Computer Science

Computer Science

Gancho Ganchev, Chair
ganchevg@wcsu.edu
Westside Classroom Building 114, Westside campus
(203) 837-9349
(203) 837-8339 (fax)

Todor Ivanov, Associate Chair
ivanovt@wcsu.edu
Westside Classroom Building 107, Westside campus
(203) 837-9356
(203) 837-8339 (fax)

Faculty

Adjunct Faculty

Overview

The Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science (CS) degree is designed to meet the needs of students interested in software development. It can accommodate students who plan to enter the profession directly from college or who plan to continue with graduate study. The program is continuously revised to keep it up to date. The department recommends that all computer science majors pursue a minor in some field.

Mission

Consistent with the university’s mission of being an accessible, responsive, and creative intellectual resource for the people and institutions of Connecticut, the department’s mission is to offer a broad and up-to-date curriculum that provides students with a comprehensive foundation that permits graduates to adapt to new technology and new ideas.

Goals

To accomplish this mission the Department of Computer Science emphasizes the following:

1. Technical understanding of Computer Science: Graduates will have a mastery of Computer Science as described in the Body of Knowledge of the current ACM/IEEE Computing Curricula.
2. Common themes and principles: Graduates will understand a number of recurring themes, such as abstraction, complexity, and evolutionary change, and a set of general principles, such as sharing a common resource, security, and concurrency, and will recognize that these themes and principles have broad application to the field of computer science and are not relevant only to the domains in which they were introduced.
3. The interplay between theory and practice: Graduates will understand the interplay between theory and practice and how theory and practice influence each other.
4. System-level perspective: Graduates will be able to think at multiple levels of detail and abstraction. They will be able to recognize the context in which a computer system may function, including its interactions with people and the physical world.
5. Problem-solving skills: Graduates will be able to apply the knowledge they have gained to solve real problems. They will realize that there are multiple solutions to a given problem and that selecting among them is not a purely technical activity, as these solutions will have a real impact on people’s lives. Graduates will be able to communicate their solution to others, including why and how a solution solves the problem and what assumptions were made.
6. Project experience: Graduates will have been involved in at least one substantial software development project, requiring evaluation of potential solutions, work on a larger scale, integration of modules, and providing opportunities to develop their interpersonal communication skills.
7. Commitment to life-long learning: Graduates will realize that the computing field advances at a rapid pace and that they must continue to learn and adapt their skills throughout their careers. To develop this ability, students will be exposed to multiple programming languages, tools, and technologies as well as the fundamental underlying principles throughout their course of study.

Degree Programs in Computer Science

Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science

Minor Programs

Computer Science
Digital Media
Informatics
Security
Web Development

Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science (B.A.)

Requirements:

Students must complete all general education requirements (see program sheet for details), the course and credits listed below and additional free electives to total a minimum of 122 semester hours, including foreign language and exercise science.
A GPA of 2.5 or better is required in the CS major and math courses for graduation.

Required Courses:

CS 170 Computer Science I: Language
CS 171 Computer Science II: Data Structures
CS 205 Data Modeling and Database Design
CS 215 Computer Architecture
CS 240 Computer Organization & Software
CS 315 Design and Analysis of Algorithms
CS 350 Object Oriented Software Engineering
or CS 305 Database Applications Engineering
or CS 360 Distributed Applications Engineering
CS 355 Programming Languages
CS 450 Operating Systems
MAT 120 Elementary Statistics
CS/MAT 165 Introductory Discrete Mathematics
MAT 181 Calculus I
CS/MAT 359 Introduction to Theory of Computation
Twelve semester hours of approved computer science electives

Course Restrictions
For a complete list of prerequisites, corequisites and other restrictions for all courses, please consult the Course Description section of this catalog.

The following is a per-semester sequence of courses. However, due to the diversity of student backgrounds, students must consult with their faculty adviser to select the program sequence which best fits their needs. Students with relatively little programming experience should take CS 140 or CS 143 in their freshman year.

Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

 

Learning Outcomes

 At the completion of their degrees in Computer Science students will demonstrate:

1. Mastery of Computer Science as described in the current ACM/IEEE Computing Curricula.
2. The ability to identify and use recurring computer science themes and principles and determine their relevance in multiple contexts.
3. Understanding of the interplay between theory and practice in computer science.
4. The ability to think at a system-level.
5. Strong problem-solving skills.
6. The ability to communicate solutions and strategies to others.

MINOR IN COMPUTER SCIENCE

Sixteen semester hours are required:
CS 170 Computer Science I
CS 171 Computer Science II
CS 215 Computer Architecture
CS 240 Computer Organization and Software

MINOR IN DIGITAL MEDIA

Sixteen to 18 semester hours are required:
CS 170 Computer Science I or CS 250 Advanced Topics in Programming with JAVA or CS 144 Advanced Visual Basic
ART 108 Design I
ART 111 Drawing I
CS 235 Digital Media
CS 330 Computer Graphics
CS 340 Computer Animation or ART 152 Photography I or ART 327 Digital Design or ART 328 Illustration III/Animation Production

MINOR IN INFORMATICS

Fifteen to 16 semester hours are required:
CS 170 Computer Science I or CS 250 Advanced Topics in Programming with JAVA or CS 144 Advanced Visual Basic
CS 205 Database Modeling and Database Design
CS 215 Computer Architecture
CS 270 Computers in Society

MINOR IN SECURITY

Fourteen to 15 semester hours are required:
CS 166 Intro to Unix
CS 170 Computer Science I or CS 250 Advanced Topics in Programming with JAVA or CS 144 Advanced Visual Basic
CS 240 Computer Organization and Software
MIS/JLA 341 Information Systems Security

MINOR IN WEB DEVELOPMENT

Fifteen to 16 semester hours are required:
CS 110 Website Production
CS 170 Computer Science I or CS 250 Advanced Topics in Programming with Java or CS 144 Advanced Visual Basic
CS 205 Database Modeling and Database Design
CS 245 Web Applications Development