Computer Science
This is an archived copy of the 2018-19 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://bulletin.ndsu.edu.
Major Requirements
Major: Computer Science
Degree Type: B.S.
Minimum Degree Credits to Graduate: 120
University Degree Requirements
- Satisfactory completion of all requirements of the curriculum in which one is enrolled.
- Earn a minimum total of 120 credits in approved coursework. Some academic programs exceed this minimum.
- Satisfactory completion of the general education requirements as specific by the university.
- A minimum institutional GPA of 2.00 based on work taken at NDSU.
- At least 36 credits presented for graduation must be in courses number 300 or higher.
- Transfer Students: Must earn a minimum of 60 credits from a baccalaureate-degree granting or professional institituion.
- Of these 60, at least 36 must be NDSU residence credits as defined in #7.
- Within the 36 resident credits, a minimum of 15 must be in courses numbered 300 or higher and 15 credits in the major field of study.
- At least 36 credits must be NDSU resident credits. Residence credits include credits registered and paid for at NDSU.
For complete information, please refer to the Degree and Graduation Requirements section of this Bulletin.
University General Education Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 39 | |
| * | May be satisfied by completing courses in another General Education category. |
| † | 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 major requirements to determine if specific courses can also satisfy these general education categories. |
- A list of university approved general education courses and administrative policies are available here.
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 189 | Skills for Academic Success 1 | 1 |
| 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 Distributed Systems | 3 |
| CSCI 445 | Software Projects Capstone 2 | 3 |
| CSCI 467 | Algorithm Analysis | 3 |
| CSCI 474 | Operating Systems Concepts | 3 |
| CSCI 489 | Social Implications of Computers 2 | 3 |
| ENGL 321 | Writing in the Technical Professions (May satisfy general education category C) | 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 |
| Computer Science Electives: Select 3 courses from the list below. | 9 | |
| Note: Students seeking recognition of cyber-security skills should follow the cyber-security section below. | ||
| Topics on Personal Computers | ||
| Web Scripting Languages | ||
| Principles of Software Engineering | ||
| Simulation Models | ||
| Introduction to Artificial Intelligence | ||
| Computational Techniques for Environmental Sustainability | ||
| Cloud Computing | ||
| Linear Programming and Network Flows | ||
| Operations Research | ||
| Computer Graphics | ||
| Foundations of Computer Networks | ||
| Mobile and Wireless Networks | ||
| Network Security | ||
| Foundations of the Digital Enterprise | ||
| Computer Forensics | ||
| Object-Oriented Systems | ||
| Introduction to Data Mining | ||
| Human-Computer Interaction | ||
| Seminar (Cyber-Security Focus) | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Computer Crime, Forensics, and Investigation | ||
| Managing Information Technology Security | ||
| Total Credits | 71 | |
Cyber-security
Cyber-security is optional - students interested in pursuing recognition of their achievement in cyber-security core concepts should take the B.S. Core Requirements as indicated above, as well as the additional courses listed here. This sequence satisfies the Computer Science elective courses required for the B.S. degree.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CSCI 491 | Seminar (Cyber-Security Focus) | 3 |
| MIS 415 | Managing Information Technology Security | 3 |
| One of the following: | 3 | |
| Foundations of the Digital Enterprise | ||
| Topics on Personal Computers (Cyber-Security Focus) | ||
| Special Topics (Cyber-Security Focus) | ||
| Computer Crime, Forensics, and Investigation | ||
| Total Credits | 9 | |
| 1 | CSCI 189 is only required for first-time, first-year students--A first-time, first-year student is defined as a student who has not yet completed a college course as a college student. Students that are not first-time, first-year students that either transfer into the university or change their major are not required to take CSCI 189. |
| 2 | 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. |
Link to view program description and 4-year Plan of Study
Major Requirements
Major: Computer Science
Degree Type: B.A.
Minimum Degree Credits to Graduate: 120
University Degree Requirements
- Satisfactory completion of all requirements of the curriculum in which one is enrolled.
- Earn a minimum total of 120 credits in approved coursework. Some academic programs exceed this minimum.
- Satisfactory completion of the general education requirements as specific by the university.
- A minimum institutional GPA of 2.00 based on work taken at NDSU.
- At least 36 credits presented for graduation must be in courses number 300 or higher.
- Transfer Students: Must earn a minimum of 60 credits from a baccalaureate-degree granting or professional institituion.
- Of these 60, at least 36 must be NDSU residence credits as defined in #7.
- Within the 36 resident credits, a minimum of 15 must be in courses numbered 300 or higher and 15 credits in the major field of study.
- At least 36 credits must be NDSU resident credits. Residence credits include credits registered and paid for at NDSU.
For complete information, please refer to the Degree and Graduation Requirements section of this Bulletin.
University General Education Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | 39 | |
| * | May be satisfied by completing courses in another General Education category. |
| † | 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 major requirements to determine if specific courses can also satisfy these general education categories. |
- A list of university approved general education courses and administrative policies are available here.
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 MIS 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 189 | Skills for Academic Success 1 | 1 |
| 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 2 | 3 |
| CSCI 488 | Human-Computer Interaction | 3 |
| CSCI 489 | Social Implications of Computers 2 | 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 | 64 | |
| 1 | CSCI 189 is only required for first-time, first-year students--A first-time, first-year student is defined as a student who has not yet completed a college course as a college student. Students that are not first-time, first-year students that either transfer into the university or change their major are not required to take CSCI 189. |
| 2 | 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.