The national trend of decreasing computer science majors is occurring at MSU, especially in the last four years, according to data supplied from the Office of the Registrar.
The Computing Research Association conducts a Taulbee Survey each fall showing the number of college students attending computer science and computer engineering programs. According to the most recent study conducted in 2004, the number has declined.
At MSU, the number of students in computer science classes has dropped from 791 in 2001 to 475 in 2005.
Richard Enbody, associate professor in the department of computer science and engineering, said he noticed the trend.
"I see the shortage more than most people because I see it right up front," Enbody said, "I teach one of the introductory courses for the major, CSE 231."
Enbody said there are a couple reasons for the decline of students with computer-based majors.
"It can be traced back to the imploding of the dot-coms, and news of outsourcing got people scared as well," Enbody said.
Stuart Zweben, chair of the committee that conducted the study, said the decline of online companies jumpstarted the decline of computer science majors.
"It began to strike fear in the hearts and minds of those who were entering the field," he said.
Zweben, who also is a professor at The Ohio State University, said the survey focused on computer science majors, but now there are more variations of information technology majors students can have. That might have contributed to the smaller numbers.
Computer science junior Austin Drouare said he has noticed a decline in the classes he has taken.
"There were less people in my second semester than my first," Drouare said.
Drouare agrees outsourcing is a major concern for many computer science and engineering students.
"I almost didn't go into computer science because of that," he said. "It's a scare that there's a declining availability in jobs."
The professors in the department feel that the number of jobs being outsourced is not as much as commonly believed, Drouare said.
"I think that if many companies stay local, then the number will go up," Drouare said.
Enbody said it is possible for a boom of computer-based jobs to take place in the future because of the present shortage.
"Nobody has a crystal ball, but the movers and shakers, or CEOs, of the big companies are going to be scared looking four or five years into the future," he said. "I've been around here for 20 years, and (the number of jobs available) has been a rollercoaster the whole time."
