Please refer below for short descriptions of the courses taught in this department. For courses taught in other departments but required for a Computer Science department major, please refer to the Extra-Departmental Course Descriptions page. For information on the Winter 2001 term in Jamaica, please visit our Jamaica Academic Study page.

For faster browsing, you may use the following table. More comprehensive descriptions follow.

CS11 Introduction to Computer Science I

Algorithms, programs and computers. Basic programming and program structure. Debugging and verification of programs. Survey of computers, languages, systems and applications.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS12 Introduction to Computer Science II

(Prerequisite: CS11)
Continuation of CS11. Emphasis on use of data structures to model and implement algorithms as computer programs. Principles of high-level program analysis and design.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS16 Introduction to Computing

Survey of central ideas, concepts, and implications of computing. Discussions of hardware, software, problem-solving using high-level software applications.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS17 Introduction to Computing with Scripting

Introduction to scripting/programming, with special emphasis on scripting for Web applications. Focus on exploring more advanced capabilities of applications than those covered in CS16. Emphasis on programming and problem-solving. Coverage of topics in emerging computing technology.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS19 Introduction to Information Technology

Fundamental principles, concepts, techniques and issues in the emerging academic discipline of information technology. Major topics include databases, Web and media technologies, elements of project management, methods for developing and integrating systems, information assurance, social context of IT and networking.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS20 Morals, Law and Society in the Digital Age

A study of social, legal and moral issues raised by the development of digital information technologies. Students examine the interaction between law, policy and technology relating to current issues such as intellectual property, privacy, computer crime and the risks of computing. Topics vary.
[4 credits]

(Prerequisite: CS12)
An intensive tutorial in the fundamentals of programming with a selected symbolic programming language. The choice of language varies. Class lectures, self-paced study, laboratory activities, programming projects. May be repeated for up to eight hours credit, but the study of any one language may not be repeated.
(Lab fee required.) [2 credits]

(Prerequisites: CS11 and MTH10 or sufficiently high score on the calculus readiness exam)
Introduction to induction, recursion, Boolean algebra and switching theory, directed and undirected graphs, finite state machines and formal languages. Course is offered in Winter term.
[4 credits]

(Prerequisite: CS11)
Computer structure, machine language, instruction execution, addressing techniques and digital representation of data. Systems organization and logic design. Several projects. Course is offered Spring term.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS30 Information Structures

(Prerequisites: CS12 and either CS22 or MTH28)
Basic concepts of data. Linear lists, strings, arrays, and orthogonal lists. Representation of trees and graphs. Multilinked structures. Analysis of the time and space complexity of several important algorithms. Course is offered Fall Term.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS31 Project Management

(Prerequisite: CS12)
Priniciples, tools and techniques of software project management. Major topics include initiating projects, planning projects, executing and controlling projects, closing projects and professional responsibilities.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS32 Computer Architecture

(Prerequisite: CS25)
The design and structure of modern computers. The evolution of computer architecture, processor design, information storage, and operating system organization. Several projects.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS33 Artificial Intelligence

(Prerequisites: CS12 and either CS22 or MTH28)
A study of methods and models for making computer display behavior that would be considered intelligent if done by a human.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS34 Computer Graphics and Image Processing

(Prerequisites: CS12 and either CS22 or MTH28)
Fundamentals of computer graphics and image processing. Topics include: mathematical representations for scaling, rotation, translation and projection on viewing plane. Major project requires design and implementation of a three-dimensional graphics display system.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS35 Software Engineering

(Prerequisite: CS12)
Principles of design of large computer programs and systems of programs. Topics include file structures and advanced features of business-oriented languages.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS36 Programming Languages Structures

(Prerequisite: CS12)
Study of several programming languages including specification of syntax and semantics. Global properties of algorithmic languages. Several programming projects.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS37 Data Communications and Networking

(Prerequisite: CS25 or permission of instructor.)
Introduction to the concepts and principles of data communications and computer networks. Examples from existing architectures, protocols and standards. Topics include LANs, internetworking, routing, congestion and flow control, client/server applications and network security.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS38 Web-Based Application Design

(Prerequisite: CS11)
An intensive, project-based introduction to a wide range of programming techniques used in developing interactive, data-driven Web applications. Coverage includes the integrated use of client-side scripting, server-side scripting, online database technology and multimedia authoring tools. Special topics of current interest are also covered.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS40 Database Management Systems

(Prerequisite: CS12)
Fundamental principles of database models and database management systems design, implementation, and application. Course is offered Fall term.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS41 Systems Analysis

(Prerequisite: CS12)
A study of the principles involved in the design and implementation of computer applications. Topics include problem analysis techniques, documentation standards, prototyping and fourth-generation languages, and organizational impact of information systems. Course is offered Winter term.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS44 Computational Theory

(Prerequisites: CS12 and either CS22 or MTH28)
Introduction to topics in computability, automata and formal languages theory. Applications of these concepts to various areas of computer science. Course is offered Winter term.
[4 credits]

CS49 Introduction to Numerical Analysis

(Prerequisites: CS11 and MTH12)
Introduction to the numerical algorithms fundamental to mathematical and scientific problems.
(Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

CS75 Seminar in Computer Science

(Prerequisite: junior or senior class standing)
Students prepare papers on topics drawn from research journals in computer science and give oral presentations on articles read. Course is offered Spring term.
[4 credits]

CS80 Independent Study

[4 credits]

CS85 Research in Computer Science

(Prerequisite: permission of instructor)
Theoretical or laboratory research in computer science with potential for publication in professional journals or presentation at professional meetings. Results are presented to a thesis committee for evaluation. By arrangement, any term.
[4 credits]

CS95 Special Topics in Computer Science

Special topics are taught from time to time under the CS95 classification. The following are examples of CS95 classes taught in the past.

• CS95 Web Based Application Design (now CS38)
  Course offered in Spring 2000 and Spring 2001

  (Prerequisite: CS12)
  An introduction to a wide range of programming techniques used in developing highly interactive, data-driven Web applications with an emphasis on e-commerce concepts. The design of effective user interfaces is also emphasized. Coverage includes the integrated use of active server pages, Java, Javascript, Perl/CGI, online database technology and multimedia authoring tools. Related topics including server administration, VRML and Dynamic HTML are also covered.
  (Lab fee required.) [4 credits]

• CS95 Issues in Information Technology and Globalization
  Course offered in Winter 2001

  (Prerequisite: CS11 [or CS16] and ECN11 [or both ECN21 and ECN22])
  This course will be conducted at the Carribean Institute of Technology (CIT) in Jamaica as part of a study abroad program held during the Winter 2001 term. Admission to the Winter 2001 term closed March 31, 2000.
  This course will address the techonology that directly impacts globalization and explore this impact in the industries most notably affected including the telecommunications industry, foreign trade and investment, software development, and environmental industries. The course will include a survey of the computing concepts and technologies that drive economic globalization such as networking, distributed computing, the World Wide Web, and electronic commerce. More in-depth attention will be given to the potential and realized imipacts of selected techologies on economic development in the Caribbean, in particular, Jamaica. The study will be enhanced by visits to technology centers, a major telecommunications center, the international trade center, Jamaican Promotions Board and the ministry of Commerce and Technology. the course also will include a study of the effects of technology on culture and environment.
  For more information on the 2001 Academic Study in Jamaica, please visit the Jamaica 2001 Winter Term page.
  [4 credits]