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Program in Computing for the Arts and Sciences
What is the Program in Computing for the Arts and Sciences (PCAS) ?
The Program in Computing for the Arts and Sciences — spoken as P-CAS — is a novel interdisciplinary program in computing education developed specifically to meet the wide range of needs of undergraduates in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. From students in the life and natural sciences to digital creatives, humanists, social scientists, and those critical of computing’s social and ethical impacts, PCAS supports diverse engagements with code, data, algorithms, and their artifacts.
In PCAS, programming languages, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are understood not as ends in themselves, but as tools for inquiry, expression, analysis, and design. Within the spirit of the liberal arts, the program emphasizes the computational imagination: the ability to transform data into insight, patterns into design, and technical skills into meaningful questions about the world.
Through elective pathways and studio-based courses, PCAS provides both rigor and flexibility. Students develop computational abilities that serve their intellectual interests, creative practices, civic commitments, and future plans—whether they aim to conduct research, build digital tools, create new forms of media, analyze complex systems, or critically examine the role of computing in society.
ABOUT PCAS
What does PCAS offer?
PCAS courses help students build the foundational computing (especially programming) skills they need to succeed. Scientists, artists, and humanities scholars of all disciplines can get their start in computing here. Learn more about our rapidly expanding curriculum.
