Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
B.S. in Computer Science Program
Educational Objectives
Graduates who have earned the bachelor’s degree in computer science, within a few years following graduation, will have demonstrated technical proficiency, collaborative activities, and professional development.
Technical Proficiency
Graduates will have achieved success and visibility in their chosen careers as shown by technical accomplishments in industry, government, entrepreneurial activities, or academia.
Collaborative Activities
Graduates will have exercised shared responsibilities through activities such as contributions to multiperson or multidisciplinary technical projects, participation in professional society/organization functions, or performing collaborative research. In all such cases, graduates will have contributed to documentation of the collaborative activities.
Professional Development
Graduates will have demonstrated continual updating to extend their expertise and adapt to a changing environment through graduate studies; short courses, conferences, and seminars; or professional self-study. In addition, graduates will have demonstrated evidence of increasing technical and/or managerial impact.
Careers
Professional Opportunities
Computer scientists may pursue the design, analysis, and implementation of computer algorithms; study the theory of programming methods and languages; or design and develop software systems. They also may work in artificial intelligence, database systems, parallel and distributed computation, human-computer interaction, computer graphics, operating systems, or computer systems analysis and administration. Computer scientists may work for software companies, government and defense, telecommunications, or consulting firms.
Undergraduate Admission to the School of Engineering
Admission to the KU School of Engineering (and its degree programs) is selective. Students may be admitted to an engineering or computer science degree program as freshmen (first year) students, but all admissions, for both in-state and out-of-state students, are selective. Applications are judged on several factors, such as high school record, scores on national tests, academic record at college or university level, and trend of grades and more. High school transcripts are required.
Minimum Academic Standards for Admission to the School of Engineering
To be considered for admission to the School of Engineering, beginning first-year students must meet or exceed the following minimum standards:
- Must be admissible to the University of Kansas by assured admissions or individual review, AND
- Have a 3.0+ high school GPA, AND
- Demonstrate mathematics preparedness by:
- Obtaining a mathematics ACT score of 22+ (or math SAT score of 540+), or
- Achieving a ‘B’ or better in ‘college algebra’ or a more advanced mathematics course, or
- Achieving a ‘C’ or better in a high school calculus course; or
- Earning credit via IB or AP credit for the above-mentioned courses in accordance with KU placement credit requirements; or
- Achieving at minimum a qualifying score for MATH 104 on the ALEKS mathematics placement exam.
Minimum Academic Standards for Direct Admission into Degree Program for incoming Freshmen
Students with a 26+ Math ACT (600+ Math SAT) or meet eligibility requirements for MATH 125 (Calculus I) may be admitted directly into their chosen major, with the exception of those seeking admission into the Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Interdisciplinary Computing (EECS) majors. For EECS program admission, students must:
- Be admissible to the University of Kansas by assured admissions or individual review, AND
- Have a 3.0+ high school GPA, AND
- Demonstrate mathematics preparedness by:
- Obtaining a mathematics ACT score of 28+ (or math SAT score of 660+), or
- Achieving a ‘C’ or better in a high school calculus course; or
- Earning credit via IB or AP credit for the above-mentioned course in accordance with KU placement credit requirements; or
- Achieving at minimum a qualifying score for MATH 125 on the ALEKS mathematics placement exam.
Students who are not admissible to their desired major are admitted to the School of Engineering as undecided engineering undergraduate students.
Exploring Engineering
Students not admitted directly to the School of Engineering or their major but who are admissible to the university may be admitted to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences as an Undecided student. They can later re-apply to the School of Engineering during the semester they are completing the admission requirements for transfer students.
Transfer Admission Standards
Applications from all transfer students, whether from other institutions or from other academic schools at the University of Kansas, are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Transfer students must be admissible to KU AND have a cumulative college transferable grade-point average of 2.5+ to be considered. In addition, students must have grades of "C" or better in those courses in math (must include MATH 125 Calculus I or equivalent), science, and engineering applicable to the engineering degree.
Current KU Students admitted to other academic units may apply to the School of Engineering by completing a Change of School form.
Already Applied to KU, But Not Engineering?
Don't worry. It's not too late to change your mind if you’ve already applied to KU and selected a major outside the School of Engineering. If you think one of the 12 engineering or computer science majors is a better fit for your talents, you can still change your requested major — preferably before May 1 — and be considered for admission to the School of Engineering and all the benefits that go with it.
To update your application, visit Undergraduate Admissions and click on “Change application term, major, mailing address, and/or email address.”
Please contact a member of our recruitment team, 785-864-3881, if you have any difficulty.
