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Open only to first-year students, the Computing IRL ("In Real Life") immersive program consists of a connected set of courses in which students will see how computing techniques and ideas inform and are informed by their interaction with the real world. Students who participate in the program will take a First Year Seminar, an introductory computer science course, and an internship at various organizations that have links to º£½ÇÉçÇø and the Los Angeles area.

An example of an internship location is STEAM:CODERS, a non-profit in Pasadena dedicated to bringing STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education to students at underserved K-12 institutions. Interns there will learn about STEAM education, about how technology supports or excludes low-income communities, and about the structure and operation of community non-profits. We will consult with students before placing them with an organization and we hope to match incoming students with more advanced students within each organization. The Computing IRL Immersive Semester exemplifies the vitality and promise of liberal arts approaches by applying academic inquiry to our communities’ most pressing needs.

Other past projects include working with:

• The º£½ÇÉçÇø Computer Science Department to build community via online social activities to build community
• º£½ÇÉçÇø Athletics teams to track competition results and build social media presence
• The º£½ÇÉçÇø Student Success team to build a virtual º£½ÇÉçÇø quad
• The º£½ÇÉçÇø Fellowships Office to redesign their website and build social media presence
• The º£½ÇÉçÇø Institute for the Study of Los Angeles to design online exhibits in the digital humanities
• The Metropolitan Water District to design the Solar Cup website
• A judicial office campaign to build social media presence and track results
• La Matematica (an Association for Women in Mathematics publication) to develop ethical review practices and materials
• STEAM:CODERS to update their curriculum for online teaching
• Operation Pizzicato to streamline entertainment industry media processing practices
• Streetscope to develop computer vision techniques for measuring traffic
• The Garvey School District to support online learning and student emotional well-being

No previous programming experience is required! If you're interested in being part of the Computing IRL Immersive Semester, sign up using the online form linked at the bottom of this page.

Program Overview