Computer Science - B.A. and B.S. Download to print

The Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science has been designed for students who seek broad liberal education combined with a solid foundation in Computer Science.

Students may choose electives from any complementary liberal education programs beyond computer science. It also offers an excellent opportunity to pursue a double major and attain depth in exciting cross-cutting areas.

The Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in intended to teach students how to understand, design and build complex computer software systems. Foundational course work and materials cover the theory and practice for programming and designing software. Students are given an understanding how the underlying operating and networking systems interact with local and remote information sources to solve complex problems. Computer science offers a foundation that permits graduates to adapt to new technologies and new ideas over their lifetime. Computer science majors have careers developing, managing and building software in all types of industries including finance, health care, entertainment, telecommunications and manufacturing.

Besides the general program, the B.S. program currently offers two concentrations: the Game Programming concentration and the Information Security concentration.

The Game Programming concentration is designed to provide students with a solid understanding of the algorithms, techniques and software used to construct interactive virtual environments. Students work in teams with content specialists and artists to develop the teamwork skills required in this multi-disciplinary field ranging from game industry to education and training design.

The Information Security concentration is designed to provide students with enhanced understanding about various security, privacy and cryptographic techniques and protocols used in computing and communication to meet the security needs in industry and government.

Computers influence the daily lives of almost every individual and industry in today's civilization. There are actually more computing jobs than qualified people to fill them in the United States. Additionally, computing jobs are among the highest paid and have the highest job satisfaction.

The work of computer scientists broadly falls into three categories: (a) designing and building software; (b) developing effective ways to solve computing problems, such as storing information in databases, sending data over networks or providing new approaches to security problems; and (c) devising new and better ways of using computers and addressing particular challenges in areas such as robotics, computer vision, digital forensics, computer game design and information management.

Many careers in computer science involve large amounts of social interaction with users, customers and fellow team members. Careers often require real creativity, the solving of complex challenging problems, and the learning and application of new technologies. Computer scientists help drive innovation in the sciences (e.g., human genome project, AIDS vaccine research, environmental monitoring and protection, just to mention a few), and also in engineering, business, entertainment and education. It is a career that will allow you to make a positive difference in the world.

(Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

The Game Programming concentration in addition to a career in game development, trains students to work in the increasing important industries involved with the development of training simulators and the development of educational virtual environments for the use in K-12, college and post-college education.

Information Security has become one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. The interconnection of various financial, governmental and service industry systems through the Internet has increased both the risk and severity of potential harms. The Information Security concentration trains students for a career in industry and government with specialized strength to handle their security needs.

General Admissions for Freshman Students: Students most likely to be admitted and succeed at the Kent Campus are those who have graduated with at least 16 units of the recommended college preparatory curriculum in high school, who have achieved a cumulative high school grade point average of 2.5 or higher (on a 4.0 scale), and whose composite ACT score is 21 or better (980 combined critical reading and math SAT score). For more information on admissions, visit the admissions website for new freshmen.


General Admissions for Transfer Students: Generally, a transfer applicant who has taken 12 or more semester hours with a college cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale may be admitted. An applicant who has taken fewer than 12 semester hours will be evaluated on both collegiate and high school records. For more information on admissions, visit the admissions website for transfer students.

Minimum 121 total credit hours  and  42 upper-division hours for graduation. Minimum 2.000 GPA overall and 2.000 GPA in major required for graduation.

Graduates of this program will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of essential facts, concepts, principles, and theories relating to Computer Science.

2. Demonstrate the ability to apply computer science concepts to solve computer related problems.

3. Analysis of algorithms, computer science methods and techniques.

4. Analyze and plan the development of a typical professional computer science problem. Make succinct oral presentations and written expositions about technical problems  and their solutions. Be able to work effectively as a member of a software development team.

There are many Study Abroad/Away Opportunities, for more information contact the Office of Global Education.

Association of Computing Machinery (ACM)

Computer Science (M.A., M.S. and Ph.D.),Digital Sciences (M.S.)