A major in web dev doesn't sound serious? Why is that so? Do you have an idea of how big web dev is? There's a lot to learn in web dev and it definitely deserves to be a major!
I have absolutely no doubt there's someone charging tuition for these.
Web Dev is learning how to service cars from X manufacturer. Totally different than cars from manufacturer Y! CS/Engineering is learning how to design cars.
Web dev is big. It deserves to be a major. You could probably have a 4 year specialization on various parts of web development. And you'd be highly capable and inextricably linked to those specializations for years after graduation. And it all may change from your Freshman courses to your Senior courses. Op was suggesting that situation is limiting. You could substitute "robotics" for web dev, by the way, and it would still stand.
Coming from a small midwest school as you did, your coursework should (and does) skew towards current-skill-based specializations which help you get a job. This is OK and desirable for the vast majority of students.
By the way, I also went to a small midwest school, and its "Computer Science" program was cancelled in favor of more skill-based specializations (right after I graduated with a CS degree). I don't blame them, but I stuck to my theory / fundamentals because that's what I wanted.
A course on web dev in a CS degree sounds right. 4 years that's just... what are you going to do in 4 years?
http, some js, some css, some html, one popular back-end and students should be pretty much comfortable reading the docs and picking up whatever framework-du-jour is trendy right now.
By the time you graduate this 4 year major, the frameworks will have changed twice!
> By the way, I also went to a small midwest school, and its "Computer Science" program was cancelled in favor of more skill-based specializations
That's a very bad signal.
I’ve worked in Web Development for 15 years, and just got my degree in Software Engineering this year. Before I completed I remember hearing someone decry that they didn’t understand how software engineering was a degree. At the time I didn’t really either and was worried that my degree would some how be worth less than a CS degree.
Part of it is gate keeping. People are worried about their relevance or the value of their accomplishment. Part of it is a sense of what university study is supposed to be.