Michtom School of Computer Science

Learn the fundamentals of computer science, including programming techniques, data structures and computer systems. Pursue electives on a variety of topics such as big data, machine learning, educational technologies and computational linguistics. This track combines well with a second major or a minor.

Core Courses

• COSI 12b: Advanced Programming Techniques in Java
• COSI 21a: Data Structures and the Fundamentals of Computing
• COSI 29a: Discrete Structures, or MATH 23b and either MATH 8a or MATH 36a or ECON 83a or BIOL 51a or PSYC 51a
• COSI 131a: Operating Systems

Five Electives

Full details and recommendations are provided in the University Bulletin.

Additional Requirements for Degree with Departmental Honors

Graduation with honors in computer science requires completion and defense of a senior honors thesis. Students interested in senior thesis should contact prospective mentors by the spring of their junior year and should take note of the prerequisites for enrollment in COSI 99d (Senior Research).

Go beyond fundamentals and prepare for a career in computer science research or high-tech development. Dive deeper into more core courses, electives, and mathematics courses. This track combines well with work in a faculty research lab and industry internships.

Core Courses

• COSI 12b: Advanced Programming Techniques in Java
• COSI 21a: Data Structures and the Fundamentals of Computing
• COSI 29a: Discrete Structures, or MATH 23b and either MATH 8a or MATH 36a or ECON 83a or BIOL 51a or PSYC 51a
• COSI 131a: Operating Systems
• COSI 121b: Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
• COSI 130a: Intro. to Theory of Computation

Six Electives

Additional Requirements

• Math 8a: Introduction to Probability and Statistics or MATH 36a, ECON 83a, BIOL 51a, or PSYC 51a
• MATH 10a: Techniques of Calculus

Additional Requirements for Degree with Departmental Honors

Graduation with honors in computer science requires completion and defense of a senior honors thesis. Students interested in senior thesis should contact prospective mentors by the spring of their junior year and should take note of the prerequisites for enrollment in COSI 99d (Senior Research).

Core Courses

• COSI 12b: Advanced Programming Techniques in Java
• COSI 21a: Data Structures and the Fundamentals of Computing

Four Electives

• COSI 102a: Software Entrepreneurship
• COSI 125a: Human Computer Interaction
• COSI 127b: Database Management Systems

For Biology Majors, we suggest the following electives:

• COSI 101a: Artificial Intelligence
• COSI 113b: Artifical Life
• COSI 123a: Statistical Machine Learning
• COSI 165a: 3D Animation
• COSI 178a: Computational Molecular Biology

For Psychology Majors, we suggest the following electives:

• COSI 101a: Artificial Intelligence
• COSI 111a: Topics in Computational Cognitive Science
• COSI 114a: Topics in Computational Linguistics
• COSI 118a: Computer Supported Cooperation
• COSI 125a: Human-Computer Interaction

Full details and other recommendations are provided in the University Bulletin.