We live in a society where people like to group things, people, places, etc. together... supposedly for the purpose of organization. Prior to coming to Penn State I worked in a place known as the CIS (Computer Information Systems) department it was just one of many departments in the College of Professional And Technical Education or PTE at San Antonio College. San Antonio College is one of 5 colleges in the Alamo Community College District, or as they now refer to as the Alamo Community Colleges. When it finally sank in that I was officially a part of Penn State's IST program it was a little strange to find there were no departments, that the College of IST was one large organization of professors with a common goal.
So, the questions I find myself asking are "Does this work, not having departments?" and "Is there truly a structure here or is this just a different way of doing things?"
The College of IST is not a Computer Science department and as discussed in my last post it's not just about Information Technology, it covers so much more. The answer to both of the questions lies in the research and flexibility the faculty have in their research areas. Yes, I did say flexibility. In IST, faculty are not forced into only thinking of a problem from one angle or through one lens, they have the opportunity to work on multiple projects in different areas of IST. In many colleges on other campus's, even this one, the structure of the college can interfere with a faculty members opportunity to funding, additional research opportunities and even the generation of new ideas. In IST, you might say there is some organization by way of the centers and tracks. The tracks provide guidance to the students and some structure, but still offer the flexibility that is needed for their research studies. The centers enable the faculty to pursue their research interests, all without the benefit or hindrance of department heads, you can decide.
I believe this is one of the reasons why I kept on coming back to IST's website when I was looking for a graduate school last year. At the time I wasn't concentrating on the concept of "departments" or asking if the schools had them, but I was concentrating on whether I saw flexibility in their research areas. The IST research matrix was a definite draw and I saw myself potentially studying with professors who were doing research in areas such as Human Computer Interaction, Learning and Innovation, Community Informatics and perhaps even Social Network Analysis. All I knew was I had the opportunity to work in all these areas and I didn't have to worry about being pigeon-holed into one specific area of Computer Science.
So, the questions I find myself asking are "Does this work, not having departments?" and "Is there truly a structure here or is this just a different way of doing things?"
The College of IST is not a Computer Science department and as discussed in my last post it's not just about Information Technology, it covers so much more. The answer to both of the questions lies in the research and flexibility the faculty have in their research areas. Yes, I did say flexibility. In IST, faculty are not forced into only thinking of a problem from one angle or through one lens, they have the opportunity to work on multiple projects in different areas of IST. In many colleges on other campus's, even this one, the structure of the college can interfere with a faculty members opportunity to funding, additional research opportunities and even the generation of new ideas. In IST, you might say there is some organization by way of the centers and tracks. The tracks provide guidance to the students and some structure, but still offer the flexibility that is needed for their research studies. The centers enable the faculty to pursue their research interests, all without the benefit or hindrance of department heads, you can decide.
I believe this is one of the reasons why I kept on coming back to IST's website when I was looking for a graduate school last year. At the time I wasn't concentrating on the concept of "departments" or asking if the schools had them, but I was concentrating on whether I saw flexibility in their research areas. The IST research matrix was a definite draw and I saw myself potentially studying with professors who were doing research in areas such as Human Computer Interaction, Learning and Innovation, Community Informatics and perhaps even Social Network Analysis. All I knew was I had the opportunity to work in all these areas and I didn't have to worry about being pigeon-holed into one specific area of Computer Science.
Heidi, it is amazing that you mentionned the research matrix on IST website while searching for your FIT school. I found it very heplful too and went back to it several times to check all the opportunity of collaborations available.