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COMPUTER SCIENCE

The Department of Computer Science of the University of Pittsburgh was established in 1966, which makes it one of the oldest such departments in the country. The Bachelor of Science degree program was begun in 1974 with the following objectives: to provide an opportunity for students to focus their educational efforts on computer science as a discipline; to prepare students for employment and positions of responsibility in an increasingly computer-oriented world; to prepare students for graduate study in computer science.

The curriculum for the BS degree program is dependent on a set of required core courses followed by elective advanced courses. Four core courses provide an introduction to the fundamental areas and to the basic concepts of computer science. These courses include the study of modern languages such as C++. Also included is a careful investigation of fundamental problem-solving techniques used to solve a variety of computational problems. In addition, the computer science major is required to complete eight upper-level courses, three of which are required. The remaining five courses are selected by the student from major areas such as theory, programming, languages, systems programming, artificial intelligence, and software engineering. Finally, three courses in mathematics are required; these courses provide a level of mathematical maturity that is essential to the study of computer science. For more information on the major or the Department of Computer Science, see http://www.cs.pitt.edu /.

The department also offers the scientific computing major jointly with the Department of Mathematics (see Department of Mathematics listing for information on this major), and the computer engineering major jointly with the School of Engineering's Department of Electrical Engineering (see School of Engineering section for more information on this major).

Major Requirements

The computer science major requires 37 credits in computer science courses and an additional 11 to 12 credits in mathematics and/or statistics as detailed below:

• A minimum of 13 credits must be satisfactorily completed in the following four core courses:
  • CS 0401 (Introduction to Computer Science)
  • CS 0441 (Discrete Structures for CS)
  • CS 0445 (Introduction to Information Structures)
  • CS 0447 (Computer Organization and Assembly Language)

    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 BASIC or Pascal programs would be sufficient. It is also possible to take one of the department's service courses, such as CS 0007 (Introduction to Computer Programming-Pascal), as preparation.

• Nine credits in these three upper-level required courses:
  • CS 1501 (Data Structures and Algorithms)
  • CS 1502 (Formal Methods in Computer Science)
  • CS 1550 (Introduction to Operating Systems)

• Fifteen additional credits in upper-level courses (numbered 1000) must also be completed. Internships, directed studies, and co-op courses (see below) may not be used to satisfy this requirement.

  
  

• A minimum of 12 credits in mathematics must be completed as follows:
  • MATH 0220 and 0230 (Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1 and 2)
  • One of the following courses:
    
    MATH 0280 (Introduction to Matrices and Linear Algebra)
    MATH 1180 (Linear Algebra 1)
    STAT 1000 (Applied Statistical Methods)
    STAT 1151 (Introduction to Probability)

    Students should complete their required mathematics courses early. Typically, MATH 0220 would be completed in the freshman year. Strong students may elect to take both MATH 1180 and STAT 1151.

Additional rules and requirements for the major in computer science are as follows:

• An overall QPA of at least 2.00 in all CS courses is required for graduation. Grades lower than C but passing are acceptable in the mathematics courses. All CS courses for the major must be taken for a letter grade while required mathematics courses may be taken with the S/N option.
• Some computer science courses that fulfill the departmental writing (W-course) requirement will be offered each term.
• 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.
• To graduate with honors, a CS major must complete one additional upper-level course and have a QPA of at least 3.50 in major courses, as well as an overall QPA of at least 3.25.

Co-op Program

Through the assistance of the School of Engineering's Cooperative Education Office, formal arrangements are established with industry that permit students to rotate four-month terms between the workplace and the classroom. At the University of Pittsburgh, this rotation begins after the completion of the sophomore year and extends into the senior year, with the co-op student completing at least three four-month work periods. These employment sessions, which are typically with the same employer, allow job duties to increase as the knowledge and skills of the student progress. During the co-op sessions, students earn competitive salaries, thus making this program financially rewarding. The co-op credit does not count toward the 37 computer science credits needed for the completion of the computer science program. It does, however, count as CAS elective credit.

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