Program Overview
College of Natural and Health Sciences
Contact: Jodie Novak, Ph.D., Chair of Mathematical Sciences
Location: Ross Hall 2239
Telephone: 970-351-2820
Website: www.unco.edu/nhs/mathematical-sciences/
Advising Information:
Students must consult with their assigned major advisor each semester prior to registering.
To find your advisor, log into ursa.unco.edu; go to 'Student' tab and click 'View Student Information' link. If no advisor is listed, contact the major program for advisor information.
The program consists of three parts:
- Liberal Arts Curriculum (LAC) Credits
- Required Major Credits
- University-Wide Credits
Program Description:
The B.S. in Computer Science focuses on the design of computers, computational processes for problem-solving, and information transfer and transformation, with an emphasis on improving software and system quality, security, performance, and usability. The program supports the evolution of the computing and informatics disciplines, and the integration of computer and information sciences with other disciplines in the sciences.
Computer Science professionals design, analyze and improve the quality of computer software and systems for a variety of applications, including artificial intelligence, computer vision, cybersecurity, graphics, information management, multimedia, networking, and human-computer interaction.
Program Admission Requirements:
Academic Good Standing.
Degree Requirements — 120 Credits
1. Liberal Arts Curriculum — 31 credits
To complete the degree in 120 credits as outlined, the program recommends the below LAC courses that also count toward the required major credits.
Any additional LAC coursework completed outside of the recommended list below may extend the length of the program of study.
Written Communication — 6 credits
SCI 291 is recommended to fulfill part of the Written Communication requirement, and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements. Then only 3 more credits of currently approved Written Communication courses will be needed.
See Written Communication courses
Mathematics — 3 credits
MATH 131, STAT 150 or STAT 250 is recommended to fulfill the Mathematics requirement, and will fulfill both LAC and major requirements.
See Mathematics courses
Arts & Humanities, History, Social & Behavioral Sciences, U.S. Multicultural Studies [MS], and International Studies [IS] — 15 credits
To complete the LAC in the minimum number of credits, be sure to choose at least one course with an IS designation and one course with an MS designation.
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Arts & Humanities, History, and Social & Behavioral Sciences courses
Natural & Physical Sciences — 7 credits
Select any courses to fulfill this requirement from the currently approved LAC course list.
See Natural & Physical Sciences courses
See Liberal Arts Curriculum
2. Required Major — 61 credits
Required Computer Science Courses — 36 credits
| CS 130 | Fundamentals of Computer Science | 3 |
| CS 160 | Structured Programming | 3 |
| CS 200 | Object-Oriented Analysis, Design, and Programming | 3 |
| CS 209 | Computer and Data EthicsLAA3 | 3 |
| CS 216 | Database Concepts | 3 |
| CS 225 | Computer Organization and Architecture | 3 |
| CS 301 | Algorithms and Data Structures | 3 |
| CS 302 | Programming Languages | 3 |
| CS 350 | Software Engineering I | 3 |
| CS 440 | Operating Systems | 3 |
| CS 442 | Networking | 3 |
| CS 490 | Computer Science Capstone | 3 |
Required Mathematics and Statistics Courses — 13 credits
Major Electives — 9 credits
Take 9 credits from the following:
| BACS 385 | Fundamentals of Project Management | 3 |
| CS 325 | Introduction to Human Computer Interaction | 3 |
| CS 330 | Mobile Computing | 3 |
| CS 395 | Special Topics in Computer Science | 1- 3 |
| CS 401 | Theory of Computation | 3 |
| CS 432 | Fundamentals of Cybersecurity | 3 |
| CS 454 | Data Mining and Machine Learning | 3 |
| CS 456 | Neural Networks and Deep Learning | 3 |
| CS 497 | Senior Project | 1- 8 |
| CS 312 | Systems Programming | 3 |
Scientific Writing Requirement — 3 credits
3. University-Wide Credits — 28-34 credits*
Complete additional credits to achieve the minimum credits needed for any degree at UNC; for this program that will typically be 28-34 credits.
*Note: Students who apply the recommended courses to both the liberal arts curriculum and the major requirements will have an increased number of university-wide electives to apply to this degree. See your advisor for details.
Four Year Plan
This four year plan is a recommended schedule to complete this bachelor's degree in 4 years. Courses are subject to availability. Students must consult with their major advisor to receive information on any additional graduation requirements and course sequence guidance.
Year 1 – 29 credits
Fall Semester
| CS 130 | Fundamentals of Computer Science | 3 |
| ENG 122 | College CompositionLAW1 | 3 |
| MATH 102 | Success in the Mathematical Sciences | 1 |
| MATH 131 | Calculus ILAX1 | 4 |
| | LAC Arts and HumanitiesLAA1LAA2LAA3LAA4 | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 14 |
LAC Arts and Humanities: Choose U.S. Multicultural Studies (MS) or International Studies (IS) course.
Spring Semester
| CS 160 | Structured Programming | 3 |
| MATH 228 | Discrete Mathematics | 3 |
| SCI 291 | Scientific WritingLAW2 | 3 |
| | LAC Social and Behavioral SciencesLAB1LAB2LAB3 | 3 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
LAC Social and Behavioral Sciences: Choose U.S. Multicultural Studies (MS) or International Studies (IS) course.
Year 2 – 30 credits
Fall Semester
| CS 200 | Object-Oriented Analysis, Design, and Programming | 3 |
| CS 216 | Database Concepts | 3 |
| STAT 150 | Introduction to Statistical AnalysisLAX1 | 3 |
| | LAC Arts and HumanitiesLAA1LAA2LAA3LAA4 | 3 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Spring Semester
| CS 209 | Computer and Data EthicsLAA3 | 3 |
| CS 225 | Computer Organization and Architecture | 3 |
| MATH 221 | Elementary Linear Algebra | 3 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Year 3 – 31 credits
Fall Semester
| CS 301 | Algorithms and Data Structures | 3 |
| | Major Elective | 3 |
| | LAC Social and Behavioral SciencesLAB1LAB2LAB3 | 3 |
| | LAC Natural and Physical Sciences with LabLAS1LASL | 4 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 16 |
Spring Semester
| CS 440 | Operating Systems | 3 |
| or | |
| CS 442 | Networking | 3 |
| | |
| CS 302 | Programming Languages | 3 |
| or | |
| | Major Elective | 3 |
| | |
| | LAC Natural and Physical Sciences without LabLAS1 | 3 |
| | LAC HistoryLAH1 | 3 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Year 4 – 30 credits
Fall Semester
| CS 350 | Software Engineering I | 3 |
| | Major Elective | 3 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Spring Semester
| CS 440 | Operating Systems | 3 |
| or | |
| CS 442 | Networking | 3 |
| | |
| CS 302 | Programming Languages | 3 |
| or | |
| | Major Elective | 3 |
| | |
| CS 490 | Computer Science Capstone | 3 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| | University-Wide Elective | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |