2023-2024 Academic Catalog

Computer Science Bachelor of Science

Leading to the Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science

The Bachelor of Science in Computer Science program is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET.

Students in Computer Science (BCOS) gain valuable skills in software design, programming languages, systems, and development in high-level computer languages. Related courses including databases, software engineering, networking, and operating systems are also integral in this program. Elective courses are available in a wide variety of computing areas including web development, mobile development, embedded computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cybersecurity. Students also apply these skills directly in the work environment through two required co-op work semesters beginning junior year.

Program Educational Objectives

Within three to five years of graduation:

  • Graduates are proficient in applying computer science principles and best practices to problems in the workplace.
  • Graduates attain productive and challenging computer science and/or software engineering careers in private practice, industry, or government.
  • Graduates are engaged in continuing professional development or professional societies in computer science or a related computing field.
  • Graduates follow standards set forth by professional societies of which they are members.

Student Outcomes

Graduates of the program will have an ability to:

  1. Analyze a complex computing problem and to apply principles of computing and other relevant disciplines to identify solutions.
  2. Design, implement, and evaluate a computing-based solution to meet a given set of computing requirements in the context of the program’s discipline.
  3. Communicate effectively in a variety of professional contexts.
  4. Recognize professional responsibilities and make informed judgments in computing practice based on legal and ethical principles.
  5. Function effectively as a member or leader of a team engaged in activities appropriate to the program’s discipline.
  6. Apply computer science theory and software development fundamentals to produce computing-based solutions. 
On This Page

Three Year Program

Total credits for degree: 120

This is a three-year program, starting in the fall semester of the student’s first year and planned to end in the summer semester of the student’s third year. The courses are as follows:

Plan of Study Grid
Freshman Year
Fall SemesterCredits
COMP1000 COMPUTER SCIENCE I 4
MATH1776 CALCULUS 1A 2
MATH1777 CALCULUS 1B 2
MATH2300 DISCRETE MATHEMATICS 4
Science Elective 2 4
English Sequence* 4
 Credits20
Spring Semester
COMP1050 COMPUTER SCIENCE II 4
COMP1200 COMPUTER ORGANIZATION 4
MATH1876 CALCULUS 2A 2
MATH1877 CALCULUS 2B 2
Science Elective 2 4
English Sequence* 4
 Credits20
Sophomore Year
Fall Semester
COMP2000 DATA STRUCTURES 4
COMP2100 NETWORK PROGRAMMING 4
COMP2650 DATABASES 4
MATH2860 LINEAR ALGEBRA & MATRIX THEORY 4
HSS Elective* 4
 Credits20
Spring Semester
COMP2350 ALGORITHMS 4
COMP3400 OPERATING SYSTEMS 4
COMP Computer Science Elective 1 4
MATH2100 PROBABILITY & STATISTICS FOR ENGINEERS 4
HSS Elective* 4
 Credits20
Summer Semester
COOP3500 COOP EDUCATION 1
 Credits0
Junior Year
Fall Semester
COMP3350 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES 4
COMP4960 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING 4
COMP Computer Science Elective 1 4
COMP Elective Computer Science Elective 1 4
GENERAL Elective 4
 Credits20
Spring Semester
COOP4500 COOP EDUCATION 2
 Credits0
Summer Semester
COMP3450 PARALLEL COMPUTING AND DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING 4
COMP5500 SENIOR PROJECT 4
COMP Computer Science Elective 1 4
HSS Elective* 4
GENERAL Elective 4
 Credits20
 Total Credits120
1

Computer Science students take a total of four computer science electives. Students must select four courses from the list of Computer Science Electives. The Computer Science Elective courses to be offered in a particular semester will be selected by the School of Computing and Data Science.

2

BCOS students must take two lab-based science electives selected from the list of approved science courses. 

ENGL/HSS Note

Students are required to complete:

  • At least one course in Humanities: CSAS, HSSI, HIST, HUMN, LITR and PHIL
  • At least one course in the Social Sciences: CSAS, HSSI, COMM, ECON, ENVM, POLS, PSYC and SOCL
  • The remaining course from either the Humanities or Social Sciences category. 

Students with a three English course sequence may use the third English course to satisfy a Humanities requirement.

A minimum of 20 credits total, including English, humanities, and social science credit, is required to complete the humanities and social sciences graduation requirement.


