This document is a draft proposal for a joint undergraduate program between the Department of Linguistics and the School of Computing Science, namely, a major in Computational Linguistics. It is formatted using the Letter of Intent Format of the Ministry of Advanced Education, Technology and Training.
This credential is being proposed for the emergence of a new class of academic programs concerned with the integrated study of information technology and its application to particular subject areas. Although not part of this proposal, examples of other program areas that could be developed for the Bachelor of Informatics degree include Health Informatics, Geoinformatics, Bioinformatics and Socio-Technical Informatics.
The major program in Computational Linguistics is focussed on the theory and application of computationally-based models of human language understanding and generation. Application areas of computational linguistics include natural language interfaces to computer-based services, machine translation, language instruction, multilingual information retrieval, internationalization and localization of computing software, speech understanding and speech generation, and automated text generation.
In the context of its mandate to expand its educational capacity in the information technology (IT) sector, SFU has a strategic plan to both expand the pipeline for traditional computing science graduates and to add new joint programs that will graduate IT specialists in important application areas. The program in computational linguistics is typical of the new joint programs envisioned.
In general, the focus on joint programs in informatics is justified both by industrial and societal needs and by the efficiency of utilization of educational resources. With the increasing pervasiveness of information technology in all aspects of industry and society, technologists are becoming increasingly relied upon to develop system solutions to problems in a wide variety of application areas. Education in information technology alone ill-prepares students for many of these roles. Knowledge of the application area alone is also inadequate to the creation of realistic technology proposals that can address application needs. In many cases, students educated equally in both an application area and the underlying principles of the technology will be best placed to lead the way.
From the perspective of educational resource utilization, joint programs in informatics will increase the efficiency of use of a scarce resource: the computing science faculty member. There are at present many open CS faculty positions in Canada and a shortage of qualified PhD holders to fill those positions. In addition, CS departments in Canada are having great difficulty matching competing offers from industry and/or U.S. academic institutions. The shortage of CS faculty members in turn limits the number of IT graduates that can be produced. Because joint informatics programs will have approximately half the computing science content of a traditional computing science program, the number of graduates that can be produced per CS faculty member should approximately double.
The target student audience for this program will generally consist of those students who have a desire to explore computational approaches to language modelling and processing, those who have an interest in information technology and the role of language processing in such technology, and those who are interested in human-oriented approaches to human-computer communication. The program will also appeal to students who have an international orientation and a desire to find novel ways of bridging the linguistic barriers involved.
The program in Computational Linguistics is proposed to be a traditional four-year Bachelor's degree program. An enrolment goal of 10 students per year is proposed and is the basis of resource calculations described below.
Labour market demand for the IT industry generally is well known. To gauge specific demand for graduates of a Computational Linguistics program, key industrial contacts were asked to comment on this proposal. The letters of support are attached.
Admission to the Computational Linguistics program will be possible via three routes: (1) direct entry from BC12 or equivalent (2) direct transfer from a college or post-secondary institution and (3) internal transfer from within SFU. Direct entry from BC12 will use a 5-course GPA model based on English 12, Math 12, one langauge 12, one science or applied sciences 12, and one social sciences/studies 12. Direct admission from college will be based on a GPA calculated over the best 7 courses satisfying a flexible breadth model comprising one english/writing course, one math course, two computing courses, one language course, one social sciences course and one science course. Internal transfer will be based on a similar 7-course model. These models are patterned after the current models for corresponding entry into the computing science program at SFU.
The program will use the existing arrangements at Simon Fraser University for both individual course transfer and for prior learning assessment.
The graduation requirements for the program will focus primarily on upper division requirements, allowing considerable flexibility in the way that lower division coursework can be completed. This is intended to provide for the maximum efficiency of block transfer from colleges and internal transfer from other programs of study at SFU.
This program is somewhat related to the Cognitive Science program at Simon Fraser University, which combines studies in Philosophy, Psychology, Linguistics and Computing Science. That program is more generally focussed on understanding human cognition and cognitive models related to artificial intelligence. Cognitive Science has also seen limited student demand because of its extensive requirements. The proposed major in computational linguistics will be more narrowly focussed and be designed as a traditional major program with overall requirements comparable to those of straight linguistics or computing science majors. There are no other known programs of this kind in B.C.
The existing faculty complement within the Department of Linguistics and the School of Computing Science is approaching critical mass to make a program in Computational Linguistics a success. One additional jointly appointed faculty member is sought to cement the relationship between the units and handle the additional teaching load. No reduction of either the Computing Science or Linguistics programs is expected, so the joint program should be supported by new funding.