Computer Science
Computer Science Major
The computer science undergraduate programs, based on recommendations of the Association for Computing Machinery, consist of a core of courses required for majors and a large selection of service courses and advanced courses. A grade of 'C' or better is required in all Computer Science courses. In the core, students are offered an opportunity to study concepts, applications, and implementation techniques that provide a broad practical base for both further study and a career in computing. Through a variety of service courses, every student in the university is provided an opportunity to develop computer literacy or competency. Through advanced undergraduate and graduate courses, students are offered an opportunity for in-depth study of such topics as artificial intelligence, programming languages, mobile applications, computer networks, security, information assurance, office automation, bioinformatics, software development, data mining, and data base management systems. Students are encouraged to choose elective courses from related areas including business, economics, engineering, mathematics, operations research, and statistics.
After completing part of their studies, students will find many opportunities to work part time as a research assistant to a scientist on campus, or as an intern with a local business, applying what they have learned in the classroom. Cooperative education opportunities starting in the junior year are available.
The B.A. concentrates on web development. Students receive an applied grounding in application design, web development, and deployment.
The B.S. program provides the widest exposure to computing with emphasis on high level languages, software development and advanced mathematical concepts.
Top students are encouraged to inquire about the 4+1 program providing a fast track through graduate school resulting in combined Bachelor's and Master's Degrees.
Computer Science Minor
A minor in Computer Science requires at least 17 semester hours of select computer science courses. A grade of 'C' or better is required in all courses applied toward the computer science minor.
Major Requirements
Major: Computer Science
Degree Type: B.S.
Minimum Degree Credits to Graduate: 122
General Education Requirements for Baccalaureate Degree
- A dynamic list of approved general education courses offered by term is available on the NDSU General Education Requirements website.
- General education courses may be used to satisfy requirements for both general education and the major, minor, and program emphases, where applicable. Students should carefully review the major, minor, and program emphases requirements for minimum grade restrictions, if applicable.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| First Year Experience (F) | 1 | |
| Skills For Academic Success (Also offered with the following prefixes: ABEN, AGRI, BUSN, HD&E, ME, NURS, PHRM) | ||
| Communication (C) | 12 | |
| College Composition I | ||
| College Composition II | ||
| Fundamentals of Public Speaking | ||
Upper Division Writing † | ||
| Quantitative Reasoning (R) † | 3 | |
| Science and Technology (S) † | 10 | |
| Humanities and Fine Arts (A) † | 6 | |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences (B) † | 6 | |
| Wellness (W) † | 2 | |
| Cultural Diversity (D) *† | ||
| Global Perspectives (G) *† | ||
| Total Credits | 40 | |
| * | May be satisfied by completing courses in another General Education category. |
| † | May be satisfied with courses required in the major. Review major requirements to determine if a specific upper division writing course is required. |
College Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree – An additional 12 credits Humanities and Social Sciences and proficiency at the second year level in a modern foreign language. * | 12 | |
| Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree – An additional 6 credits in Humanities or Social Sciences * | 6 | |
| * | Humanities and Social Sciences may be fulfilled by any course having the following prefix: ADHM, ANTH, ARCH, ART, CJ, CLAS, COMM, ECON, ENGL, FREN, GEOG, GERM, HDFS, HIST, LA, LANG, MUSC, PHIL, POLS, PSYC, RELS, SOC, SPAN, THEA, WGS, or any course from the approved list of general education courses in humanities and social sciences (general education categories A and B). These credits must come from outside the department of the student’s major. |
Major Requirements