Of the three listed humanities and social science electives, BCOS students must include the one Directed Elective:

  • An Ethics elective

Math Placement may alter the course schedule above. 

 Computer Science Electives, select four courses from the following list:

The Computer Science Elective courses may include, but are not limited to:

Course Title Credits
COMP1150ROUTING AND SWITCHING4
COMP2150NETWORK ADMINISTRATION4
COMP2160WIRELESS NETWORKS4
COMP2500SECURITY PRINCIPLES4
COMP3100SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION4
COMP3125DATA SCIENCE FUNDAMENTALS4
COMP3200ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE4
COMP3500NETWORK SECURITY4
COMP3550COMPUTER SECURITY4
COMP3575SCRIPTING FOR CYBERSECURITY AND FORENSICS4
COMP3580DIGITAL FORENSICS4
COMP3590APPLIED CRYPTOGRAPHY4
COMP3660MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT4
COMP3750INTRODUCTION TO BIOSTATISTICS4
COMP4050MACHINE LEARNING4
COMP4150ADVANCED SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION4
COMP4450SYSTEMS PROGRAMMING4
COMP4460COMPILERS4
COMP4500OFFENSIVE SECURITY4
COMP4550INCIDENT RESPONSE & BUSINESS CONTINUITY4
COMP4580NETWORK FORENSICS4
COMP4590PUBLIC KEY CRYPTOGRAPHY4
COMP4600QUANTUM COMPUTING FOR SECURITY4
COMP4650WEB DEVELOPMENT4
COMP4700ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE4
COMP4750EMBEDDED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE4
COMP4775ADVANCED PARALLEL COMPUTING4
COMP4950PROJECT MANAGEMENT4

Science Electives, select two courses from the following list:

Course Title Credits
BIOL1100CELL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY4
BIOL1700ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY I4
BIOL2200ADVANCED MOLECULAR BIOLOGY4
BIOL3000APPLICATIONS IN GENETICS4
CHEM1100GENERAL CHEMISTRY I4
CHEM1600GENERAL CHEMISTRY II4
PHYS1250ENGINEERING PHYSICS I4
PHYS1750ENGINEERING PHYSICS II4
PHYS2000INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY4
PHYS3100MODERN PHYSICS4
The following courses require School approval to satisfy the Science Elective requirement
BIOL2990INDEPENDENT STUDY IN BIOLOGY4
BIOL3800SPECIAL TOPICS IN BIOLOGY4
CHEM2990INDEPENDENT STUDY IN CHEMISTRY4
CHEM3800SPECIAL TOPICS IN CHEMISTRY4
PHYS2990INDEPENDENT STUDY IN PHYSICS4
PHYS3800SPECIAL TOPICS IN PHYSICS4

and

General Electives: Select any two 4 credit courses.

Four Year Program

Total credits for degree: 120

This is a four-year program, starting in the fall semester of the student’s first year and planned to end in the summer semester of the student’s fourth year. The courses are as follows:

Plan of Study Grid
Freshman Year
Fall SemesterCredits
COMP1000 COMPUTER SCIENCE I 4
MATH1776 CALCULUS 1A 2
MATH1777 CALCULUS 1B 2
MATH2300 DISCRETE MATHEMATICS 4
English Sequence* 4
 Credits16
Spring Semester
COMP1050 COMPUTER SCIENCE II 4
COMP1200 COMPUTER ORGANIZATION 4
MATH1876 CALCULUS 2A 2
MATH1877 CALCULUS 2B 2
English Sequence* 4
 Credits16
Sophomore Year
Fall Semester
COMP2000 DATA STRUCTURES 4
COMP2100 NETWORK PROGRAMMING 4
MATH2860 LINEAR ALGEBRA & MATRIX THEORY 4
HSS Elective* 4
 Credits16
Spring Semester
COMP2350 ALGORITHMS 4
COMP2650 DATABASES 4
MATH2100 PROBABILITY & STATISTICS FOR ENGINEERS 4
GENERAL Elective 4
 Credits16
Summer Semester
COOP3000 PRE CO-OP WORK TERM (OPTIONAL)
 Credits0
Junior Year
Fall Semester
COMP3400 OPERATING SYSTEMS 4
COMP Computer Science Elective 1 4
SCIENCE Elective 2 4
HSS Elective* 4
 Credits16
Spring Semester
COOP3500 COOP EDUCATION 1
 Credits0
Summer Semester
COMP3350 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES 4
COMP3450 PARALLEL COMPUTING AND DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING 4
COMP Computer Science Elective 1 4
SCIENCE Elective 2 4
 Credits16
Senior Year
Fall Semester
COOP4500 COOP EDUCATION 2
 Credits0
Spring Semester
COMP4960 SOFTWARE ENGINEERING 4
COMP Computer Science Elective 1 4
HSS Elective* 4
 Credits12
Summer Semester
COMP5500 SENIOR PROJECT 4
COMP Computer Science Elective 1 4
GENERAL Elective 4
 Credits12
 Total Credits120
1

