The Computer Science Department is offering four introductory courses during the 2012-13 academic year:

CS 075 - Digital World of Robots
CS 101 - Computer Science I
CS 227 - Introduction to Scientific Computation
CS 254 - Web Application Development

CS 075 introduces students to problem solving, logic, programming and Computer Science using personal robots. Students implement programs enabling robots to move around the world, react to obstacle detectors and use a color camera. CS 075 emphasizes the process and skills necessary to deal with problem solving. No programming experience is required.

CS 101 introduces students to the art and science of computer programming and to fundamental concepts of computer science. CS 101 is required of all Computer Science majors and minors and is a prerequisite for all advanced computer science courses. Students who wish to take more than one course in computer science need to take CS 101. No previous programming experience is required. However, the skills needed to write computer programs come easily to some and less easily to others. Students who are apprehensive about their ability may consider enrolling in CS 075 before enrolling in CS 101.

CS 227 is an introductory course in computer programming for students interested in numerical and scientific computation. Emphasis is placed on problems drawn from the sciences. Problems include implementing basic numerical algorithms such as solutions of nonlinear equations, numerical integration, solving systems of linear equations, error optimization, and data visualization.

CS 254 is an introduction to web-based applications. Students begin by learning basic web page creation, database design, and database access techniques. Next, the emphasis shifts to creating pages that use server-side scripting to provide secure dynamic access to databases over the web. Sample projects might include movie rentals, shopping-cart based sales, and student registration systems. The course is currently taught using PHP and MySQL. No prior programming experience is required.

Thinking about majoring or minoring in Computer Science?

We encourage prospective majors and minors to take CS 101 in the fall semester Freshman year, followed by CS 102 in the spring semester. BA students should take MT 100 in the fall followed by MT 101 in the spring. BS students should take MT 102 in the fall followed by MT 103. BS students should also consider taking a two-semester science sequence with a lab.

Visit http://cs.bc.edu/academics for more information including a sample plan of study, a course precedence diagram, and suggested areas of emphasis with in a Computer Science Major.