A Grade of 'C' or better is required for all CSCI prefix courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| B.S. Computer Science Core Requirements | ||
| CSCI 160 | Computer Science I | 4 |
| CSCI 161 | Computer Science II | 4 |
| CSCI 213 | Modern Software Development | 3 |
| CSCI 222 | Discrete Mathematics | 3 |
| CSCI 313 | Software Development for Games | 3 |
| CSCI 336 | Theoretical Computer Science | 3 |
| CSCI 366 | Database Systems | 3 |
| CSCI 372 | Comparative Programming Languages | 3 |
| CSCI 374 | Computer Organization and Architechure | 3 |
| CSCI 415 | Networking and Parallel Computation | 3 |
| CSCI 445 | Software Projects Capstone * | 3 |
| CSCI 467 | Algorithm Analysis | 3 |
| CSCI 474 | Operating Systems Concepts | 3 |
| CSCI 489 | Social Implications of Computers * | 3 |
| Computer Science Electives: Select 3 courses form the categories listed below. No more than 2 courses may come from any single category | 9 | |
Software Engineering: | ||
| Principles of Software Engineering | ||
| Object-Oriented Systems | ||
| Human-Computer Interaction | ||
Large Systems: | ||
| Introduction to Artificial Intelligence | ||
| Microcomputer Graphics | ||
| Foundations of Computer Networks | ||
Systems Modeling: | ||
| Simulation Models | ||
| Linear Programming and Network Flows | ||
| Operations Research | ||
Emerging Areas: | ||
CSCI 345 | ||
| Network Security | ||
| Foundations of the Digital Enterprise | ||
| Computer Forensics | ||
| Introduction to Data Mining | ||
| ENGL 321 | Writing in the Technical Professions (May satisfy general education category R) | 3 |
| or ENGL 324 | Writing in the Sciences | |
| MATH 165 | Calculus I (May satisfy general education category R) | 4 |
| MATH 166 | Calculus II | 4 |
| STAT 367 | Probability | 3 |
| STAT 368 | Statistics | 3 |
| One Year Lab Science Sequence: Select one of the following sequences: | 8-10 | |
| Human Biology and Human Biology Laboratory and Human Anatomy and Physiology I and Human Anatomy and Physiology I Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S) ** | ||
| General Chemistry I and General Chemistry I Laboratory and General Chemistry II and General Chemistry II Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S) ** | ||
| Principles of Chemistry I and Principles of Chemistry Laboratory I and Principles of Chemistry II and Principles of Chemistry Laboratory II (May satisfy general education category S) ** | ||
| Physical Geology and Physical Geology Lab and The Earth Through Time and The Earth Through Time Lab (May satisfy general education category S and G) *** | ||
| College Physics I and College Physics I Laboratory and College Physics II and College Physics II Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S) ** | ||
| University Physics I and University Physics I Laboratory and University Physics II and University Physics II Laboratory (May satisfy general education category S) ** | ||
| Total Credits | 78-80 | |
| * | Together, CSCI 445 Software Projects Capstone (typically taken during the last spring semester prior to degree completion) & CSCI 489 Social Implications of Computers (typically taken during the last fall semester prior to degree completion), form the department capstone. |
| ** | Fulfills general education science & technology requirement. |
| *** | Fulfills general education science & technology and global perspective requirement. |
Major Requirements
Major: Computer Science
Degree Type: B.A.
Minimum Degree Credits to Graduate: 122
General Education Requirements for Baccalaureate Degree
- A dynamic list of approved general education courses offered by term is available on the NDSU General Education Requirements website.
- General education courses may be used to satisfy requirements for both general education and the major, minor, and program emphases, where applicable. Students should carefully review the major, minor, and program emphases requirements for minimum grade restrictions, if applicable.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| First Year Experience (F) | 1 | |
| Skills For Academic Success (Also offered with the following prefixes: ABEN, AGRI, BUSN, HD&E, ME, NURS, PHRM) | ||
| Communication (C) | 12 | |
| College Composition I | ||
| College Composition II | ||
| Fundamentals of Public Speaking | ||
Upper Division Writing † | ||
| Quantitative Reasoning (R) † | 3 | |
| Science and Technology (S) † | 10 | |
| Humanities and Fine Arts (A) † | 6 | |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences (B) † | 6 | |
| Wellness (W) † | 2 | |
| Cultural Diversity (D) *† | ||
| Global Perspectives (G) *† | ||
