Programs

The Computer Science Department offers

  • major programs in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science
  • a minor in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences

The Computer Science, Biology and Mathematics departments jointly offer an interdisciplinary concentration in Bioinformatics.

Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science

Additional CS Courses for the B.A.

Twelve additional credits

  • 3 credits from CSCI 2000 or above
  • 9 credits from CSCI 3000 or above

Mathematics Component - B.A.

The Bachelor of Arts requires one semester of Calculus 2 for Science Majors or higher. This requirement can be completed with: MATH 1103 Calculus II (Mathematics/Science Majors)

GPA Requirement

Students enrolled in the Computer Science BS, BA, or Minor programs must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 1.67 or above in the CSCI courses counted toward their program's requirements. This policy applies to students who declare any CSCI major or minor after the spring 2023 semester.

Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science

The Bachelor of Science in Computer Science requires coursework in Computer Science, Mathematics and in the Sciences.

Computer Science

The BS degree shares a common group of 7 core CSCI courses with the Bachelor of Arts degree:

  1. CSCI 1101 Computer Science 1 or CSCI 1103 Computer Science 1 Honors
  2. CSCI 1102 Computer Science 2
  3. CSCI 2243 Logic & Computation
  4. CSCI 2244 Randomness & Computation
  5. CSCI 2271 Computer Systems
  6. CSCI 2272 Computer Organization
  7. CSCI 3383 Algorithms

In addition, the BS degree requires:

  • 3 credits from the Social & Ethical Issues cluster: CSCI 2260 -- CSCI 2267,
  • 12 elective credits from CSCI courses numbered 3000 or higher.
Bachelor of Arts

Science Component

A two-semester sequence in a laboratory science for science majors. The sequences that fulfill this requirement can be chosen from among Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Earth & Environmental Sciences.

Biology:
  • BIOL 2000 Molecules & Cells, BIOL 2010 Ecology & Evolution and BIOL 2040 Investigations in Molecular Cell Biology Lab, or
  • BIOL 2000 Molecules & Cells, BIOL 3030 Introduction to Physiology and BIOL 2040 Investigations in Molecular Cell Biology Lab;
Chemistry:
  • CHEM 1109/1111/113 General Chemistry I and CHEM 1110/1112/1114 General Chemistry II or
  • CHEM 1117/1119/1121 Honors Modern Chemistry I and CHEM 1118/1120/1122 Honors Modern Chemistry II;
Physics:
  • PHYS 2200/2050 Introductory Physics I (Calculus) and PHYS 2201/2051 Introductory Physics II (Calculus);
Earth & Environmental Sciences:

Option #1
Exploring the Earth EESC 1132/1133
THEN
any two of the following 2-credit Environmental Systems courses:

  • EESC 2202/2212 Ecosystems
  • EESC 2203/2213 Water Resources
  • EESC 2204/2214 The Critical Zone
  • EESC 2205/2215 Climate Change
  • EESC 2206/2216 Oceans
  • EESC 2207/2217 Earthquakes
  • EESC 2208/2218 Quantitative Methods

Option #2
Exploring the Earth EESC 1132/1133
THEN
Any 2000, 3000, 4000 level class in EESC (note pre-reqs)

Option #3
any two of the following 2-credit Environmental Systems courses:

  • EESC 2202/2212 Ecosystems
  • EESC 2203/2213 Water Resources
  • EESC 2204/2214 The Critical Zone
  • EESC 2205/2215 Climate Change
  • EESC 2206/2216 Oceans
  • EESC 2207/2217 Earthquakes
  • EESC 2208/2218 Quantitative Methods

THEN
Any 2000, 3000, 4000 level class in EESC (note pre-reqs)

Math Component

Twelve credits of mathematics are required for completion of the Bachelor of Science major:

  1. MATH 1103 Calculus II (Math/Science majors)
  2. MATH 2202 Multivariable Calculus
  3. MATH 2210 Linear Algebra
  4. Any MATH course 3000 or higher (other than MATH 4426 Probability)

GPA Requirement

Students enrolled in the Computer Science BS, BA, or Minor programs must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 1.67 or above in the CSCI courses counted toward their program's requirements. This policy applies to students who declare any CSCI major or minor after the spring 2023 semester.

Students wishing to complete the Minor in CS should take CSCI 1101 and CSCI 1102 by the end of their sophomore year. CSCI 2243 Logic & Computation and CSCI 2271 Computer Systems should be completed by the end of their junior year, as all 3000-level CS electives have one or both of these courses as prerequisites. Please note that several 3000-level electives have additional prerequisites such as CSCI 2244 Randomness & Computation.

Students can declare a minor in CS after they have taken CS2 or, if they are currently enrolled in CS2, after the add/drop deadline has passed. The minor must be declared before the end of the student's sophomore year.

Students enrolled in the Computer Science BS, BA, or Minor programs must maintain a grade point average (GPA) of 1.67 or above in the CSCI courses counted toward their program's requirements. This policy applies to students who declare any CSCI major or minor after the spring 2023 semester.


Minor in Computer Science

The minor program in Computer Science is designed to provide an introduction to computer science for students with a strong secondary interest in computer science and good analytical skills.

Eighteen credits are required for the minor:

  1. CSCI 1101 Computer Science 1 or CSCI 1103 Computer Science 1 Honors,
  2. CSCI 1102 Computer Science 2,
  3. Two electives numbered 2000 or higher (only one of:
        CSCI 2257 Database Systems and Applications or
        CSCI 2267 Technology and Culture may count toward this requirement),
  4. Two electives numbered 3000 or higher.
Students wishing to pursue a Minor have to choose one of the following courses to be able to finish the minor (all electives requires at least one or the other)
CSCI 2243 Logic and Computation
CSCI 2271 Computer Systems

Students pursuing a minor in computer science should consider the prerequisites of 3000-level courses when selecting 2000-level electives. Several 3000-level electives specify CSCI 2244 Randomness and Computation and/or CSCI 3383 Algorithms.

Areas of Emphasis:

Applications in Data Science

Students wishing to pursue applications in data science may wish to consider:

CSCI 2244 Randomness and Computation (to be taken after CSCI 2243),
CSCI 3346 Data Mining or
CSCI 3345 Machine Learning.

Application Development or Applications of Computer Science in Management

Students wishing to pursue application development or applications of computer science in
management may wish to consider:

CSCI 2254 Web Application Development and
CSCI 2257 Database Systems and Applications.

Applications in Security

Students wishing to pursue applications in security may wish to consider:

CSCI 2201 Computer Security,
CSCI 2243 Logic and Computation and
CSCI 3381 Cryptography.

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