented to handle the overall operation of a large scale business.

The new Information Sciences program will provide comprehensive training in both areas, technical and managerial, Brooks said. "It is basically made up of existing courses, although there are some new ones which have been added," he said.

The program will require a year-long project, possibly in field work.

Brooks said the program resulted from "discussions with members of the computer faculty and with people in the industry."