Computer Science Major

The Computer Science (CS) curriculum for the Holt School reflects the focus and content recommended for computer science curricula at liberal arts institutions by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). The CS major  provides students with a strong foundation of computer science coursework emphasizing software development. Completion of this major prepares students to design and implement computer-based solutions in a variety of areas, e.g., knowledge management, e-commerce, or client-server applications.

Admission to the Computer Science Major:

Students may not accrue more than 12 semester hours in computer science without declaring computer science as a major or minor. Upon declaring computer science as a major, students must complete all lower-level (i.e., 100- and 200-level) core courses with a grade of “C” or higher. If a student receives a grade in any of these courses lower than a “C,” the student must retake the course and pass it with a grade of “C” or higher prior to enrolling in any other computer science course. Lower-level core courses may be repeated a maximum of one time to satisfy this requirement. If a student does not receive a grade of “C” or higher on the second attempt, the student will not be permitted to continue in the major. Students will receive credit hours for one attempt only. In most cases, financial aid does not apply to repeated courses. Students must maintain a major GPA of 2.0 or higher at all times.

Students may not enroll in more than two core courses in any given semester. Students will not be permitted to take any CS course without first having completed or transferred in the appropriate prerequisite(s). If the prerequisites are satisfied with transfer credits, a student may be required to take a proficiency exam (at the program coordinator’s discretion) to prove an adequate level of foundational knowledge and skills to proceed. All core courses must be completed prior to enrolling in CMS 484 .