Prospective Students
Thank you for your interest in Central College and our academic programs in math, computer science and information systems! We are excited about the future of our programs and hope that you will consider joining us. If you cannot find an answer to a question or would just like some contact with one of our faculty, send us an email. One of our faculty will respond by email or phone. If you want to talk to a particular faculty member, do not hesitate to use the contact information on the faculty page.
Here are some highlights of our program for you to consider as you make your college decision.
- Technology
- We believe that it is important that students have access to current technology that is appropriate for learning the disciplines of computer science and mathematics. All the software we use has licenses that will allow the student to put the software on their own computer so they can work from their room. In addition, all students have space in a common storage area so that they can access their work from any computer on campus. For computer science, the department maintains an advanced lab for use in upper level courses. This lab has both linux and windows servers, a set of networking stations, and an 8 node, 16 processor cluster for parallel computing and computational science.
- Communication Skills
- At Central, we place a special emphasis on our students' communication skills. While most colleges will likely offer very similar courses in math and computer science, the importance placed on communication skills can vary widely. We believe that it is something you should look for when selecting a school. At Central, every junior and senior is required to give a presentation to the Junior and Senior seminar. Before the student gives their presentation, much work is done with faculty members working with the student to improve their reading, writing and speaking skills. Time and again alumni will return and tell us that while the seminar experience was difficult, it was one of the most beneficial academic experiences they had at Central
- Study Abroad
- The Math and Computer Science faculty encourage all of their students to take advantage of the study abroad opportunities available at Central. We believe it is an extremely valuable experience and will work with you to make it work with your schedule. It is possible that you will be able to take courses in your Math, Computer Science, or Information Systems major while studying abroad. There are even internship possibilities on some of the programs. Because Central has its own study abroad programs, it is easier for us to work with the faculty and program directors at the study abroad locations to build a schedule while studying abroad that does not slow your progress toward your degree.
- Job and Internship possibilities
- It is quite common for students to take advantage of internship opportunities while a student at Central. Although Pella is a small town, we have several businesses in town that often have internships available to our students. In addition, we are close enough to Des Moines for students to travel to there for an internship.
- Do you wonder what you might do with a degree in math, computer science or information systems? Check out what some of our alumni have gone on to do once they left Central.
- Computational Science
- Computational Science is a growing area of science that incorporates knowledge and skills from both mathematics and computer science. If you have an interest in science, then a computational science career may be a perfect opportunity to apply the mathematical and computer science skills you developed in your major. At Central we are one of the first schools in the country to offer a program in computational science. We have a minor in computational science that would be a good addition to a degree in any science, mathematics, or computer science. Check out the computational science page for more details on that program.