2024-2025 Academic Catalog

Jan 27, 2025

2024-2025 Academic Catalog

Computer Science, BS

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About the Program

The program teaches students to expand the frontiers of computer science by applying computational principles to technical and societal problems. This includes developing new software, managing information databases and creating graphical solutions to help engineers and scientists visualize the physical and biological world.

Degree Requirements

120 Credit Hours
Minimum grade of C required for all Major Core (including MA 16300 and CS 12300 ) courses
Minimum GPA of 2.0 required for graduation
Certain courses may only be available at one campus location

PNW General Education Core (31 Credits Minimum)

English Composition (6 Credits): ENGL 10400 - English Composition I and ENGL 10500 - English Composition II
Speech Communication (3 Credits): COM 11400 - Fundamentals of Speech Communication
Quantitative Reasoning (5 Credits): MA 16300 - Integrated Calculus Analysis Geometry I
Natural Sciences (3 Credits): Any Gen Ed Natural Science with Lab
Technology (4 Credits): CS 12300 - Programming I: Java
Humanities (3 Credits): Select from the Humanities Core list
Social Sciences (3 Credits): Select from the Social Sciences Core list
Additional Credits (3 Credits): Select any course from the Gen Ed Core list
First-Year Experience (FYE) (1 Credit): CS 10000 - An Introduction To Computer Science

Other Required Courses (31 Credits)

Electives (23-25 credits)
Science with Lab (3-4 Credits)
Natural Science Elective (3-4 Credits)

Civics Literacy Proficiency

The Civics Literacy Proficiency activities are designed to develop civic knowledge of Purdue Northwest students in an effort to graduate a more informed citizenry.

Students will complete the Proficiency by passing a test of civic knowledge, and completing one of three paths:

Attending six approved civics-related events and completing an assessment for each; or
Completing 12 podcasts created by the Purdue Center for C-SPAN Scholarship and Engagement that use C-SPAN material and completing an assessment for each; or
Earning a passing grade for one of the approved courses (or transferring in approved AP or departmental credit in lieu of taking a course)

For more information visit the Civics Literacy Proficiency website.

Total 120 Credits Required

Degree Map

Requirements

Minimum Grade and Grade Point Average (GPA): Minimum grade of C required for all Major Core (including MA 16300 and CS 12300 ) courses (unless otherwise noted); 2.0 GPA

Experiential Learning (EL): One EL course required, select from the Experiential Learning course list

General Education Core: General Education notations can be found within the course description. Please click on a course to see if it meets a Gen Ed requirement.

Milestone Courses noted by (m) next to the course title have been identified as being critical to your success in this field of study.

Please see Notes 1 ,2, and 3 in the Additional Information and Guidelines section below for more information.

Semester 1 (16-17 Credits)

CS 10000 - An Introduction To Computer Science
CS 12300 - Programming I: Java
ENGL 10400 - English Composition I (See Note 1)
MA 16300 - Integrated Calculus Analysis Geometry I
Natural Science with Lab - select from the Natural Sciences Core List

Semester 2 (15 Credits)

Semester 3 (16 Credits)

Semester 4 (15 Credits)

CS 30200 - Operating Systems
CS 30900 - Discrete Mathematical Structures
MA 26500 - Linear Algebra
Gen Ed Elective
Social Science - select from the Social Sciences Core List

Semester 5 (15 -17 Credits)

CS 33200 - Algorithms
CS 44200 - Database Systems
CS 46200 - Introduction To Artificial Intelligence
Natural Science Course
Science Course with Lab

Semester 6 (15 Credits)

Semester 7 (15 Credits)

CS 45500 - Interactive Computer Graphics
Free Electives
Free Elective
Free Elective
Free Elective

Semester 8 ( 11- 13 Credits)

Choose one: CS 30303 Internship In Computer Science , CS 40300 Undergraduate Research In Computer Science , CS 42000 Senior Design Project , or CS 48000 The Practicum In Computer Science (e) (See Note 2)
Free Electives (8 - 10 Credits)

Additional Information and Guidelines

Note 1: Students who take ENGL 10800 instead of ENGL 10400 must complete General Education requirement with a Gen Ed approved writing intensive English course.

Note 2: These courses may be taken in either Semester 7 or 8.

Note 3: Not all courses are offered every semester.

Resources

The 8 semester plan of study is a recommended sequence of classes designed to show how this program can be completed within four years.

Visit the 15 to Finish website for information and resources.

For career information, click here to visit the Careers and Employment Trends page.

For Financial Aid eligibility, click here. See Important Dates and Deadlines for annual FAFSA filing deadlines and Indiana state aid deadlines. State Financial Aid recipients are required to complete 30 credits per calendar year to maintain eligibility for the 21st Century Scholars award and the On-time Frank O’Bannon grant.

Financial Guarantee: If you follow the degree map and find a course unavailable, you may be able to take the course for free in a future semester. Certain exclusions apply.

College Scorecard

The U.S. Department of Education has created a scorecard for each university and its programs. The scorecard shows data for the university such as graduation rate, average annual cost, and median earnings. Then, when certain minimum standards have been met, data are available for a specific program. That data could include median earnings, median total debt, and number of graduates. The link below will help you learn more:

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?490805-Purdue-University-Northwest&fos_code=1108&fos_credential=3

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