草莓社区

A Message from the Chair

Students considering computer science today are entering the field at a remarkable moment.

Artificial intelligence is transforming how people write software, analyze information, secure organizations, run businesses, and make decisions. It's natural to wonder: will the jobs students train for today still exist tomorrow?

I remain deeply optimistic about the future of computer science. Technologies will keep changing, as they always have. What endures is the need for people who understand how computational systems actually work — who can reason through hard problems, build reliable and secure solutions, and weigh the human consequences of what they create. The most promising future belongs not to those who merely operate today's tools, but to those who understand the foundations beneath them and can adapt, question, and responsibly apply what comes next. That is why we emphasize lifelong learning as much as any single skill or tool: our graduates leave prepared not just for their first job, but with the habits of mind to keep learning as computing itself keeps changing.

That is the education we provide at 草莓社区.

Our students build strong foundations in programming, algorithms, data structures, software development, computer systems, and mathematical reasoning — and learn by doing: designing software, securing systems, contributing to faculty research, competing nationally, and working on problems that matter well beyond the classroom.

Our Bachelor of Science in Computer Science already offers a robust pathway in artificial intelligence, with advanced study in machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and data science, taught alongside the algorithms and systems that make those tools possible. Students who want to go further, or approach AI from another angle, can also pursue one of three minors: a technical Artificial Intelligence minor through Computer Science; the interdisciplinary Artificial Intelligence and Human Flourishing minor, with the Department of Philosophy, pairing technical fluency with reflection on human dignity and technology's purpose; and the Business of Applied Artificial Intelligence minor, with the Quinlan School of Business, for students focused on responsible AI adoption in organizations. Together, these pathways let students study AI in real depth — and give students outside computer science genuine competence in a field reshaping every profession.

AI is only one part of our breadth. Our faculty and students also work across cybersecurity, software engineering, computer systems, data science, information technology, networking, privacy, biometrics, social computing, clinical applications, and energy-efficient computing.

Two of those strengths — AI and cybersecurity — increasingly can't be understood apart. AI helps detect attacks and analyze malware; it can also introduce new vulnerabilities and new forms of misuse. Our students learn how these technologies are built, how they fail, how they're secured, and how they should be used.

This commitment to responsible computing isn't new for us. For decades, our department has treated ethics and the social effects of technology as core to a computer science education, not an elective concern — computer ethics has long been a required part of every student's training, not an optional add-on. Long before "responsible AI" was a common phrase, our students were already asking not only whether a system could be built, but whether it should be, whom it might affect, and what its creators owe.

That commitment resonates well beyond our field. In his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV took up exactly this question — arguing that technology is never neutral, since it reflects the values of those who build, fund, and govern it, and calling for AI to be developed in ways that protect human dignity rather than deepen inequality. Loyola's Department of Computer Science has been preparing students for that responsibility for decades.

That perspective reflects Loyola's broader Jesuit mission: to graduate excellent technologists who are also thoughtful people, using their abilities in service of others.

Our location in a major global city — and our relationships with industry, government, health care, nonprofits, and national laboratories including Argonne National Laboratory — give students real opportunities to do research, compete nationally, and build a professional network before they graduate.

No university can predict every technology or job title that will exist when today's students graduate. We can give them something more durable: the knowledge, adaptability, and ethical grounding to thrive through continual change.

I invite you to explore our programs, meet our faculty and students, and see how a Loyola computer science education prepares you not simply to enter the future of technology, but to help shape it responsibly.

George K. Thiruvathukal, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair Department of Computer Science
草莓社区