BS in Computer Science

Degree Program Description

Computer Science emphasizes the study of algorithms, programming methodology, software systems, computational theories and algorithms, computer organization, networking, computer graphics, cyber-security, machine learning, artificial intelligence, high performance computing, and database. In the two-semester capstone design courses, students complete design projects that serve as a culminating academic experience. Internships with companies for real-world experience and undergraduate research opportunities with faculty are abundant and encouraged. Students who complete the BS in Computer Science can work for government agencies, academic institutions, or private industry creating and applying new technologies to solve complex problems, or attend graduate schools.

Major Program Requirements

The Bachelor of Science with a major in Computer Science emphasizes the study of software systems, computational theories and algorithms, computer organization, networking, and programming methodology. Students who complete the BS in Computer Science can work for government agencies, academic institutions, or private industry creating and applying new technologies to solve complex problems.

The BS degree requires the completion of the three-semester calculus sequence plus discrete math and statistics. A student who selects an appropriate additional math course as a technical elective and has at least 9 credits in math with appropriate grades at MU can earn a math minor.

The BS degree requires the completion of 126 credits. Computer Science students must pass all CS core courses that are prerequisites for other CS core courses that the student takes with a C or better grade. All other CS core courses must be passed with a C- grade or better. To graduate, a student must earn an overall GPA of 2.0 or better and a 2.0 GPA or better in all CS or IT courses.

The Engineering Leadership, Engagement & Career Development Academy, W1025 Lafferre Hall, can assist students in searching for employment opportunities upon graduation and for internship/co-op positions.

Course requirements listed here apply to students beginning as regular college freshmen in Fall 2019 or after. A student who started college before Fall 2019 and who has been continuously enrolled as a full-time student may be pursuing the previous program and should contact the department for information on these degree requirements.

In addition to the major core requirements, students must complete all University graduation requirements including University general education, as well as all degree and college or school requirements.

Students are also required to complete one 3-hour cultural awareness course which is selected from an approved cultural awareness course list, created and maintained by the College of Engineering or which meets the Arts and Science (A&S) diversity intensive (DI) requirement.

