Name Changes

Firstly, the School was known as the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science before 2024 when “Department” was officially replaced by “School” as a result of a decision made by the university’s authorities.

Back in the history of the school, when it was known as an academic department (instead of school), the role of the Department changed over time which triggered a change of name on three occasions.  The Department started out (in 1967, in Port Moresby) as a section within the Faculty of General Studies (along with Language, Chemistry and Physics).   In the early 1970s the Faculty split into four independent departments, one being the Department of Mathematics. By 1987, the Department realized that it was about much more than teaching mathematics, and that a good proportion of its teaching and much of its consultancy was to do with statistics.  To reflect this the decision was made to change the name to the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. This name remained until 1992, when the impending introduction of a Computer Science program required a further name change – to the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. In late 2023, a decision was made by the university management and Academic Board to change “Department” to “School” for all academic departments in the university. Thus, the name “School of Mathematics and Computer Science” was used beginning in 2024.