Computer Science, BS

Curriculum and Degree Requirements

A College of Science degree is conferred when a student successfully completes all requirements in their degree program.  Students will complete coursework or approved experiential learning activities to meet the following three degree components:

1. Major
2. Science Core Curriculum
3. Free Electives

Students may use any of the following options to meet College of Science degree requirements:

• Purdue Coursework
• Ap, IB, and CLEP credit.  The use of AP and IB coursework varies between College of Science degree plans.
• Transfer Credit. Students should consult the Admissions Transfer Credit Resource page for all available transfer options.

College of Science degree programs vary widely in their approval and use of the proceeding options and thus students are strongly encouraged to work closely with their academic advisors and to regularly consult their MyPurduePlan to view the use of each option in their degree plan. 

Most College of Science degree programs contain free elective credits students may use to pursue courses that relate to their interests or which support their major area of study. The elective area of a degree plan may also be used to complete minors, second majors and certificates such as the Entrepreneurial Certificate. With the exception of courses on the No Count List, any Purdue course may be used to meet the free elective area of a student’s degree plan.

College of Science Core Requirements

All Students starting Purdue University Fall semester, 2007 or later are required to pursue the 2007 Science Core curriculum.

The College of Science Core Curriculum requires the completion of approved coursework and/or experiential learning opportunities in the following academic areas:

• Composition and Presentation  
• Teambuilding and Collaboration  
• Language and Culture  
• General Education  
• Great Issues  
• Labratory Science/Mathematics/Statistics/Computing Core  
• Multidisciplinary Experience 
• Mathematics 
• Statistics 
• Computing  
• No Count List  

Earning Core Curricular Requirements through Experience

Students may meet selected core curriculum requirements through approved experiential learning opportunities. Interested students should contact their academic advisor for more information on this option and incorporating experiential learning into their four-year program of study. For more information on earning requirements through experience, please click here.

Computer Science Major Courses (46-50 credits)

Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements (35-62 credits)

* Requirement may be met with a zero credit experiential learning option. See your advisor for more information.

• ENGL 10600 - First-Year Composition (satisfies Written Communication and Information Literacy) or
• ENGL 10800 - Accelerated First-Year Composition (satisfies Written Communication and Information Literacy) or
• HONR 19903 - Interdisciplinary Approaches In Writing (satisfies Written Communication and Information Literacy)

•  

• Technical Writing Option and Technical Presenting Option - (COM 21700   recommended) (may satisfy Oral Communication) select from list - Credit Hours: 3.00 - 6.00
• Language I * - select from three options; select from list - Credit Hours: 0.00 - 4.00
• Language II * - select from three options; select from list - Credit Hours: 0.00 - 4.00
• Language and Culture III * - (may satisfy Human Cultures Humanities) select from three options; select from list - Credit Hours: 0.00 - 4.00
• General Education I - (may satisfy Human Culture Humanities and Behavioral/Social Science) select from list - Credit Hours: 3.00
• General Education II - (may satisfy Human Culture Humanities and Behavioral/Social Science) select from list - Credit Hours: 3.00
• General Education III - select from list - Credit Hours: 3.00
• Great Issues -select from list - Credit Hours: 3.00
• Multidisciplinary Experience * - (may satisfy Science, Technology & Society) select from list - Credit Hours: 0.00 - 3.00
• Teambuilding and Collaboration Experience * (CS 18000   meets requirement) - select from list - Credit Hours: 0.00 - 4.00
• Lab Science I selective - (satisfies Science) select from list - Credit Hours: 3.00 - 4.00
• Lab Science II selective - (may satisfy Science) select from list - Credit Hours: 3.00 - 4.00

•  

• MA 16100 - Plane Analytic Geometry And Calculus I (satisfies Quantitative Reasoning) (must have C or better to meet prerequisite for CS 18200 ) ♦ or
• MA 16500 - Analytic Geometry And Calculus I (satisfies Quantitative Reasoning) (must have C or better to meet prerequisite for CS 18200 ) ♦

•  

• MA 16200 - Plane Analytic Geometry And Calculus II (satisfies Quantitative Reasoning) or
• MA 16600 - Analytic Geometry And Calculus II (satisfies Quantitative Reasoning)

•  

• STAT 35000 - Introduction To Statistics or
• STAT 51100 - Statistical Methods

Electives (8-39 credits)

* Required freshman seminar courses; corequisites with CS 39100  or CS 18000 . They are not degree requirements. CS 29100 - Sophomore Development Seminar  and CS 39100 - Junior Resources Seminar  are optional but recommended.

University Core Requirements

• Human Cultures Humanities
• Human Cultures Behavioral/Social Science
• Information Literacy
• Science #1
• Science #2
• Science, Technology & Society Selective
• Written Communication
• Oral Communication
• Quantitative Reasoning

Program Requirements

Note

120 semester credits required for Bachelor of Science degree.

2.0 Major and Graduation GPA required for Bachelor of Science degree.

***All CS core courses and all track requirements, regardless of department, must be completed with a grade of “C” or higher. 

All prerequisites to CS core courses and track requirements, regardless of department, must be completed with a grade of C or higher.

Degree Requirements

The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements.

MyPurdue Plan is a knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.

Foreign Language Courses

Foreign Language proficiency requirements vary by program.  For acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor:

American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, (ancient) Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish

Critical Course

The ♦ course is considered critical. A Critical Course is one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major.