Department of Computer and Data Sciences

School: School of Engineering and Computational Sciences

The mission of the Department of Computer and Data Sciences is to prepare students to be outstanding technologists who successfully contribute and adapt to the rapidly changing field, both as academics and professionals. Programs offered provide strong coverage of current knowledge in the field and the foundation necessary for lifelong learning and development. The majors are based on the recommendations of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and they expose students to the four processes that computing professionals employ: design, abstraction, theory, and implementation. A mastery of these processes is emphasized through a broad-based coverage of the disciplines of computer science and data science in the core curriculum. The majors conclude with senior capstone group projects.

The department houses B.S. degrees in Computer Science, Data Science, and minors in Computer Science, Data Science, and Cyber Security. All curricula focus on job preparedness and building of technical and soft skillsets. Students in Computer and Data Sciences will work with real-world applications and hands-on learning outcomes from day 1. Areas of study include software engineering, data science, data visualization, statistical modeling, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, web and mobile application development, game development, and many others.

Students are also encouraged to take part in research projects and work on individual projects with faculty. Students work closely with faculty advisers to customize the majors through the use of electives to focus on areas that directly apply to areas of study that interest the students, and prepare them for the careers they want when they graduate. All students are encouraged to get involved with faculty research, individual projects, and capstone experiences. Additionally, all students are required to take part in an experiential learning program as a graduation requirement, satisfied by either an internship or a faculty research project.

Undergraduate degree programs offered by the Department:

Major(s)

Computer Science, B.S.

Minor(s)