USC to open School of Advanced Computing -- and liberal arts majors are welcome

A USC sociology, history or dance major may not be attuned to the discipline of quantum computing, but the university's soon to open School of Advanced Computing will open its doors to all -- as well as dramatically expand the number of degrees it confers in technology-related fields, officials announced Thursday. The new University of Southern California school comes at time when jobs for computer and information research scientists are in high demand and fast-growing, projecting to increase 21% from 2021 to 2031, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A major component of the school will be dedicated to teaching data science and information technology to non-computer majors -- an offering that officials say will allow all students to develop their understanding of elements that shape the digital world, such as coding. "We want to develop a digital backbone across USC that touches every student and every graduate," said Ishwar Puri, senior vice president of research and innovation. "So when they go out into the world, they understand what computing is."