Computer Science, B.S.

Degree and Major Requirements

Degree Requirements

Required Courses

General Education 41 Credit Hours ¹
Quantitative requirement (in addition to General Education ) 3 Credit Hours
Major requirements (listed below) 49-52 Credit Hours
University electives 24-27 Credit Hours

Total: 120 Credit Hours

Footnote

¹ The General Education program contains a set of requirements each student must fulfill. The number of credit hours necessary to fulfill these requirements may vary.

Major Requirements

CS 149. Introduction to Programming 3.00
CS 159. Advanced Programming 3.00
CS 240. Algorithms and Data Structures 3.00
CS 261. Computer Systems I 3.00
CS 327. Discrete Structures II 3.00
CS 345. Software Engineering 3.00
CS 361. Computer Systems II 3.00
CS 430. Programming Languages 3.00
Computer Science electives above CS 300, with at least two above CS 345: 9 Credit Hours

Choose one introductory discrete math course: 3 Credit Hours

Choose one calculus sequence: 4-6 Credit Hours

MATH 235. Calculus I [C3QR] 4.00
OR
MATH 231. Calculus with Functions I [C3QR] 3.00 and
MATH 232. Calculus with Functions II 3.00

Choose one statistics course: 3-4 Credit Hours

Choose one algorithms course: 3 Credit Hours

CS 412. Applied Algorithms 3.00
CS 452. Design and Analysis of Algorithms 3.00

Choose one systems elective: 3 Credit Hours

CS 432. Compilers 3.00
CS 450. Operating Systems 3.00
CS 456. Computer Architecture 3.00
CS 470. Parallel and Distributed Systems 3.00

Total: 49-52 Credit Hours

Additional Information

The credit/no-credit option may not be applied to any courses specifically listed above, nor may that option be applied to computer science electives

Progressing in the Major

Students may enroll in each of CS 149 , CS 159 , CS 240 and CS 261 at most twice. Most CS courses require a grade of “C-” or better (“B-” or better in CS 149 ) in prerequisite courses. Students must achieve a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or better in all courses used to satisfy CS major degree requirements.

Certificates

Periodically, the department may offer a collection of two or more advanced courses in a particular area of study.

Students successfully completing those courses will obtain a certificate in that area of study. Examples of possible certificate programs include networking, software engineering and information security.

U.S. Government Requirements for Computer Scientists

The U.S. government standard for occupational category GS- 1550: Computer Science Series includes a requirement of 15 hours in statistics and mathematics including differential and integral calculus. This means that students considering a career as a computer scientist with the U.S. government (including DoD, NASA, etc.) must complete more math courses than the minimum requirement for a B.S. degree. Recommended calculus sequences for these students are MATH 235 -MATH 236 or MATH 231 - MATH 232 -MATH 236 . However, only the U.S. Office of Personnel Management can give final approval of individual qualifications.