Major (56 credits)

Required courses for a B.A. in Computer Science:

• MATH 118 Essential calculus, or MATH 119 Calculus I, or MATH 120 Calculus II
• CSCI 150 Introduction to the Science of Computing (or CSCI 130 or CSCI 140) 
• CSCI 160 Problem Solving, Programming and Computers
• CSCI 200 Abstraction, Data Structures and Large Software Systems
• CSCI 230 Software Development
• CSCI 239 Discrete Computational Structures
• CSCI 310 Computer Organization
• CSCI 338 Algorithm Design and Analysis
• CSCI 339 Theoretical Foundations of Computer Science
• CSCI 377 (formerly CSCI 369) Ethical Issues in Computing
• CSCI 373 Senior Research in Computer Science, or COLG 398 All College Thesis
• Twelve additional upper division credits in computer science, or MATH 315 or 322 or 338 or 339 and eight additional upper division credits in computer science.

Students who complete MATH 120 may substitute MATH 239 for CSCI 239. Internship credits (CSCI 397) cannot be counted toward the major but can be used for elective credits toward graduation. 

Students must be previously admitted to the major, and they must meet all CSB/SJU requirements for graduation. CSB/SJU requires a 2.00 GPA in CSCI courses to graduate with a computer science degree.

Admission requirements

At CSB/SJU, each student must be admitted into a major before registering as a junior. In our programs, this process is not competitive; it certifies only that we feel that the student is making reasonable progress. For admission to the computer science major, the student must complete the following requirements as evidence of reasonable progress toward the major. A student who is close to completing these requirements may receive “conditional admission”, giving the student an additional semester to meet the requirements.

Students will be accepted into the Computer Science major if:

• They have completed the required mathematics course and CSCI 150 (or 130), CSCI 160 and either CSCI 200 or CSCI 230.
• No more than one of the above courses has a grade below a C, and
• The GPA in the above courses is 2.5 or better.

Students will be conditionally accepted into the Computer Science major if:

• They have not yet completed all the courses needed for unconditional acceptance into the major, but are currently enrolled in the courses which are lacking and
• They meet the other two criteria for acceptance on the courses completed thus far.

Students not accepted to the major must consult with Academic Advising. In exceptional circumstances, a student may be allowed to continue working toward a Computer Science major, subject to constraints determined by the Chair of the department in consultation with Academic Advising.