Drake Computer Science Major

Requirements for a major in Computer Science fall into four categories. They can be satisfied with work in computer science and mathematics totaling 40-50 hours, depending upon the specific courses chosen.

CORE (25 Hours)

Title Number Hours Prerequisites
Discrete Mathematics MATH 54 3 hours Four years of high school math or MATH 20
Calculus I MATH 50 4 hours MATH 20 or equivalent and trigonometry
Linear Algebra MATH 80 3 hours MATH 50
Introduction to Computer Science I CS 65 3 hours Four years of high school math or MATH 20
Introduction to Computer Science II CS 66 3 hours CS 65
Computer Organization and Assembly Language Programming CS 130 3 hours CS 65
Programming Languages CS 135 3 hours CS 130
One of the following courses:
Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis
 CS 137 3 hours CS 66, MATH 54 or 50
Theory of Computation
 CS 139 3 hours CS 66, MATH 54 or 50

UPPER-DIVISION COMPONENT (15-17 Hours)

A. At least nine hours (chosen with the approval of the advisor) from:
  1. Other computer science courses numbered 100 or above (excluding CS 140 and the Capstone course)
  2. Information Systems (IS) courses numbered 151 or higher *
 
B. The balance (chosen with the approval of the advisor) from:
  1. Other computer science courses numbered 100 or above (excluding CS 140 and the Capstone course)
  2. Information Systems courses numbered 151 or higher *
  3. MATH 70 (Calculus II) STAT 71 (Statistics I); STAT 72 (Statistics II)
  4. ECON 107 (Introduction to Econometrics); ECON 176 (Mathematical Economics)
  5. Mathematics courses, statistics, actuarial science, or quantitative methods numbered 100 or above (MATH 101 and CS 114 cannot both be counted, MATH 140 and the Capstone course cannot be counted)
  6. Other courses chosen with the approval of the department advisor
 * IS 101 is a prerequisite for IS courses above 151.

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT

Students must select courses which provide programming experience with at least four programming languages. This may be accomplished through the Computer Science or Information Systems courses appropriately selected for other requirements, or by taking additional courses such as IS 50 (COBOL) or CS 73 (C/UNIX, FORTRAN, JAVA, etc.) The student and the advisor need to monitor this requirement carefully.

CULMINATING PROJECT

A culminating project, usually completed during the student's senior year, will demonstrate mastery of concepts from the core curriculum. The project will be chosen by the student with advisor approval and should contain a significant design, implementation, or research component and include at least one public presentation of the work and its results. The project may be completed either as part of other course work or as an independent study.

NOTE: All upper-division courses are offered yearly except for the following: (Due to enrollment patterns changes in rotation are possible.)

  1. CS 150, CS 160 and CS 165 are offered during the spring of even-numbered years.
  2. CS 137 is offered during the spring of odd-numbered years, and CS 139 is offered during the spring of even-numbered years.
  3. CS 143 and CS 147 are offered during the fall of even-numbered years.
  4. CS 161 and CS 172 are offered during the fall of odd-numbered years.
  5. CS 105 is offered in the summer as a Web course.

MATH-CS Homepage

Mathematics Major <> Computer Science Minor <> Mathematics for Secondary Education Major