Department of Computer Science
Mission Statement
The Computer Science department strives to be an intellectual community that continually explores the broad field of computing, applies this knowledge to solve problems in a variety of domains, and engages with the profession and society at large. Undergraduates join this community when they become majors, participating with faculty and other students in exploring computing through classes, projects, clubs, and internships.
Goals
The goals of the Computer Science department are to:
- Offer small classes that provide opportunities for personal interaction with students.
- Provide a broad, inclusive, and up-to-date computing curriculum.
- Provide students opportunities for professional and community engagement and real word experiences.
- Help students to become computing problem solvers and good communicators.
- Produce graduates who will succeed in the computing profession.
Career Opportunities and Marketable Skills
Computing technology pervades modern society, and demand for computing professionals is strong and projected to remain strong for the foreseeable future. Careers in computing range from technical positions specifying, designing, building, and maintaining networks and systems of all kinds, through project leadership and technical management. The Computer Science major prepares students for entry-level technical positions as programmers, software developers, requirements analysts, software designers, testers, software quality assurance professionals, system architects, network engineers, information security specialists, and computing consultants.
Co-curricular Activities and Organizations
The James Madison University Student Chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery is the local student chapter of the national association for computing professionals. The JMU chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon, the international honor society in computer science, recognizes outstanding academic achievement by students and outstanding contributions to education by faculty. The department also sponsors the Cyber Defense, Digital Forensics, and Women in Technology clubs.
Students are encouraged to intern in a business or government organization during the summer. Students may receive elective credit toward their major requirements for internship experiences.
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
Degree Requirements
| Required Courses | Credit Hours |
| General Education 1 | 41 |
| Quantitative requirement (in addition to General Education) | 3 |
| Major requirements (listed below) | 49-51 |
| University electives | 21-27 |
| 120 | |
1 The General Education program contains a set of requirements each student must fulfill. The number of credit hours necessary to fulfill these requirements may vary.
| Major Requirements | Credit Hours |
| CS/MATH 227. Discrete Structures I | 3 |
| CS/MATH 228. Discrete Structures II | 3 |
| CS 239. Advanced Computer Programming | 4 |
| (CS 139 or equivalent is a prerequisite for CS 239) | |
| CS 240. Algorithms and Data Structures | 3 |
| CS 345. Software Engineering | 3 |
| CS 350. Computer Organization | 3 |
| CS 430. Programming Languages | 3 |
| CS 450. Operating Systems | 3 |
| CS 460. TCP/IP Networks | 3 |
| CS 474. Database Design and Applications | 3 |
| Computer Science electives above CS 300 | 9 |
| CS 280. Projects in Computer Science | 3 |
| (When topic is Technical Writing for Computer Science.) | |
| Choose one of the following: | 3-4 |
| MATH 205. Introductory Calculus I | |
| MATH 231. Calculus with Functions I | |
| MATH 235. Calculus I | |
| Choose one of the following statistics courses: | 3-4 |
| MATH 220. Elementary Statistics | |
| MATH 318. Introduction to Probability and Statistics |
The credit/no-credit option may not be applied to any courses specifically listed above, nor may that option be applied to Computer Science electives. Students must achieve a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or better in all courses used to satisfy the above requirements.
Certificates
Periodically, the department may offer a collection of two or more advanced courses in a particular area of study.
Students successfully completing those courses will obtain a certificate in that area of study. Examples of possible certificate programs include networking, software engineering and information security.
U.S. Government Requirements for Computer Scientists
The U.S. government standard for occupational category GS-1550: Computer Science Series includes a requirement of 15 hours in statistics and mathematics including differential and integral calculus. This means that students considering a career as a computer scientist with the U.S. government (including DoD, NASA, etc.) must complete more math courses than the minimum requirement for a B.S. degree. Recommended calculus sequences for these students are MATH 235-236 or MATH 231-232-236. However, only the U.S. Office of Personnel Management can give final approval of individual qualifications.
Computer Science Minor
Minor Adviser: Mr. H. Taz Daughtrey
| Courses | Credit Hours |
| CS 139. Algorithm Development | 4 |
| CS 239. Advanced Computer Programming | 4 |
| Choose one of the following: | 3 |
| CS 345. Software Engineering | |
| CS 350. Computer Organization | |
| Choose three of the following: | 9 |
| CS 240. Algorithms and Data Structures | |
| CS/MATH 228. Discrete Structures II | |
| Computer Science courses above CS 300 | |
| 20 | |
Telecommunications Minor
Minor Adviser: Dr. Mohamed Aboutabl
The Department of Computer Science, in cooperation with other departments, offers a cross disciplinary minor in telecommunications. The program is intended to augment major programs in preparing students to become network and telecommunications professionals. For a full description of the requirements for visit the telecommunications cross disciplinary page.