Major Core Requirements

All core CS Courses that are a pre-requisite need to have a C or better to pass (Otherwise the other core courses need a C- to pass)
Computer Science Core Courses42
CMP_SC 1000Introduction to Computer Science **1
or ENGINR 1000 Introduction to Engineering
ENGINR 1050Foundations of Engineering **2
CMP_SC 1050Algorithm Design and Programming I4
CMP_SC 2050Algorithm Design and Programming II4
CMP_SC 2270Introduction to Logic Systems3
CMP_SC 3050Advanced Algorithm Design3
CMP_SC 3280Computer Organization and Assembly Language3
CMP_SC 3330Object Oriented Programming3
CMP_SC 3380Database Applications and Information Systems3
CMP_SC 4050Design and Analysis of Algorithms I3
CMP_SC 4320Software Engineering I3
CMP_SC 4520Operating Systems I3
CMP_SC 4850Computer Networks I3
CMP_SC 4970WSenior Capstone Design I - Writing Intensive3
CMP_SC 4980Senior Capstone Design II3
**ENGINR 1000/ENGINR 1050/CMP_SC 1000 Waiver: Students with 60 or more credits have completed the ENGINR 1000/ENGINR 1050/CMP_SC 1000 Requirement**
Computer Science Electives24
At least 18 credit hours of computer science electives must be numbered above 4000; one of the 4000-level courses must be CMP_SC 4410 or CMP_SC 4450. A maximum of 6 hours of 3000/4000-level IT courses (excluding INFOTC 4400 and INFOTC 4500) can be taken as CS electives but are counted as lower level (below 4000) CMP_SC courses. INFOTC 4400, INFOTC 4500, ECE 3220, and ECE 4220 are counted as CS 4000 level courses. Students may also take up to six hours of problems or research courses, and up to three hours of CMP_SC 3940 internship credit.
All CS electives, and general education need a D- to pass
CMP_SC 2010Intellectual Property for Engineers3
CMP_SC 2830Web Application Development I 3
CMP_SC 3085Problems in Computer Science1-6
CMP_SC 3530UNIX Operating System3
CMP_SC 3940Internship in Computer Science1-3
CMP_SC 4001Topics in Computer Science1-99
CMP_SC 4060String Algorithms3
CMP_SC 4070Numerical Methods for Science and Engineering3
CMP_SC 4080Parallel Programming for High Performance Computing3
CMP_SC 4270Computer Architecture4
CMP_SC 4280
CMP_SC 4330Object Oriented Design I3
CMP_SC 4350Big Data Analytics3
CMP_SC 4380Database Management Systems I3
CMP_SC 4405iOS App Development I3
CMP_SC 4410Theory of Computation I3
CMP_SC 4430Compilers I3
CMP_SC 4440Malware Analysis and Defense3
CMP_SC 4450Principles of Programming Languages3
CMP_SC 4460Introduction to Cryptography3
CMP_SC 4530Cloud Computing3
CMP_SC 4540Neural Models and Machine Learning3
CMP_SC 4610Computer Graphics I3
CMP_SC 4620Physically Based Modeling and Animation3
CMP_SC 4630Game Development3
CMP_SC 4650Digital Image Processing3
CMP_SC 4670Digital Image Compression3
CMP_SC 4720Introduction to Machine Learning and Pattern Recognition3
CMP_SC 4730Building Intelligent Robots4
CMP_SC 4740Interdisciplinary Introduction to NLP3
CMP_SC 4750Artificial Intelligence I3
CMP_SC 4770Introduction to Computational Intelligence3
CMP_SC 4830Web Application Development II3
CMP_SC 4910Digital Forensics3
CMP_SC 4990Undergraduate Research in Computer Science0-6
CMP_SC 4995Undergraduate Research in Computer Science - Honors1-6
INFOTC 4400C#/.NET Development3
INFOTC 4410Android App Development I3
INFOTC 4420Android App Development II3
INFOTC 4500Team-Based Mobile Device Application Development3
ECE 3220Software Design in C and C++3
ECE 4220Real Time Embedded Computing3
Any CMP_SC 4000 Level and Above Course
Math Courses19
MATH 1500Analytic Geometry and Calculus I5
MATH 1700Calculus II5
MATH 2300Calculus III3
MATH 2320Discrete Mathematical Structures3
STAT 4710Introduction to Mathematical Statistics3
or MATH 4315 Introduction to Mathematical Statistics
Technical Electives6
Technical electives can be 2000 level and above CS or IT courses, 4000 level Math courses, any 4000+ level statistics course, 2000 level and above Engineering courses, IS_LT 4099, MANGMT 3000, MRKTNG 3000, FINANC 3000, and other courses that meet the prior approval of the student’s CS advisor. All technical electives taken outside the CS Department must meet the prior approval of the student’s CS advisor.
Science Coursesminimum 7
One of the following 2-semester sequences has to be taken (at least one of the courses must include a lab). Labs listed separately are not considered a 2nd science course (for example, Bio 1010 and 1020 count as one science course).
Physics sequence:
(credit not given for both PHYSCS 1210 and PHYSCS 2750, or PHYSCS 1220 and PHYSCS 2760)
PHYSCS 1210
PHYSCS 1220
College Physics I
and College Physics II
8-10
or PHYSCS 2750
PHYSCS 2760
University Physics I
and University Physics II
Chemistry sequence:
CHEM 13204
CHEM 13304
Biology sequence:
BIO_SC 1010
BIO_SC 1020
General Principles and Concepts of Biology
and General Biology Laboratory
5
BIO_SC 1030General Principles and Concepts of Biology with Laboratory5
BIO_SC 1200General Botany with Laboratory5
BIO_SC 1500Introduction to Biological Systems with Laboratory5
BIO_SC 3210Plant Systematics4
BIO_SC 3260Invertebrate Zoology4
BIO_SC 3650General Ecology5
BIO_SC 3700Human Physiology5
BIO_SC 3710
BIO_SC 3715
Introductory Entomology
and Insect Diversity
5
BIO_SC 3750
BIO_SC 3760
General Microbiology
and Microbiology Laboratory
5
BIO_SC 2200
BIO_SC 3780
General Genetics
and Genetics Laboratory
6
BIO_SC 4400Plant Anatomy4
BIO_SC 4590Computational Neuroscience4
BIO_SC 4640Behavioral Biology4
BIO_SC 4990Vertebrate Histology and Microscopic Anatomy5
Select one of the following:
BIO_SC 2100Infectious Diseases3
BIO_SC 2150Genetic Diseases3
BIO_SC 3050Genetics and Society3
BIOCHM 2110The Living World: Molecular Scale3
BIOCHM 2112Biotechnology in Society3
ANTHRO 2051
ANTHRO 2052
Introduction to Biological Anthropology
and Biological Anthropology Laboratory
5
or ANTHRO 2050 Introduction to Biological Anthropology with Laboratory
Or any other 4-5 credit biological science course with a laboratory
Geology sequence:
GEOL 1100Introduction to the Earth with Laboratory4
or GEOL 1200 Environmental Geology with Laboratory
Select one of the following:
GEOL 2150The Age of the Dinosaurs3
GEOL 2300Earth Systems and Global Change3
GEOL 2350Earth and Life Through Time3
GEOL 2400Surficial Earth Processes and Products with Laboratory4
GEOL 24503
GEOL 2600Mineral and Energy Resources of the Earth3
General Requirements
1. ENGLSH 1000 - Exposition and Argumentation - 3 hours "C" range grade is required
2. Complete at least 9 hours in each of the following categories. One course in one of the categories must be numbered 2000 or higher. A list of MU courses that count for social sciences, behavioral sciences, and humanities can be found at: http://generaleducation.missouri.edu/courses/.
(1) Humanities/Fine Arts - Must include COMMUN 1200 Public Speaking and courses from at least two different departments
(2) Social/Behavioral Sciences - Must include courses from at least two different departments and fulfill the Missouri Constitutional Requirement.
3. Complete enough elective hours to bring the total credit hours that count towards the degree to 126. The electives may not include remedial courses (i.e., MATH 1100, MATH 1160).
4. Two courses must be designated “Writing Intensive.” A C-range grade in ENGLSH 1000 is a prerequisite for all WI courses. A C-range grade is required in the WI courses. The required course CMP_SC 4970 (Senior Capstone Design I) is writing intensive and counts as one of these courses. For more information on WI guidelines and courses, visit https://cwp.missouri.edu/.

