{"477671":{"#nid":"477671","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Institute Celebrates First Graduates of Online Master\u0027s Program in Computer Science","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELess than two years after it launched, Georgia Tech\u2019s first-of-its-kind online master\u2019s program in computer science will produce its first graduates tomorrow as the Institute celebrates its 250\u003Csup\u003Eth\u003C\/sup\u003E Commencement ceremonies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe online master\u2019s in computer science (or OMS CS), a collaboration between Georgia Tech, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.udacity.com\/\u0022\u003EUdacity\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/about.att.com\u0022\u003EAT\u0026amp;T\u003C\/a\u003E, is the first program from a top-ranked, accredited university to combine the instructional style of \u201cmassive open online courses\u201d with a deeply discounted price (about $7,000 for most students). On Dec. 11, the first 20 students to complete their studies entirely through the OMS CS curriculum will receive their master\u2019s degrees in a ceremony to be held at 7 p.m. in Georgia Tech\u2019s McCamish Pavilion.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe are proud to welcome these newest graduates to the worldwide community of Georgia Tech alumni,\u201d said Provost Rafael L. Bras. \u201cThe OMS CS program has proven that we can make an advanced degree from a school like Georgia Tech accessible to a much larger population of students, both in the United States and around the world. It has succeeded beyond anyone\u2019s expectations.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo date, the program has received more than 8,000 applications and has admitted about 55 percent of those applicants. In the Fall 2015 semester, 2,841 students enrolled in at least one course, and the overall student enrollment is expected to surge past 3,000 in Spring 2016.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThough they hail from parts far and wide, including countries outside the United States, nearly all of the first 20 OMS graduates have traveled to Atlanta to participate in Commencement. For most, the visit is the first time they have seen any of their fellow students in person.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI enrolled in OMS CS because of Georgia Tech\u2019s reputation and with the goals of continuing my own professional development, furthering my career, developing a global network of peers and working with world-class faculty\u2014all of those things happened,\u201d said graduate Nathaniel Payne, who was one of the program\u2019s first 380 students in Spring 2014. \u201cThe program has been one of the best things I have experienced and has been literally life-changing.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOMS CS has been in the spotlight since it was announced in May 2013. President Barack Obama has praised the program by name twice\u2014first in August 2013 and then again while visiting Georgia Tech in March 2015\u2014as the kind of innovation that is needed both to address the rising costs of higher education and as a strategy to provide much-needed skilled labor for STEM-related positions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThrough its signature philanthropic initiative, AT\u0026amp;T \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/about.att.com\/content\/csr\/home\/possibilities\/at-t-aspire.html\u0022\u003EAspire\u003C\/a\u003E, AT\u0026amp;T has contributed $2 million to help launch OMS CS and has committed an additional $1.5 million to support course development and other startup costs. More than 300 AT\u0026amp;T employees have been admitted to OMS CS, and some of those are among the graduates set to receive their diplomas on Friday. AT\u0026amp;T Aspire drives innovation in education to help students succeed in school and beyond.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019ve turned to innovative programs like OMS CS to help our current and future employees adapt to the ever-changing world of technology,\u201d said Scott Smith, AT\u0026amp;T senior vice president of Human Resources Operations. \u201cThese programs provide new and innovative ways to help our employees at all levels and across the globe develop the skills they need to succeed in their roles today and prepare for the jobs of tomorrow.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIndeed, OMS has shown to be particularly effective in attracting U.S. students. Its citizenship demographics are nearly the inverse of those for Georgia Tech\u2019s residential Master of Science in Computer Science degree, whose students are overwhelmingly international. By contrast, 79 percent of OMS CS students in Fall 2015 were U.S. citizens or permanent residents.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOur first priority is to address the STEM shortage in America,\u201d said Dean Zvi Galil of Georgia Tech\u2019s College of Computing. \u201cWhat OMS has proven is that we can indeed greatly expand accessibility through affordability and technology. I\u2019m very proud, not only of our first OMS graduates but of the dozens of Georgia Tech faculty, staff and students who have worked to make this program a success.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe dynamics of today\u2019s workforce require new and more flexible options for advanced training and education,\u201d said Sebastian Thrun, co-founder and CEO of Udacity. \u201cWhen we began discussing the partnership with Georgia Tech several years ago, we knew it had incredible potential to reach new markets, and today\u0027s success is testimony to our earlier vision.\u0026nbsp;We look forward to continuing our work with Georgia Tech.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information about OMS CS, visit the program\u2019s website at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.omscs.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ewww.omscs.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Program has drawn nearly 3,000 students, worldwide attention in first two years"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELess than two years after it launched, Georgia Tech\u2019s first-of-its-kind online master\u2019s program in computer science will produce its first graduates tomorrow as the Institute celebrates its 250th Commencement ceremonies.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Less than two years after it began, the online master\u0027s program in computer science welcomes its first 20 graduates."}],"uid":"27560","created_gmt":"2015-12-10 10:13:15","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:16","author":"Jason Maderer","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-12-10T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2015-12-10T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"477661":{"id":"477661","type":"image","title":"OMS CS Logo","body":null,"created":"1449766800","gmt_created":"2015-12-10 17:00:00","changed":"1475895230","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:50","alt":"OMS CS Logo","file":{"fid":"99325","name":"oms-cs-web-banner-eblast_copy.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/oms-cs-web-banner-eblast_copy_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/oms-cs-web-banner-eblast_copy_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":82377,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/oms-cs-web-banner-eblast_copy_0.jpg?itok=dEjE3rCb"}},"477681":{"id":"477681","type":"image","title":"Screen Shot of Course","body":null,"created":"1449766800","gmt_created":"2015-12-10 17:00:00","changed":"1475895230","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:53:50","alt":"Screen Shot of Course","file":{"fid":"99326","name":"sdp_screengrab_1_copy.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sdp_screengrab_1_copy_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/sdp_screengrab_1_copy_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":881692,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/sdp_screengrab_1_copy_0.png?itok=7nUpVKZf"}}},"media_ids":["477661","477681"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.omscs.gatech.edu\/","title":"OMS CS Microsite"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.cc.gatech.edu\/","title":"College of Computing"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.about.att.com\/content\/csr\/home\/blog\/2015\/12\/human_vs_machine.html","title":"AT\u0026T Blog Post about Graduates"},{"url":"http:\/\/blog.udacity.com\/2015\/12\/celebrating-a-first-of-its-kind-graduation.html","title":"Udacity Blog Post about Graduates"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"130","name":"Alumni"},{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"61391","name":"AT\u0026T"},{"id":"654","name":"College of Computing"},{"id":"1051","name":"Computer Science"},{"id":"66341","name":"OMS CS"},{"id":"66311","name":"Udacity"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003ENational Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-2966\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maderer@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}