Application Deadlines For New Freshman and Transfer Applicants
Semester | Applicants | Deadline |
---|---|---|
September 15 | Priority deadline for current KU students to apply for spring admission to Engineering. | |
November 1 | Final deadline for scholarship consideration for incoming freshmen planning to enter in fall or summer semesters. | |
December 1 | Final deadline to apply for the Self Engineering Leadership Fellows Program for incoming freshmen | |
February 1 | Final deadline for scholarship consideration for transfer students planning to enter in fall or summer semesters. Applications available for the Engineering Learning Community | |
February 15 | Priority deadline for current KU students to apply for summer or fall admission to Engineering. | |
May 1 | Enrollment Deposit due. |
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Degree Requirements
The KU Core
This is the university-wide curriculum that all incoming undergraduate students will complete as part of their degree requirements. It comprises three general education goals and three advanced education goals. Associated with each goal are one or more learning outcomes:
- GE 1.1, Goal 1/Outcome 1, Critical Thinking;
- GE 1.2, Goal 1/Outcome 2, Quantitative Literacy;
- GE 2.1, Goal 2/Outcome 1, Written Communication (2 units);
- GE 2.2, Goal 2/Outcome 2, Oral Communication;
- GE 3H, Goal 3/Outcome 1, Arts & Humanities;
- GE 3N Goal 3/Outcome 2, Natural Sciences;
- GE 3S Goal 3 /Outcome 3, Social Sciences;
- AE 4.1, Goal 4/Outcome 1, Diversity;
- AE 4.2 Goal 4/Outcome 2, Culture;
- AE 5.1/5.2, Goal 5/Outcome 1/2, Social Responsibility & Ethics (course and/or practice);
- AE 6.1/6.2, Goal 6/Outcome 1/2, Integration & Creativity.
Details of the KU Core can be found at kucore.ku.edu. Some required courses in the EECS curricula satisfy a KU Core goal and/or outcome. For these courses, the goal/outcome code is given in parentheses after the course on the pages below. Where required courses do NOT specifically satisfy KU Core goals (Goals 2, 3, and 4) students must choose from a list of several means to satisfy the required goals.
A total of 126 credit hours1 is required for the B.S. degree in computer science (CS), as follows:
Code | Title | Hours |
---|---|---|
Computer Science | ||
EECS 101 | New Student Seminar (Part of KU Core AE 5.1) | 1 |
EECS 140 | Introduction to Digital Logic Design | 4 |
EECS 168 | Programming I | 4 |
EECS 268 | Programming II | 4 |
EECS 330 | Data Structures and Algorithms | 4 |
EECS 348 | Software Engineering I | 4 |
EECS 388 | Embedded Systems | 4 |
EECS 468 | Programming Paradigms | 3 |
EECS 510 | Introduction to the Theory of Computing | 3 |
EECS 563 | Introduction to Communication Networks | 3 |
EECS 565 | Introduction to Information and Computer Security | 3 |
EECS 581 | Software Engineering II (Part of KU Core AE 5.1) | 3 |
EECS 582 | Computer Science and Interdisciplinary Computing Capstone (KU Core AE 6.1) | 3 |
EECS 645 | Computer Systems Architecture | 3 |
EECS 678 | Introduction to Operating Systems | 4 |
For CS majors, 7 CS electives must be chosen from the following courses. Under unusual circumstances, other courses can be considered but only with an accompanying petition. | 21 | |
2 or more CS electives must be from the list: | ||
Cyber Defense Practice | ||
Cyber Defense | ||
Advanced Data Structures and Algorithms | ||
Introduction to Machine Learning | ||
Compiler Construction | ||
2 or more CS electives must be from the list: | ||
Digital Systems Design | ||
Introduction to Database Systems | ||
Computer Forensics | ||
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence | ||
Programming Languages | ||
Additional CS elective options: | ||
Fundamentals of Expert Systems | ||
Introduction to Scientific Computing | ||
Introduction to Computer Graphics | ||
Multicore and GPU Programming | ||
Special Topics: _____ | ||
Additionally, any EECS 700 or above course may be taken as a CS elective. | ||
Mathematics | ||
MATH 125 | Calculus I (KU Core GE 1.2) | 4 |
MATH 126 | Calculus II | 4 |
MATH 127 | Calculus III | 4 |
MATH 290 | Elementary Linear Algebra | 2 |
EECS 210 | Discrete Structures | 4 |
EECS 461 | Probability and Statistics | 3 |
Basic Science | ||
PHSX 210 | General Physics I for Engineers (KU Core GE 1.1) | 3 |
PHSX 216 | General Physics I Laboratory (Part of KU Core AE 5.1) | 1 |
Professional Elective | ||
To be taken from the following list of approved technical, scientific, and professional courses: | 6 | |
Mathematics: Any MATH course numbered 500 or above, except MATH 701. | ||
Business: Any course from the School of Business that can apply towards a Business major, minor, or certificate except for statistics and computing. | ||
ROTC Courses: Up to 6 hours of ROTC may be petitioned to count toward the professional elective requirement. | ||
Foreign language: Any foreign language course may be petitioned to count as a Professional Elective or additional Humanities or Social Science hours. | ||
Communications | ||
Satisfy KU Core GE 2.1 1 | 6 | |
Satisfy KU Core GE 2.2 1 | 3 | |
Arts/Humanities/Social Science | ||
Satisfy KU Core GE 3H 1 | 3 | |
Satisfy KU Core GE 3S 1 | 3 | |
Satisfy KU Core AE 4.1 and AE 4.2 | 6 |
- 1
Means of satisfying KU Core Goals are chosen from a variety of options (see kucore.ku.edu). Hours listed are assuming the goals are satisfied with course work.
