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University of Pittsburgh    
2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
 
  Nov 08, 2024
 
2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog [Archived Catalog]

Computer Science, BS


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Note: The requirements outlined in this section represent minimum degree satisfaction. Please consult the School of Computing and Information’s Intranet for detailed policies, procedures, forms, and advising resources.

The department-level rules set forth in the following document apply to students who declared their CS major during the 2018-2019 Academic Year. Students who declared prior to this academic year should refer to the Archived Catalogs for departmental-level rules  .

Students who declared the CS major PRIOR to the 2017-2018 Academic Year will find the department-level rules to which they are bound by going to the Archived Catalogs for Arts & Sciences  .


Computer Science, BS

Eligibility for the major

To be considered for admission to the CS undergraduate program, students must complete the following CS core courses with a grade of C or better in each course:

*Students should have some programming experience (usually acquired in high school) before taking CS 0401. Any high school course that includes the writing of several Pascal, C++, or Java programs would be sufficient. It is also possible to take one of the department’s service courses, such as CS 0007 , as preparation. Preparatory classes of this nature do not count toward the student’s major requirements.

Grade Policies for Computer Science Majors

Satisfactory/No-Credit (S/NC) grade options for CS majors

Students should check with their academic advisors before deciding to take a course S/NC (formerly the S/N option). Beyond the School’s Regulations for students enrolling in courses with the S/NC grade option, the Department of Computer Science imposes the following rules:

  • All computer science courses for the major (core and upper-level courses) must be taken for a letter grade.
  • Required mathematics courses may be taken with the S/NC option.

Students should be sure, before deciding on the grading system for a course, that their decision will not have an adverse effect on their plans for a major. They must discuss this decision with their advisor PRIOR to enrolling and selecting the S/NC grade option.

Individual Course Grades

All computer science courses for the major (core and upper-level courses) must be completed with a C grade or better to count for the CS major.  ANY course taken to satisfy a major requirement, including MATH courses required by the major (MATH 0220 , MATH 0230 , and either STAT 1000  or STAT 1151 ), for which only a C- grade or lower is received, must be repeated.  If a grade of C- or lower is earned in a prerequisite course, the course must be repeated before the higher-level course may be taken.

Departmental Honors

Students may graduate with honors if they have also:

  • Completed a sixth upper-level elective CS course
  • Have a CS GPA of at least 3.5
  • Have an overall GPA of at least 3.25

Major Requirements

The computer science major requires 40 credits in computer science courses and an additional 11-12 credits in mathematics and/or statistics as detailed below:

Core Courses

A minimum of 16 credits must be satisfactorily completed in the following five core courses:

*Students should have some programming experience (usually acquired in high school) before taking CS 0401. Any high school course that includes the writing of several Pascal, C++, or Java programs would be sufficient. It is also possible to take one of the department’s service courses, such as CS 0007 , as preparation. Preparatory classes of this nature do not count toward the student’s major requirements.

Required Upper-level courses

Nine credits in these three upper-level courses:

Upper-level Elective Courses

Fifteen additional credits in upper-level elective courses (numbered 1000 or higher) must also be completed.

Internships, directed studies, and co-op courses may not be used to satisfy this requirement (see below).

Required Mathematics Courses

A minimum of 12 credits in mathematics must be completed as follows:

 

- Or -

- Or -

Note: Students should complete their required mathematics courses early. Typically, MATH 0220 would be completed in the freshman year. Strong students may elect also to take MATH 1180 - LINEAR ALGEBRA 1  .

Also, the faculty may approve certain exceptions to the degree requirements outlined in the previous sections. Approval for exceptions must be obtained PRIOR to enrollment in the course in question and must be documented through the Records Office.  See the Advising section of the SCI Catalog  for more details.

Related Area of Study

A 12-credit related area may be completed in approved mathematics and/or statistics courses. Other options include economics, business, chemistry, physics, psychology, or philosophy


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