About SCS

CMU’s School of Computer Science transforms people.

We turn students into problem-solvers, and help big thinkers refine their ideas and advance their research. We support visionary teams of students, faculty and industry partners that convert ideas into real-world applications.

So whether you’re interested in artificial intelligence, elegant algorithms or dexterous robots, you can pursue your passion in SCS. We’ll help you turn that passion into impact.

Curiosity to Impact

Departments

Leading The World in AI and Computing Since 1956

One man looks at an old-school printout while another looks on over his shoulder in this archival photo. — **First Artificial Intelligence Program**
Allen Newell, Herbert Simon (pictured) and Cliff Shaw create Logic Theorist, the first program designed to perform automated reasoning.

A black and white image of a man in a suit standing in front of a chalkboard. — **Birthplace of CS Education**
CMU (then Carnegie Institute of Technology) becomes the first U.S. university to offer an undergraduate course in computing.

A man points at figures on a chalkboard. — **Pioneering Programming Languages**
Alan Perlis, who founded the Computer Science Department in 1965 with Allen Newell and Herbert Simon, wins the inaugural Turing Award for "influence in the area of advanced computer programming techniques and compiler construction."

A man in a hat drives a six-legged robot. — **Visionary Robotics Leadership**
CMU establishes the Robotics Institute, the first academic department in the world dedicated exclusively to robotics, with Raj Reddy serving as founding director.

Two students, clearly from the 1980s, work in a public computer cluster. — **First Fully Wired Campus**
CMU launches the Andrew Project and Andrew computing network. Named for CMU founders Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon, the network connects all university computers and makes CMU the world’s first completely wired campus.

A man stands in front of screen projecting information about the chronology of the mach kernel. — **The Roots of Mac OS**
Faculty member Rick Rashid and graduate student Avie Tevanian Jr. develop the Mach kernel, which still serves as the basis for Apple's operating systems.

Archival image of a man looking at a very old computer. — **Found In Translation**
Alex Waibel and colleagues in the Center for Machine Translation demonstrate the first application of live speech translation. JANUS, a neural network-based speech translator, is first to translate individually spoken sentences between English, German and Japanese.

Two men stand in front of a minivan holding a sign that says "No hands across America." — **No Hands Across America**
Alums Todd Jochem and Dean Pomerleau embark on their "No Hands Across America" road trip in Navlab 5, which drives 98.2% of the journey from Pittsburgh to San Diego autonomously.

A woman in glasses poses for the camera holding a robotic dog. — **CMUnited Claims RoboCup Title**
Carnegie Mellon’s CMUnited team, led by alum and faculty member Manuela Veloso, wins the small size division of the RoboCup competition, an annual international robot soccer tournament.

Two men look at computer screens displaying hands of poker. — **AI Beats Pros in 20-Day Poker Tournament**
A poker-playing AI called Libratus, developed by faculty member Tuomas Sandholm and grad student Noam Brown, defeats four of the world’s top poker players in 120,000 hands played during a 20-day tournament.

Students in a lab environment work with a robotic arm. — **First AI Undergraduate Program**
CMU launches the nation's first undergraduate degree program in artificial intelligence. The inaugural class receive their degrees in the spring of 2020.

Students from CMU's IRIS team pose for a group photo. — **Iris Aims For The Moon**
The Iris Rover launches aboard CMU-spinoff Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander, aiming to be the first university-developed, student-led lunar rover on the moon. Even though an anomaly in the lander means Iris doesn’t reach its destination, it still gets farther from Earth and closer to the moon than any student-built rover to date.

A cartoon-like illustration of two men standing in front of a classroom with a chalkboard behind them that says "CMU" — **CS Education For All**
CMU CS Academy, a free, online, graphics-based computer science curriculum for middle and high school students, celebrates reaching 500,000 students across 70 countries.

SCS at a Glance

With milestones like the ones above, it would be easy to rest on our reputation. But as computer science plays an increasingly central role in our society, we are uniquely positioned to tackle challenges at the confluence of disciplines. Exceptional students and faculty and a culture of innovation make SCS far more than the sum of its parts.

Two students work on a laptop that controls a small robot, while a third student looks on.

Enrolled Students

3,002

Roughly one third are undergraduates, and two thirds study at the graduate level.

Next-Generation Spaces

SCS facilities including the Gates Center for Computer Science, Hillman Center for Future Generation Technologies, Newell-Simon Hall and TCS Hall house state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories. And we’re expanding our capabilities. Learn more about our newest buildings: the Robotics Innovation Center (now open) and the Richard King Mellon Hall of Sciences (opening in 2027).

A woman in a fuscia dress helps a student adjust a VR headset.

Faculty

339

SCS faculty earn top honors and lead the development of impactful technologies.

The SCS Startup Engine

Our impact extends beyond classrooms and labs. You’ll find SCS graduates leading global tech companies, founding unicorn startups and shaping the future of computing research.

Learn More

A man in a CMU sweatshirt makes adjustments to a drone.

Engage With SCS

The School of Computer Science boasts a global network of students, faculty, alumni and partners with expertise in all areas of computer science. Contact us to learn how you can support us or to connect with our community.

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