Enhance Your Education

Distinctive programs in Computer Science

There are ample opportunities to enhance your studies in computer science through independent research, off-campus study, and internships. These programs are integral to a Knox education, teaching you how to apply your skills in real world situations.

Student Research Opportunities
Knox is a leader in promoting top-notch undergraduate research. In fact, more than 90% of all Knox students complete an independent research or creative project by the time they graduate. Many students' projects are supported by an unusually rich array of Knox College funding programs that together provide students more than $200,000 each year in support of their work. These sources include: Richter Memorial Scholars Program, Ford Foundation Research Fellows Program, Ronald E. McNair Fellows Program and departmentally supported independent studies. In addition, special fellowships awarded to Knox through national competitions and through the research grants of Knox faculty make Knox a leader in promoting undergraduate research. Examples of some recent student research projects include:

• "Implementing a Programming Language to Improve Programmer Productivity," Christopher Ryan Johnson '11, computer science major.
• "Parallel Scheduling Algorithms," with Professor Bunde. Chris Ryan Johnson '10, computer science and mathematics major, Kyle Sibley '09, computer science major and philosophy/ethics minor, Alexander Lindsay '09, computer science major and physics minor, and Ozzy Thebe '09, computer science major and economics minor.
• "Further Study into Japanese," William Yeager, '07, Russian and computer science major.
• "Programming Language Concepts," Aaron Samuel Lepkin, '06, computer science major.
• "Advanced Software Engineering Concepts," James Nichols, '06, computer science major.
• "Algorithm Analysis," Adam Whitlach, '06, computer science and French major.

College Honors
Outstanding students may elect to undertake College Honors in their senior year, carrying out an advanced research project presented and defended to a faculty committee that includes a distinguished outside examiner. Examples of recent Honors projects include:

• "Implementing a Programming Language to Improve Programmer Productivity," Christopher Ryan Johnson, '11.
• "RUMU: a non-WYSIWYG web editor for non-technical users," Eleanor Poley, '10.
• "A Visual Approach to Parallel Programming," Ozzy Thebe, '09.
• "Understanding and Defending Against Denial of Service Attacks," Kreighan Riley, '06.
• "Refining the Search: Improving the Mental Model for Complex Queries," Alexander Baker, '05.
• "An Exploration of Non-Photorealistic Rendering Using Virtual Scene Painter," Andrew Bazan, '03.
• "Deep Purple: Incorporating Principles of Beauty into a Full-Scale Chess Program," John McKinstry Doyle, '02.

Off-campus Study
Knox offers you plenty of opportunities to begin exploring the world while still a student. Almost 50% of Knox students participate in off-campus study and consider their studies abroad to be the highlight of their college experiences. Among the off campus opportunities of interest to computer science majors are programs at the Argonne National Laboratory and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. At these distinguished facilities, students work as contributing junior members of multi-disciplinary research teams.

Internships
As a student of computer science at Knox, you'll have the opportunity to expand your education -- to get that valuable experience you hear so much about -- by completing an internship. Internships are available for computer science students with corporations such as Caterpillar Inc., AT&T and Follett Software Company, and at research universities such as Washington University in St. Louis. Internships provide an opportunity to explore and test career options, to gain experiences and skills needed to succeed as a professional, to build a resume, to network and make critical connections, and to experience a work environment. More and more employers are looking for college graduates with career-related experience. Knox's Center for Career and Pre-Professional Development specializes in helping you find an internship that best matches your goals and interests. Recent internships by computer science students include:

• Participant, REU Program, Hope College, Holland, Michigan. Eleanor Poley, '10, computer science major and self-designed minor.
• Intern, Click Commerce, Portland, Oregon. Matt Baker, '09, computer science major and journalism minor.
• IT Management Intern, St. Paul Insurance, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Betsy Cooper, '06, computer science major and independent major.
• Software Developer Intern, Chicago Data Solutions, Chicago, Illinois. Aaron Lepkin, '06, computer science major.
• Information Technology Intern, Knox County Health Dept, Galesburg, Illinois. Tyler Nichols, '06, computer science major.