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Computer Science Overview

A Computer Science degree is the foundation for many of the world’s most exciting and profitable careers. Computer Science emphasizes the mathematical and theoretical foundations of computing, rather than teaching specific technologies. A tremendous number of opportunities in a variety of fields awaits computer science graduates, including robotics, computer gaming, virtual reality, computer vision, media convergence, digital, evolutionary computing, computer architecture and so much more.

Computer Science Advantages

Academic Program Information

The following information is gathered from the UCF catalog, the Undergraduate Policies and Procedures Manual and the program procedures in CS. This web page should not be considered a legal document, is not necessarily exhaustive and is subject to change without notice.

All UCF students must fulfill a 36-hour General Education Program (GEP) requirement. The GEP is automatically satisfied by students with a prior B.S. from an accredited institution or an A.A. degree from a Florida community college. Please consult the UCF catalog for specific details. Students must complete 120 semester hours of course work with a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.00 and satisfy all University and Computer Science program requirements to earn a B.S. in Computer Science.

Any student wishing to receive a BS+MS degree in CS, a double-major or to seek a second Bachelor’s degree should consult the UCF catalog and the CS coordinator. A student must be an official CS major to earn the computer science degree.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE & MULTICULTURAL REQUIREMENTS

There are two separate issues with regard to foreign languages. In order to be admitted to the University, the State of Florida requires two years of high school foreign language (or equivalent). This is called “Foreign Language Admission Requirement”. In some cases, students who did not have two years of foreign language in high school are provisionally admitted but they must satisfy the requirement before graduation.

Foreign Language Graduation Requirement: All undergraduates must demonstrate proficiency in a testable foreign language (see UCF catalog for the definition of “testable”) equivalent to successful completion of one year at the college level. Alternatively, students may satisfy this requirement by the successful completion of the equivalent course work. In the case of non-testable languages, the requirement may be satisfied by documentation through the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

Computer science students who satisfied the Foreign Language Admission Requirement may satisfy the Foreign Languages Graduation Requirement by taking one course from a list of multicultural or college-level foreign language courses. Those who have not yet satisfied the Foreign Language Admission Requirement should complete two (2) semesters of a single foreign language at college level. This simultaneously satisfies both admission and graduation requirements.

Please see the Computer Science Foreign Language Requirement or Multicultural Courses document for a current list of courses that satisfy this multicultural requirement.

 

Course Requirements

COMPUTER SCIENCE CORE (54 HOURS)

The CS Core curriculum has two elements: Basic Core of 21 hours and Support Courses of 33 hours. There is also special CS degree requirement described below.

BASIC CORE (TOTAL 21 HOURS)

CDA 3103 Computer Logic and Organization
COP 3223 Intro to Programming with C
COP 3330 Intro to OO Programming with Java
COP 3502 Computer Science I
COP 3503 Computer Science II
COP 3402 Systems Software
COT 3100 Intro to Discrete Structures
COT 3960 CS Foundation Exam (0 credit hours)

SUPPORT COURSES (TOTAL 33 HOURS)

MAC 2311 Calculus w/ Analytic Geometry I
MAC 2312 Calculus w/ Analytic Geometry II
STA 2023 Statistical Methods I
PHY 2048C Physics for Engr. & Sci. I
PHY 2049C Physics for Engr. & Sci. II
Two (2) Science Courses1
ENC 3241 Technical Report Writing
CIS 3360 Security in Computing
1These must be courses required by the respective science majors, such as BSC 2010, BSC 2011, CHM 2045 or CHM 2046. (8 cr)

UPPER DIVISION REQUIRED COURSES (12 HOURS)

COP 4331 Procs. for OO Development
COT 4210 Discrete Computational Structures
COP 4934 Senior Design I
COP 4935 Senior Design II

RESTRICTED ELECTIVES (24 HOURS)

Eighteen (18) additional hours of 4000- and 5000-level computer science courses. A complete list of eligible courses can be found here.
Please Note: Restricted Electives are not often taught in the Summer semester, and may be taught in only one of the Fall or Spring semesters.
Please plan accordingly. No more than three (3) hours of independent study in computer science may be used. (See SCAN Minor.)
Students must earn a 2.5 GPA in their Restricted Electives courses above.

Six (6) hours of math or statistics, exclusive of independent study. Course work must be selected from STA, MAP, MAA, MAD, MAS prefixes at the 4000 or 5000 level and MAC 2313, MAP 2302, MAS 3105 and MAS 3106.

SPECIAL DEPARTMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

CS Foundation Exam: Within one year after passing COP 3502C (with a C or better), CS students MUST pass the Foundation Exam, which covers problem solving techniques, algorithms, abstractions, proofs, programming skills, etc.

Grade Requirements: All department-required courses (listed in sections 1, 2 and 3 above) must be passed with a “C” grade or better. A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required in the courses listed in section 2 above.

Departmental Residency Requirement: At least 24 hours of computer science coursework must be completed in the CS department at UCF (18 hours of these in regularly scheduled 4000- and 5000-level courses and six (6) of these in 3000- to 5000-level).

TRANSFER OF CREDIT

Courses with a common course number taken at any Florida State University System (SUS) institution or Florida community college are automatically transferable. Students with a Bachelor of Science from an accredited institution or an Associate of Arts degree from a Florida SUS institution or Florida community college automatically satisfy the GEP. Substitutions for GEP must be approved through Academic Services, Millican Hall (MH) 210.

Substitutions for department requirements are on a course-by-course basis and MUST be approved by the CS Undergraduate Coordinator. Instructions for this process are in the EECS Undergraduate Advising Suite: Harris Corporation Engineering Center (HEC 345). The decision is typically based on the degree of similarity of the two courses both in content and in the level of presentation. Regardless of transfer credit, the University and School residency requirements must be satisfied.

Foundation Exam

Students need to pass this Foundation Exam before they can officially be a Computer Science major and before they can take the following required 4000-level computer science courses: COT 4210, COP 4331, COP 4934, and COP 4935.

The exam was created in 1998 to address a difficulty that professors of some 4000-level Computer Science courses were facing: that their students weren’t prepared for their courses. Thus, the goal of the exam was to ensure that every student entering 4000-level Computer Science courses had shown a reasonable level of proficiency in a timed exam setting in fundamental computing topics so that the professors of those courses could teach their courses as planned without needing todo any remediation on topics they expected students to have learned in their earlier course work. The exam succeeded in its goal, which is why the exam has been retained.