Course Prerequisites and Corequisites
Students must pass (at the appropriate grade level) all prerequisite courses for a given course before taking the subsequent course. If Course A is a Corequisite for Course B, Course A must be taken in the same semester as Course B or be completed prior to taking Course B.
Upper Level Eligibility
In addition to prerequisites and co-requisites, EECS undergraduates are required to earn Upper Level Course Eligibility (ULE) by attaining grades of C or better (C- does not qualify) in each of the following 14 courses:
GE21 (both)
EPHX 210 & PHSX 216
MATH 125, 126, 127, 290
EECS 101, 140, 168, 210, 268, 348
If students earn less than a C in any of the above listed courses, they must repeat the course at the next available opportunity and must not take a course for which that course is a prerequisite. It is the students' responsibility to contact their advisors before beginning the new semester regarding any required repetitions and the associated enrollment adjustments (drops and adds).
To enroll in any upper‑level EECS course beyond the ULE list , students must have fulfilled the Upper Level Eligibility Requirements detailed above. Exceptions: EECS 312, EECS 330, EECS 361, and EECS 388 may be taken in the same semester as students are completing their upper level eligibility. Students may also petition for a Partial Waiver of Upper Level Eligibility Requirements by completing the appropriate petition, found in the EECS office or at www.eecs.ku.edu.
Double Major
If students wish to double-major (earn two degrees), they must fulfill all the requirements for the degrees in question. They must also consult the Engineering Dean’s office and the department and/or school of the second major to find out if there are any additional requirements. If they wish to obtain two degrees offered by the EECS department, the following rule applies: a course that is required for one EECS degree program may not be used to satisfy a Senior Elective or General Elective requirement of another EECS degree program.
Computer Science 4-Year Graduation Plan
Freshman | |||
---|---|---|---|
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
EECS 101 (Part of KU Core AE 5.1) | 1 | KU Core GE 2.1 (second)1 | 3 |
EECS 168 | 4 | EECS 140 | 4 |
KU Core GE 2.1 (first)1 | 3 | EECS 268 | 4 |
MATH 125 (KU Core GE 1.2) | 4 | MATH 126 | 4 |
KU Core GE 2.21 | 3 | ||
15 | 15 | ||
Sophomore | |||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
MATH 127 | 4 | EECS 388 | 4 |
EPHX 210 | 3 | KU Core GE 3N | 3 |
PHSX 216 | 1 | KU Core AE4.11 | 3 |
EECS 348 | 4 | MATH 290 | 2 |
EECS 210 | 4 | EECS 330 | 4 |
16 | 16 | ||
Junior | |||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
EECS 510 | 3 | KU Core GE3H1 | 3 |
EECS 461 | 3 | EECS 563 | 3 |
EECS 468 | 3 | EECS 565 | 3 |
EECS 678 | 4 | EECS 645 | 3 |
CS Elective | 3 | CS Elective | 3 |
CS Elective | 3 | ||
16 | 18 | ||
Senior | |||
Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
EECS 581 (Part of KU Core AE 5.1) | 3 | EECS 582 (KU Core AE 6.1) | 3 |
CS Elective | 3 | CS Elective | 3 |
CS Elective | 3 | CS Elective | 3 |
KU Core GE 3S1 | 3 | Professional Elective | 3 |
Professional Elective | 3 | KU Core AE 4.21 | 3 |
15 | 15 | ||
Total Hours 126 |
- 1
Means of satisfying KU Core Goals are chosen from a variety of options (see kucore.ku.edu). Hours listed are assuming the goals are satisfied with course work.
Departmental Honors
An undergraduate student may graduate with departmental honors in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, or interdisciplinary computing by graduating with a minimum grade-point average requirement while maintaining full-time status. In addition, students must enroll in EECS 498 Honors Research for their last 2 semesters and must complete an independent research project paper and oral presentation to a panel of 3 judges. See the EECS Undergraduate Handbook for full details.