When you enroll at Susquehanna, you’ll be paired with an advisor and application tool to guide you in your course planning and scheduling. The following is an excerpt from the complete course catalog. Enrolled students follow the requirements of the course catalog for the academic year in which they declare each major and/or minor, consult with their advisor(s) and the Academic Planning Tool.
Learning goals
- Students acquire knowledge of fundamental computer science and related mathematical concepts, together with programming skills, sufficient to support further postgraduate study or a career in computer science or related disciplines.
- Students develop the ability to design, implement, communicate and evaluate computing-based solutions as documented code to meet a given set of computing requirements in a professional style.
Requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science
To earn the Bachelor of Arts degree in computer science, students successfully complete, with grades of C- or better, the equivalent of the following 54 semester hours:
4 CSCI-181 Principles of Computer Science
4 CSCI-182 Object Oriented Programming and Design
4 CSCI-281 Data Structures
4 CSCI-282 Computer Organization
4 CSCI-381 Algorithms
4 MATH-111 Calculus I
4 MATH-180 Statistical Methods
4 MATH-201 Linear Algebra
4 MATH-221 Discrete Structures
18 300-level or above computer science courses
Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
To earn the Bachelor of Science degree in computer science, a student must complete, with grades of C- or better, the equivalent of the following 64 semester hours:
4 CSCI-181 Principles of Computer Science
4 CSCI-182 Object Oriented Programming and Design
4 CSCI-281 Data Structures
4 CSCI-282 Computer Organization
4 CSCI-381 Algorithms
4 MATH-111 Calculus I
4 MATH-112 Calculus II
4 MATH-180 Statistical Methods
4 MATH-201 Linear Algebra
4 MATH-221 Discrete Structures
4 Select one of the following two options:
PHYS-101 Introduction to Digital and Analog Electronics
PHYS-204 Introductory Physics I
24 300-level or above computer science courses
Capstone
The capstone requirement may be satisfied with one of the following courses: CSCI-472 Software Engineering: Practicum, CSCI-483 Compiler Theory or CSCI-500 Senior Colloquium.
Students need not fulfill the capstone requirement in their major, but they usually do. A capstone course taken as a junior does fulfill the requirement, but not as a sophomore.
Double-counting Restriction
Students double majoring in Computer Science and Data Science cannot count CSCI-301 and CSCI-401 as Computer Science electives.
Interdisciplinary Options
Students majoring in computer science can easily complete a minor in another department. Areas such as accounting, business, biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics or a modern language are natural choices. Highly motivated students whose interests cross traditional departmental lines may also wish to consider the self-designed major option, developing an integrated program of study from courses in several departments. For further information, see the majors and minors section.
Double Major/Minor in Computer Science & Mathematics
Because the computer science major already requires several mathematics courses, many computer science majors add a mathematics major or minor relatively easily. However, it is department policy that cross-listed elective courses (such as MATH-351/CSCI-351 Numerical Computing, MATH-352/CSCI-352 Numerical Analysis or MATH-382/CSCI-382 Theory of Computation) count in only one major or minor at a time.
Departmental Honors
The departmental honors program encourages and recognizes outstanding academic performance. To graduate with departmental honors, a mathematics major or computer science major must do the following:
- Have a minimum GPA of 3.50 in the department and 3.00 overall,
- Request admission to the program at the end of the junior year,
- Consult with a faculty adviser to design an honors-quality project and begin research as a first-semester senior taking MATH-503 Independent Research or CSCI-503 Independent Research,
- Complete the project during the second semester in MATH-500 Senior Colloquium or CSCI-500 Senior Colloquium,
- Successfully pass an oral exam covering a selection of math courses.
Kappa Mu Epsilon
Students who meet national standards for membership are eligible to join this national undergraduate mathematics honorary society.