Business combines with computer science to give students an edge in the workforce

By Suzanne Bowness | Feb. 22, 2024

Julie Ngo knew in high school that she wanted to go to business school in university. But she also knew she was interested in computer programming. Then she came across the Business Administration and Computer Science double degree, offered jointly by the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University and the Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo. Not only does the partnership issue a double degree, but students can complete the programs in only five years. “I thought it would give me a taste of both fields because I wasn’t sure about what to go into,” says Ngo. She adds that she also liked the guaranteed co-op. “It was my top choice.”

While Ngo was disappointed that the pandemic prevented her from being able to live in residence and experience welcome week, she says that both Laurier and Waterloo had programs in place to help students get situated. She took full advantage, signing up to be matched with a mentor both in the Double Degree Club and also in the math side at Waterloo, where she made friends. She also joined a lot of Discord and Instagram chat groups. “I met friends there too, which was helpful for when I got stuck or confused on how to handle things,” she says. The first year of the double degree includes topics such as Introduction to Financial Accounting, Micro- and Macroeconomics, and Introduction to Mathematics for Finance.

By third and fourth year, courses become more specialized and include topics like Windows Application Programming and Ethics and Professional Practice in Computer Science. By Ngo’s third year, classes were fully in person again and she began meeting people on campus, and also took advantage of events put on by various clubs to start networking. Ngo says that she also found clubs useful for resume reviews once she started to apply for co-ops, attending resume clinics through the Women in STEM club as well as the Computer Science club. For her first co-op, she landed an app developer role, which helped her to get some experience, and in her second co-op she took on a position as a full-stack developer. Now in fourth year, she’s looking for her final co-op and thinking about trying out something in marketing, a surprise new focus that she gained from the program.

Students in the program specialize in one of ten concentrations from Accounting to Finance to Insurance and more. In Ngo’s experience, taking courses in various concentrations brought her to realize her interests in new areas like Marketing and Human Resources. She notes that she can be indecisive on course choices, so she appreciated the large number of prescribed courses for introducing her to subjects that she might not have chosen for herself. She says her ideal workplace destination is starting in a development role at a software company, but that now she may be interested in pivoting to a product manager role down the road thanks to her broader learning. “Right now, I like coding, but if I do go into a manager role in the future, then my business knowledge and mindset will help with that,” she says. Other career destinations from the program tend to include roles like business analyst, chief information officer and computer security specialist.

Program director Chima Mbagwu says the double degree program in partnership with Waterloo is a flagship for Lazaridis because it allows students to complete the double degree in five years, plus the guaranteed co-op is very attractive to students who want to be workplace ready. “The students are really bright and the program is a superior one, employers are always looking for our students,” he says, noting that grads are hired in the big accounting firms, banks, and other large employers such as Unilever, Pepsi, and Google.

On the brink of starting down her own pathway, Ngo says she highly recommends the program to others. “The benefit is that you get two degrees, and instead of one pathway you have more perspective and opportunities, you can easily pivot to marketing or in other directions,” she says.

Visit our website to learn more about the Lazaridis School’s double degree program.