CS Advising Information

Here are some collected advising resources for Computer Science (CS). For more information, see the CS program director or talk to a CS professor.

1. Computer Science Placement -- intended for both incoming students and academic advisers.

2. Planned offerings of CS courses -- forecasts which courses we intend to offer when, several terms in the future, for long-term planning.

3. All about CS courses...

   • CS courses web page -- starting point for course information on the CS web site.
   • Overview of CS courses -- brief descriptions of all the courses, with a diagram indicating how they all fit together.
   • CS section in the St. Olaf Academic Catalog
   • St. Olaf Class and Lab Schedule
   • Full listing of CS courses -- details about each course.

   Up next -- some coming CS courses:

   • Spotlight on CS 251, Software Design and Implementation (SD)

4. The quick guide to CS advising -- a summary of the standard advice.

5. To double, or not to double... -- Which combinations of CS courses work well taken in the same term, and why.

The Quick Guide to CS Advising

The items below summarize the most important things to know about CS advising, whether you're a student or an advisor.

• Computer Science (CS) is not the same as programming. CS is about the concepts behind computing systems; we use programming as an investigative tool. CS students develop strong technical, programming, and communication skills because those skills are necessary to explore the concepts of computing in depth.

• The introductory course CS 121 (CS1) has no prerequisites. In particular, no prior experience with programming or computer science is necessary. The only requirement for CS1 is good college-level study skills---students need enough discipline to keep current with the daily work.

• CS 121 (CS1) provides a "hands-on" survey of the recurring concepts of CS, which relate to all forms of computing and remain relevant over time. CS1 is suitable as a standalone course for persons interested in a liberal-arts style survey of CS. CS1 satisfies the [MAR] graduation requirement.

• The accelerated introductory course CS 125 (CS1+) includes the combined material of CS 121 (CS1) and CS 251 (SD) in a single course. The prerequisite for CS1+ is sufficient prior programming experience in C++ or Java, or permission of instructor.

• The three "second courses" in CS---CS 231 (MFC), CS 241 (HD), and CS 251 (SD)---may be taken in any order. Also, any of these "second courses" can serve as a final course in a satisfactory two-course introduction to CS, with emphasis on mathematics (MFC), hardware (HD), or software (SD).

• CS 251 (SD) is the central course in CS at St. Olaf, because SD provides the software development background needed for further study in CS---the same background that is so valuable for computing-related careers and for interdisciplinary applications of CS. The combination of CS1-SD makes for a desirable two-course introduction to CS.

• CS 251 (SD) requires a lot of time, because developing good programming skills requires a great deal of practice. That's why the combination of SD and its required lab CS 252 (SDL) receives 1.25 credits. Plan for the extra workload when choosing courses taken during the same term as SD.

• To keep your options open for a CS major, finish CS 251 (SD) by the end of the sophomore year, and CS 263 (ESD) by the end of the junior year. The latest possible start on a CS major would require CS 125 (CS1+) in the first term of the junior year, for those with prior C++ or Java programming experience. See the CS program director to explore options for a CS major.

• CS 263 (ESD) explores the humanities and social-science aspects of CS. Ethical issues are inescapable in any substantial applications of computing. ESD includes a large-scale formal ethical analysis of a real computing system within its actual social milieu.

• CS 263 (ESD) satisfies the [ORC] graduation requirement, and it satisfies [EIN] for those who have already completed [BTS-T]. (Note that [BTS-T] is a prerequisite for the [EIN] requirement.)

• St. Olaf's CS courses are organized into three tiers. For terms offered, see the Planned offerings of CS courses page.

  • Foundation courses: CS 121 (CS1), CS 125 (CS1+); CS 231 (MFC), CS 241 (HD), CS 251 (SD). "Breadth-first" introductory and intermediate courses. Major requires 3 or 4 (depending on CS1+ vs. CS1/SD).

  • Core courses: CS 233 (TC), CS 253 (ADS), CS 263 (ESD), CS 273 (OS), CS 276 (PL), CS 284 (CSA). These have foundation courses as prerequisites. Together with the foundation courses, these span the discipline of Computer Science. Major requires 4 core courses as described elsewhere.

  • Advanced courses: CS 300 (TOP), CS 315 (BI), CS 336 (LP), CS 350 (AP), CS 390 (CAP). These have core courses as prerequisites. Major requires CAP and 2 electives (either core or advanced).

Doubling up on CS courses

Which combinations of CS courses go best together in a single term? This question's answer depends on the person, of course... But we can make some suggestions based on contrasts among the content of St. Olaf's CS courses.

• CS 231 (MFC) can be paired with just about any other CS course, because MFC's mathematical content contrasts with just about any course for which MFC isn't a prerequisite. Thus, for example MFC and CS 251 (SD) makes a good combination for most people: SD involves a lot of program implementation, and MFC is more focused on theory. MFC also balances well with other implementation-intensive courses, and with the ethics course CS 263 (ESD).

• CS 263 (ESD) can be paired with just about any other CS course that isn't a prerequisite for ESD, because the ethics/social science emphasis of ESD contrasts with most other CS courses. ESD has a large team project, as do most implementation-oriented courses. However, ESD's project focuses on ethical analysis, social-science methods, and communication skills, not on programming.

• CS 241 (HD) can be paired with most other CS courses, since it's emphasis on hardware concepts and structures contrasts with other CS courses, and its programming projects are modest. For example, HD and CS 253 (ADS) are often taken together, and HD is a good fit with CS 284 (CSA). Also, HD may be taken as a co-requisite for CS 273 (OS) during the same term.

• The following courses have major emphasis on implementation projects:

  • CS 253 (ADS)
  • CS 273 (OS)
  • CS 276 (PL)
  • CS 284 (CSA)
  Less advanced students may wish to avoid taking more than one of these courses in the same term, while they are first developing their skills with programming-intensive projects.

Director of Computer Science

E-mail: cs-director@stolaf.edu

Prof. Dick Brown
E-mail: rab@stolaf.edu
Office: OMH 305
Phone: 507-646-3860