Accelerated BS to MS in Computer Science

The accelerated option will allow students to earn a bachelors and masters degree within five years.  Eligible students who have completed at least 90 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.  The academic requirements of the accelerated MS program will require a total of 30 graduate credit hours, to graduate.  Accepted undergraduate students can take up to 15 hours of graduate level courses that will count toward both the undergraduate and the graduate degrees.  The shared-credit graduate-level courses should be elective courses.  Once the student has completed 126 credit hours, (includes 12-15 credit hours of dual enrollment), the corresponding bachelor’s degree will be conferred and they will become graduate students in our MS program to complete the remaining 18 hours of graduate credit.  A minimum of 15 credit hours must be from courses at the 8000 level or above and no more than 9 credit hours can be from a combination of research and/or problems courses.  The student's graduate course GPA must be 3.0 or greater. 

Total credits required for graduation must be at least 144 total credit hours:

  • Total undergraduate credit hours: 126
  • Total dual enrollment credit hours: 12-15
  • Total graduate credit hours: 30

Thesis/Non-Thesis Option

During the program, students will conduct an independent study that will result in a thesis or project report, under the guidance of their graduate advisor.  In their last semester in the program, they must defend their thesis or project in front of an examination committee composed of their graduate advisor and at least two other faculty members.

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Semester Plan

Below is a sample plan of study, semester by semester. A student's actual plan may vary based on course choices where options are available.

First Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
CMP_SC 1000 or ENGINR 10001CMP_SC 2050*4
CMP_SC 1050*4CMP_SC 22703
MATH 15005MATH 17005
COMMUN 12003Constitutional Elec Soc/Beh Science3
ENGLSH 10003ENGINR 10502
 16 17
Second Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
CMP_SC 30503General Elective Humanities3
CMP SC 2000 Level or Higher/IT 3000 Level or Higher3CMP_SC 33303
MATH 23003Science Sequence II4-5
Science Sequence I4-5Soc/Beh Science Elective3
General Elective (Humanities)*3MATH 4315 or STAT 47103
 16-17 16-17
Third Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
CMP_SC 32803CMP_SC 40503
CMP_SC 3380*3CMP_SC 4320*3
Tech Elective3CMP SC Elective 4000 level3
MATH 23203CMP SC Elective 4000 level3
Tech Elective3CMP SC Elective 4000 Level3
 15 15
Fourth Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
CMP_SC 45203CMP_SC 48503
CMP_SC 4970W*3CMP_SC 49803
CMP_SC 4410 or 44503CMP SC Elective 4000-level 3
CMP_SC 2000 Level or Higher/IT 3000 Level or Higher or Internship **3CMP SC elective 4000-level 3
General Elective (Soc/Beh)3General Education (if needed)2-4
 15 14-16
Total Credits: 124-128
*

Indicates Required 6 Semester Course Sequence for Capstone.

**

Internships can count for credit in the CS Program. You must get approval prior.

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Degree Audit

The degree audit is an automated report reflecting a student’s academic progress toward the completion of a degree. 

MU students can request a degree audit by logging in to myDegreePlanner. Students may also access myDegreePlanner via myZou, in the Student Center, click on the Academic Progress Tile, then select Request Degree Audit. The audit automatically pulls in the student’s MU course work, transfer courses and courses in progress. This is available to current students, admitted students, and those who last attended less than three terms ago.

Past MU students can request a degree audit by contacting the Academic Advising Unit of the division in which they were last enrolled at MU. For contact information, go to https://advising.missouri.edu/contact/.

Prospective students, can access a preliminary MU degree audit via https://www.transferology.com. Information on the college credits already earned will have to be manually entered before it can be evaluated against current degree requirements.

For additional details on degree audits, go to https://registrar.missouri.edu/degrees-audits/degree-audits/.

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Major and Career Exploration

The University of Missouri has many resources to assist you in exploring majors and career possibilities. For guidance, visit the Majors and Careers website or view specific resources below.

  • If you are considering a change of major or are exploring multiple majors, schedule an appointment with an advisor in the Discovery Center by calling (573)884-9700 or through MU Connect Discovery Center service in you success network.

  • If you have decided on a major, visit an academic advisor in the School or College that you are interested in to discuss the process of declaring the major

  • If you would like to learn more about your career interests, abilities, values and talents, visit the MU Career Center. No Appointment is necessary to explore career options with one of our staff members.

For additional major and career exploration resources, visit Major & Career Exploration in the catalog.

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