Computer Science students take a total of four computer science electives. Students must select four courses from the list of Computer Science Electives. The Computer Science Elective courses to be offered in a particular semester will be selected by the School of Computing and Data Science. 

2

BCOS students must take two lab-based science electives selected from the list of approved science courses.

ENGL/HSS Note

Students are required to complete:

  • At least one course in Humanities: CSAS, HSSI, HIST, HUMN, LITR and PHIL
  • At least one course in the Social Sciences: CSAS, HSSI, COMM, ECON, ENVM, POLS, PSYC and SOCL
  • The remaining course from either the Humanities or Social Sciences category. 

Students with a three English course sequence may use the third English course to satisfy a Humanities requirement.

A minimum of 20 credits total, including English, humanities, and social science credit, is required to complete the humanities and social sciences graduation requirement.

Of the three listed humanities and social science electives, BCOS students must include the one Directed Elective:

  • An Ethics elective

Math Placement may alter the course schedule above. 

Computer Science Electives, select four (4) courses from the following list:

The Computer Science Elective courses may include, but are not limited to:

Course Title Credits
COMP1150ROUTING AND SWITCHING4
COMP2150NETWORK ADMINISTRATION4
COMP2160WIRELESS NETWORKS4
COMP2500SECURITY PRINCIPLES4
COMP3100SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION4
COMP3125DATA SCIENCE FUNDAMENTALS4
COMP3200ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE4
COMP3500NETWORK SECURITY4
COMP3550COMPUTER SECURITY4
COMP3575SCRIPTING FOR CYBERSECURITY AND FORENSICS4
COMP3580DIGITAL FORENSICS4
COMP3590APPLIED CRYPTOGRAPHY4
COMP3660MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT4
COMP3750INTRODUCTION TO BIOSTATISTICS4
COMP4050MACHINE LEARNING4
COMP4150ADVANCED SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION4
COMP4450SYSTEMS PROGRAMMING4
COMP4460COMPILERS4
COMP4500OFFENSIVE SECURITY4
COMP4550INCIDENT RESPONSE & BUSINESS CONTINUITY4
COMP4580NETWORK FORENSICS4
COMP4650WEB DEVELOPMENT4
COMP4700ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE4
COMP4750EMBEDDED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE4
COMP4775ADVANCED PARALLEL COMPUTING4
COMP4950PROJECT MANAGEMENT4

Science Electives, select two (2)  courses from the following list:

Course Title Credits
BIOL1100CELL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY4
BIOL1700ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY I4
BIOL2200ADVANCED MOLECULAR BIOLOGY4
BIOL3000APPLICATIONS IN GENETICS4
CHEM1100GENERAL CHEMISTRY I4
CHEM1600GENERAL CHEMISTRY II4
PHYS1250ENGINEERING PHYSICS I4
PHYS1750ENGINEERING PHYSICS II4
PHYS2000INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY4
PHYS3100MODERN PHYSICS4
The following courses require School approval to satisfy the Science Elective requirement
BIOL2990INDEPENDENT STUDY IN BIOLOGY4
BIOL3800SPECIAL TOPICS IN BIOLOGY4
CHEM2990INDEPENDENT STUDY IN CHEMISTRY4
CHEM3800SPECIAL TOPICS IN CHEMISTRY4
PHYS2990INDEPENDENT STUDY IN PHYSICS4
PHYS3800SPECIAL TOPICS IN PHYSICS4

and 

 General Electives: Select any two 4 credit courses.