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The programs offered by the Department of Computer Science lead to the Bachelor of Science or the Master
of Science in Computer Science. Majors in other disciplines at TSU are also welcome to take
Computer Science as a minor. These programs are designed primarily to prepare graduates for
productive work in highly computer-dependent areas of business, government, and industry.
In recent years, majors graduating from the program have attained their first jobs in
business applications, computer software development, scientific and applied mathematical
programming, and have gone to graduate school.
Computer Science is a rapidly evolving field, it is therefore important that the graduate’s
education be broad and fundamental so that new trends can more readily be followed. Our
goal is to balance fundamentality and breadth with sufficient supervised practice so that
our graduates are productive at the time they graduate but ready and willing to change with
the field. Most graduates will be called to work in cooperation with professionals trained
in other areas. Hence, the ability to work and communicate with others of different
educational backgrounds is an important characteristic. Additionally, we require Computer
Science majors to take a strong minor, preferably in Business or Mathematics.
Students majoring in Computer Science should set their goals beyond simple programming
and should be preparing to:
- Program well, both in design and implementation phases, and document what they
have programmed
- Analyze real-world problems in preparation for program design and implementation
- Manage activities that are strongly computer dependent
- Advance the fundamental theory of digital information processing
- Improve the tools that programmers and systems
analysts use, i.e., to develop better software systems, better languages
for communicating with computers, better web-based interfaces and
databases, better problem solving methods
Requirements for the Bachelor of Science
in Computer Science are summarized below. Each student must be admitted by
the Department, as a major before attempting to meet all of the
requirements for the degree. The admission procedures are under continual
review by the Departmental Admissions Committee.
Interested students are asked to contact the Department Office during
their freshman year in order to gain admission as majors. Students are
responsible for completing ASSET requirements and prerequisites
administered through the General University Academic Center (GUAC) prior
to admission to the department. The Department offices and facilities are
housed on the first floor of Nabrit Center with the Department Office
located in Room 100. The department website is http://itscience.tsu.edu
Students pursuing a
Bachelor degree in CS must also have a declared minor in another academic
discipline as first-time seekers of an undergraduate degree.
The degree requirements along with the sequence in which major courses must be
taken are provided at the end of this section.
Students must earn grades of "C" or better
(where grades of "C-" are unacceptable) in all courses specific to
either the major or the minor in Computer Science.
Students transferring to the University are cautioned that Computer Science credits
transferred from other colleges and universities must be evaluated by the Department
before being used to fulfill requirements for the major in Computer Science. These
credits may or may not be acceptable. If these credits are judged to be unacceptable
by the Department, students may be able to use them to fulfill elective requirements.
In selecting a minor, as required for completion of the B.S. in Computer Science,
students should seek detailed advisement from their designated advisors because the
selection of a minor having representative courses in the core curriculum could impact
the total number of credits required. In no case will students qualify for graduation
at the undergraduate level with fewer than 124 semester credit hours satisfactorily
completed.
For a Computer Science minor, twenty-one (21)
semester credit hours are required
through enrollment in the following courses: CS 120,
CS 124, CS 140, CS 241, CS 243, CS 246 and one
additional junior/senior level CS course of choice. Prior to pursuing this
minor, students must seek advisement and approval from the Department Office.
Students admitted to the
Department as majors, as well as students pursuing a minor are each expected to maintain an
overall GPA of 2.25 or better, or they could be dismissed from the
Department if more than thirty (30) semester credit hours are still required
for graduation. If individual GPA's fall below 2.25 and students are within thirty
(30) semester credit hours of graduation, they must contact the department advisor for
a plan of action.
Upon admission to the Department, students are each assigned an official advisor.
They are expected to keep the Department Office informed of changes in address and/or
telephone numbers up to the time of graduation.
In summary, an
interested student must first gain admission to the University; must meet
his/her ASSET responsibility; and finally, must apply for admission to the
Department once prerequisites and ASSET requirements have been met.
Acceptance to major standing is not automatic, but subject to the decision
of a Departmental Admissions Committee. Each student is provided with
extensive advisement once admitted to the department before further
progression toward the completion of degree requirements is undertaken,
and an exit examination is required. Questions may be directed to the
Department Office at (713)-313-7991 or
cs@tsu.edu.
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