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Hoos the Best Software Engineering School?

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sherlockj
in ,

by James C. Sherlock

Sometimes we get nice surprises. Yesterday was one of those days.

A friend on the UVa Board of Visitors sent me a report by CodeSignal.

Founded in 2015, (CodeSignal is) the first company to develop an objective skills-based assessment platform that can be used as a standard for technical hiring.

The report presents that organization’s ranking of the 50 colleges and universities with the highest concentration of students who received a top score under  CodeSignal’s General Coding Framework, “the industry-standard assessment taken by more than 50% of graduating computer science students in the United States”.

It is meant for corporate recruiters and hiring managers.  Here is the list of the top 30 universities.

Ta da!

I am a UVa grad but, alas, in 1962 I did not major in software engineering.

Congratulations to the Hoos.

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18 responses to “Hoos the Best Software Engineering School?”

  1. DJRippert Avatar
    DJRippert

    As a UVa alum, this is good to see. However, in fairness, coding is one area of knowledge in Computer Science. It’s an important area, especially for entry level applicants … but not the only area of importance. Data science and network design, for example, are other important areas.

    Interestingly, I see Swarthmore College on the list – a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania but not William & Mary. Hmmmm …..

  2. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Knew a couple of CS faculty there. Top knotch. They were doing some cutting edge research.

    I just sent one of them an email with a link to this story. Then, I wondered why I hadn’t heard from him for awhile. He died in 2017.

  3. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
    Dick Hall-Sizemore

    That is good news.

  4. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    So much for the leftists and “woke”, eh?

    here’s an idea – take this list of salaries for degrees and use it to determine how much of a college loan one can get.

    Set up a de-facto ROI for college loans.

    if you want a degree in basket weaving, fine, but no loans for you!

    1. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      The ROI for college loans is perhaps the best idea you’ve ever brought up on this blog.

      Here is some university, degree and salary information for Virginia schools ….

      http://thebullelephant.com/highest-and-lowest-paying-majors-at-virginia-universities/

      Four years after graduation, some degrees (even from UVa) average $28,000 per year. The $15 minimum wage is $30,000 per year at full time.

      How the hell does our government back student loan of hundreds of thousands of dollars to students who have degrees that (4 years out of college) pay just about the minimum wage?

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        well, not the only time you complimented me or even agree!

        but yes, why indeed should we give 50-100k in loans for a degree in some field that almost ensures the recipient will not be able to pay it back and will hope for the govt to waive it.

        I have other ideas. I support tax money for non-public schools – PROVIDED they do take the at-risk kids primarily AND they provide transparent results on academic performance.

        I support paying highly qualified reading and math instructors who prove they are successful at teaching at-risk kids. Pay them 20K a year more and let standard teachers compete for those positions. A teacher that can do that OUGHT to be paid more!

        We agree on more things than you think. I’m just sad you’ve taken up with Trimpism.

        😉

  5. walter smith Avatar
    walter smith

    This is good news. But, let’s have a few more years of admissions without SATs and a lowering of standards and guess what will follow?
    I think UVA’s athletic teams should be picked by lottery and look like Virginia, don’t you agree? Inclusive!
    Already seeing a decline at TJ, but Larry and the Libs feel good.
    Hey, maybe that could be an inclusive musical group.
    They could sing “Goodnight Sweetheart” about educational excellence, but it would sound pleasing.

  6. VaPragamtist Avatar
    VaPragamtist

    So let me try to follow the logic here. . .

    A company that sells products has established a methodology for evaluating coding skills. Several companies and universities use it because there aren’t many products like it. Some don’t.

    The assessment methodology is neither public nor peer reviewed, and therefore not open to public scrutiny.

    The company then puts together a ranking of the schools whose students took the company’s assessment.

    The company’s rankings contradict other rankings, whose methodologies are open to public scrutiny.

    The company then says “hey, look! Our rankings are different, so you should look at graduates from these schools (all of whom happen to use our product)!” while continuing to market their product.

    Meanwhile, we’re supposed to believe the other rankings are somehow wrong.

    And the author sees no issue with this?

    1. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      Why do I get the sense that you went to a college in Virginia not on the list? Virginia Tech maybe?

      It’s a coding test. It counts but CS is a lot more than coding. I’m glad UVa did well but this is much narrower than USN&WR.

      By the way – I’ve hired hundreds of technology grads from Virginia colleges. It is very surprising to see UVa on the list but not VT.

      1. James C. Sherlock Avatar
        James C. Sherlock

        “Why do I get the sense that you went to a college in Virginia not on the list? Virginia Tech maybe?”

        You old detective you.

      2. VaPragamtist Avatar
        VaPragamtist

        I’d be interested in seeing a list of who doesn’t use this company’s product.

    2. James C. Sherlock Avatar
      James C. Sherlock

      The author notes that a very large number of colleges, employers and students that want a job use the methodology and the results, so he counts those as peer reviews that truly matter.

      The author has also seen enough peer-reviewed nonsense to fill more trash bags that will ever be produced.

      He is just passing along plaudits.

      Other than that he does not care. Really. He does not.

      1. VaPragamtist Avatar
        VaPragamtist

        You miss the main point:

        The company then says “hey, look! Our rankings are different, so you should look at graduates from these schools (all of whom happen to use our product)!” while continuing to market their product.

        It’s a pay-to-play ranking. Smart marketing, but not really trustworthy.

        1. James C. Sherlock Avatar
          James C. Sherlock

          Then consider them untrusted.

  7. John Harvie Avatar
    John Harvie

    Are we missing something here? Coding is but a very small element of a computer science degree. I don’t think the article implied the degree was in coding anymore than if you were to substitute flowcharting for coding. Substitute perspective drawing for architecture or college algebra for a math degree. The tail does not wag the dog.

    1. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      A lot of CS majors start out coding. It’s a very typical entry level position for a CS major. A lot of companies give coding tests to prospective employees. It seems like CodeSignal supplies a test for employers to use and then compiles statistics about students from various universities who took the CodeSignal test.

      I think any CS major ought to be a very proficient coder. However, you are right, that’s not the whole story. However, it is gratifying to see that UVa scores best in at least one important aspect of computer science.

  8. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    this might add to:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1a134d5f2d02b7549ea66ae8984c77d048318b49b44f9ed8d524423ced316b2b.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3ec35449b276b6f3d0d6271cedb0a00379a5b81ebacd63409813d8a7b8f0f8f2.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/12cb0e1056c006ea7f0091041a9304a94808d4d299db20a9712d700df3da3647.jpg

    https://richmond.com/news/local/education/some-college-degrees-in-virginia-never-pay-off-others-provide-an-immediate-return/article_2c73cc6f-c508-51c0-8fb4-7960bd1402dc.html#tncms-source=login

  9. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tFADFSI7Z4Q

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