The computer science curriculum offers students training in the theory and practice of computing. A major in computer science prepares one for a job in the field or for graduate study leading to teaching or research. A computer science undergraduate education followed by graduate study in law, business, or medicine is another strong combination.
The department offers both a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts major in Computer Science and a combined B.S./M.S. program. It also participates in joint majors with the Departments of Mathematics, Psychology, and Electrical Engineering.
Each program provides a solid technical education yet allows students either to take the broad range of courses in other disciplines that is an essential part of a liberal education or to complete the requirements of a second major.1Thus the number of courses required is somewhat less than at other schools.
The programs are built around a common core of five computer science courses. The first, CPSC 201 Introduction to Computer Science, is a survey that illustrates the breadth and depth of the field to students who have already completed a one-term introductory course in programming. The others cover discrete mathematics; data structures; systems programming and computer architecture; and algorithm analysis and design. Together they include the material that every student of computer science should know.
This core is supplemented by a set of electives (and for the joint majors, a set of core courses in the other discipline). The electives give students great flexibility in tailoring the program to specialize in particular areas of computer science or to broaden their knowledge in a variety of areas.
The capstone of each program is the senior project, which lets students experience the challenges and rewards of original scientific research under the guidance of a faculty member. These projects deal with problems that cross the boundaries between courses and can involve complex and imaginative use of computers.