Dwight Look College of Engineering

Curriculum in Computer Science

The curriculum in computer science is designed to prepare students to enter the rapidly expanding computer field. Curricula and courses are based upon recommendations by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineer Computer Society and the Association for Computing Machinery.

Program Mission

The mission of the computer science program at Texas A&M University is to prepare intellectual, professional, and ethical graduates, capable of meeting challenges in the field of Computer Science; and to coordinate with other parts of the university to facilitate the effective use of educational resources by sharing cross-disciplinary courses.

Program Objectives

  1. Graduates of the Computer Science Program will have the technical knowledge and skills both in breadth and depth, to pursue the practice or advanced study of computer science.
  2. Graduates of the Computer Science Program will understand the importance of life-long learning; and be prepared to understand and apply new technological developments in their field.
  3. Graduates of the Computer Science Program will understand the technical, social and ethical context and obligations of their computer science contributions.
  4. Graduates of the Computer Science Program will continue to develop the communication, teamwork, and leadership skills necessary to function productively and professionally.

The four-year undergraduate curriculum in computer science at Texas A&M provides a sound preparation in computing, as well as in science, mathematics, English, and statistics. Students take a broad set of core computer science courses in the first two years, which exposes them to the main concepts in computing. During the last two years, students take elective computer science courses drawn from four tracks (algorithms and theory, computer systems, software, and information and intelligent systems) to provide both breadth and depth. The electives can be used to tailor the curriculum to match the student’s interests. Graduate courses may be taken by qualified students for some of the electives.

A major in computer science includes a 12-hour area of concentration. This allows students to design a course of study which complements their computer science coursework and takes advantage of opportunities offered by other departments across the University.

The Department of Computer Science has significant computer resources of its own, shares resources with other departments and makes use of University systems. Departmental resources include about 300 general purpose Unix and Pentium workstations. Other resources include large computer servers; disk servers; and massively parallel systems as well as network access to the University mainframes and supercomputers.

Freshmen must submit a formal degree plan to the department during their third semester. Transfer students must submit one during the first semester in the department. Departmental advisors are available for assistance.

FRESHMAN YEAR

First Semester (Th-Pr) Cr   Second Semester (Th-Pr) Cr
CPSC 121 Intro. Pgm. Design and Concepts (3-2) 4   CPSC 221 Data Struct. and Algorithms. (3-2) 4
CPSC 181 Intro. to Computing (1-0) 1   MATH 152 Engineering Mathematics II (3-2) 4
ENGL 104 Comp. and Rhetoric (3-0) 3   MATH 302 Discrete Mathematics (3-0) 3
MATH 151 Engineering Mathematics I (3-2) 4   Science elective 1   4
Science elective1   4   * KINE 199 Health and Fitness Activity (0-2) 1
    16       16

SOPHOMORE YEAR

First Semester (Th-Pr) Cr   Second Semester (Th-Pr) Cr
CPSC 312 Computer Organization (3-2) 4   CPSC 313 Intro. to Computer Systems (3-2) 4
CSPC 314 Programming Languages (3-0) 3   CPSC 315 Programming Studio (2-2) 3
MATH 251 Engineering Mathematics III (3-0) 3   STAT 211 Principles of Statistics I (3-0) 3
Concentration area elective4   3   Speech and writing skills elective6   3
Elective2   3   Electives 2   3
    16       16

JUNIOR YEAR

First Semester (Th-Pr) Cr   Second Semester (Th-Pr) Cr
CPSC 481 Seminar (0-2) 1   Computer science electives7   6
Computer science electives7   6   Science elective1   4
Mathematics elective5   3   Concentration area elective4   3
Science elective1   4   Elective3   3
Concentration area elective4   3       16
    17        

SENIOR YEAR

First Semester (Th-Pr) Cr   Second Semester (Th-Pr) Cr
Computer science electives7   6   CPSC 482 Senior Capstone (1-6) 3
Concentration area elective4   3   ENGR 482 Ethics and Engineering (2-2) 3
Electives 2   6   Computer science elective 7   3
* KINE 199 Health and Fitness Activity (0-2) 1   Electives2   6
    16       15
NOTES:

Grade Requirements: A grade of C or better will be required for the following courses: CPSC 111, 211, 310, 311, 321, 332, 410, 420, 431, 433, 481; MATH 151, 152, 251, 302; ENGL 104; at least two science courses.

  1. Science courses must be taken from two areas. See advisor for list of acceptable courses.
  2. To be selected from the University Core Curriculum. Of the 18 hours shown as University Core Curriculum electives, 3 must be from visual and performing arts, 3 from social and behavioral sciences, 6 from U.S. history, and 6 from POLS 206 and 207. The required 6 hours from international and cultural diversity may be met by courses satisfying the visual and performing arts, social and behavioral sciences, and the history requirements if they are also on the approved list of international and cultural diversity courses (see University Core Curriculum, item 6).
  3. Three hours of course work to be approved by student's advisor.
  4. The concentration area should be chosen only after consultation with a departmental advisor who will help the student arrange a program appropriate to his or her plans following graduation. Students should file a degree plan before taking these courses to ensure their use in the degree plan.
  5. Mathematics elective must be selected from MATH 304 or 308.
  6. Select from ENGL 301 or ENGL 210 or COMM 203 or COMM 205.
  7. Computer science electives are to be selected from tracks. See advisor for list of acceptable course choices.

The Systems Safety Engineering Specialty is available for students pursuing this degree.

* See University Core Curriculum, item 7.