| Total Credits | 40 | |
| * | May be satisfied by completing courses in another General Education category. |
| † | May be satisfied with courses required in the major. Review major requirements to determine if a specific upper division writing course is required. |
College Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree – An additional 12 credits Humanities and Social Sciences and proficiency at the second year level in a modern foreign language. * | 12 | |
| Bachelor of Science (BS) Degree – An additional 6 credits in Humanities or Social Sciences * | 6 | |
| * | Humanities and Social Sciences may be fulfilled by any course having the following prefix: ADHM, ANTH, ARCH, ART, CJ, CLAS, COMM, ECON, ENGL, FREN, GEOG, GERM, HDFS, HIST, LA, LANG, MUSC, PHIL, POLS, PSYC, RELS, SOC, SPAN, THEA, WGS, or any course from the approved list of general education courses in humanities and social sciences (general education categories A and B). These credits must come from outside the department of the student’s major. |
Major Requirements
A Grade of 'C' or better is required for all CSCI prefix courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| B.A. Computer Science Core Requirements | ||
| CSCI 114 | Microcomputer Packages (May satisfy general education category S) | 3 or 4 |
| or CSCI 116 | Business Use of Computers | |
| CSCI 159 | Computer Science Problem Solving | 3 |
| CSCI 160 | Computer Science I | 4 |
| CSCI 161 | Computer Science II | 4 |
| CSCI 213 | Modern Software Development | 3 |
| CSCI 222 | Discrete Mathematics | 3 |
| CSCI 313 | Software Development for Games | 3 |
| CSCI 366 | Database Systems | 3 |
| CSCI 371 | Web Scripting Languages | 3 |
| CSCI 445 | Software Projects Capstone * | 3 |
| CSCI 488 | Human-Computer Interaction | 3 |
| CSCI 489 | Social Implications of Computers * | 3 |
| Related Courses | ||
| COMM 260 | Introduction to Web Design | 3 |
| COMM 261 | Introduction to Web Development | 3 |
| ENGL 321 | Writing in the Technical Professions (May satisfy general education category C) | 3 |
| or ENGL 324 | Writing in the Sciences | |
| MATH 146 | Applied Calculus I (May satisfy general education category R) | 4 |
| or MATH 165 | Calculus I | |
| STAT 330 | Introductory Statistics | 3 |
| STAT 331 | Regression Analysis | 2 |
| Other Courses: Select these seven credits from the following areas: | 7 | |
Science (cannot be courses with the CSCI prefix) | ||
| Total Credits | 63-64 | |
| * | CSCI 445 Software Projects Capstone & CSCI 489 Social Implications of Computers form the department capstone. CSCI 445 is typically taken during the last spring semester and CSCI 489 is typically taken during the last fall semester prior to degree completion. |
Minor Requirements
Computer Science Minor
Minor Requirements
Required Credits: 17
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| CSCI 213 | Modern Software Development | 3 |
| Choose one of the following two sequences: | 7-8 | |
| Computer Science I and Computer Science II | ||
| Computing Fundamentals I and Computer Science II | ||
| Additional Electives: Select 7-8 credits (at least 3 credits must be CSCI 300-400 level). | 7-8 | |
| Total Credits | 17-19 | |
Minor Requirements and Notes
- A minimum of 8 credits must be taken at NDSU.
- A grade of 'C' or better is required in all courses applied to the computer science minor.
B.S. Calculus Ready 4- year plan
| Freshman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| CSCI 160 | 4 | CSCI 161 | 4 |
| MATH 165 | 4 | MATH 166 | 4 |
| Lab Science I | 4-5 | Lab Science II | 4-5 |
| UNIV 189 | 1 | General Ed (HUM/FA) | 3 |
| ENGL 110 or 120 | 3 | ||
| 16-17 | 15-16 | ||
| Sophomore | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| CSCI 213 | 3 | CSCI 313 | 3 |
| CSCI 222 | 3 | CSCI 336 | 3 |
| COMM 110 | 3 | General Ed (SOC/BehSci) | 3 |
| General Ed SOC/BehSci | 3 | Add'l Gen Ed I | 3 |
| Science elective | 3 | Wellness | 2-3 |
| 15 | 14-15 | ||
| Junior | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| CSCI 372 | 3 | CSCI 467 | 3 |
| STAT 367 | 3 | STAT 368 | 3 |
| CSCI 366 | 3 | CSCI 374 | 3 |
| General Ed (HUM/FA) | 3 | Add'l Gen Ed II | 3 |
| CSCI Elective II | 3 | ENGL 321 or 324 | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Senior | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| CSCI 489 | 3 | CSCI 415 | 3 |
| CSCI 474 | 3 | CSCI 445 | 3 |
| CSCI elective III | 3 | ||
| 9 | 6 | ||
| Total Credits: 105-108 | |||
| Freshman | |
|---|---|
| Fall | Credits |
| CSCI 122 | 3 |
| 3 | |
| Total Credits: 3 | |
