Requirements for a CS major

St. Olaf's Computer Science (CS) major is a balanced liberal-arts program that satisfies national curricular expectations, builds on a breadth-first, hands-on introduction to the discipline, takes a team-based approach to software design including interdisciplinary team projects, integrates ethical and social analysis in a distinctive way, and emphasizes written and oral communication skills and other aspects of a liberal arts education. See the page on curricular objectives for more information about these goals. See also the most recent catalog description of the major.

A CS major is arranged by individual contract between the program and a student, which helps both the student and the program with academic planning and builds in the potential to adapt requirements according to special circumstances and particular educational objectives. See Dick Brown (rab@stolaf.edu) to arrange a contract.

The CS major requires a total of 10-11 credits in CS, depending on the choice between CS1/SD and CS1+. In the guidelines below, proposed course numbers are included, with references to existing course numbers as appropriate; general education credits are currently pending approval in most cases. Further information about the courses is provided in summary or detailed format; see also additional documents related to the curriculum.

Guidelines

Foundation courses (3-4 required)

• CS1, Principles of Computer Science, future CS 121 (existing CS 172). [MAR]. No prerequisite.
• SD, Software Design and Implementation, future CS 251 (existing CS 272). [WRI]. Prerequisite: CS1.
• HD, Hardware Design, future CS 241 (existing CS 274). Prerequisite: CS1.
• MFC(*), Mathematical Foundations of Computing, future CS 231 Prerequisites: CS1, Calculus.

Alternative. The following course replaces both CS1 and SD:

• CS1+(*), Accelerated Principles of Computer Science, future CS 225 [MAR,WRI]. Prerequisite: Advanced placement in Computer Science or comparable experience.

Core courses (4 required)

• ADS, Algorithms and Data Structures, future CS 253 (modification of existing CS 372). Prerequisites: SD, MFC.
• ESD(*), Ethical Issues in Software Design, future CS 263 [ORC, EIN]. Prerequisite: SD.
• Languages. One of the following:
  • TC(*), Theory of Computation, future CS 333 Prerequisite: MFC.
  • PL, Programming Languages, future CS 276 (existing CS 376). Prerequisites: HD, SD.
• Systems. One of the following:
  • CSA(*), Client-Server Applications, future CS 284 Prerequisite: SD.
  • OS, Operating Systems, future CS 273 (existing CS 378 topic). Prerequisites: HD, SD.

Capstone course (1 credit required)

• CAP(*), Senior Capstone Seminar, future CS 390 [WRI]. Prerequisite: Senior CS major with all core courses taken or currently enrolled.

Elective courses (2 required)

• Additional core courses (among TC, PL, CSA, OS)
• TOP, Topics in Computer Science, future CS 300 (existing CS 378).
• AP, AP_title, future CS AP_number [WRI].
• LP(*), Logic Programming, future CS 336 Prerequisites: PL or ADS.
• BI(*), Bioinformatics, future CS 315 Prerequisites vary for Biology, CS, and Mathematics students.