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Students with AP credit for GenEd courses and a strong CS background may take CS 120 and CS 140 in the first semester. Students without prior programming experience should take CS 110 in fall and either CS 120 or CS 140 in the spring. Please consult a CS advisor before attempting CS 120 and CS 140 together.
These suggested course tracks are based on undergraduate requirements from the class entering in the 2020-21 academic year. These are only suggestions, refer to the University Academic Guide for the official requirements for each major.
For official archived requirements refer to the University Academic Guide. Select "Previous Bulletins/Guides," then click "Binghamton University Archives" under the heading View Online.
For more information on graduate-level requirements go here.
Take note of pre- or co-requisites.
To receive the BS degree in computer science, the student must earn a minimum of 126 credit hours, including transfer credits, with an average of at least C (2.0 GPA), and a minimum of a C average in the major program.
Credit Requirements
A minimum of 126 semester credits of which:
- a minimum of 60 credits must be in liberal arts and sciences courses
- a minimum of 40 credits must be earned in Watson School courses
Area Requirements
Communications - 4 credits
- One course that meets the Binghamton University general education composition requirement.
ALSO:
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Humanities/social science electives - 20 credits
Science - 12 or 14 credits*
*The total of the science and free elective credits should be 25 credits
- Science sequence:
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OR
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OR
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Lab Science Elective or Calculus III
- One science elective: chosen from courses that meet the general education laboratory science requirement (L).
- MATH 323 (Calculus III) can also be used to satisfy this requirement
Mathematics - 20 credits
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AND
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One elective chosen from:
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Free electives - 11 or 13 credits*
*The total of the science and free elective credits should be 25 credits
At least four credits must be in liberal arts and science. At most one free elective in liberal arts and science may be taken pass/fail instead of a letter grade. At most 2 credits of activity/wellness may be used as free elective credit.
Computer Science - 57 credits
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Four Computer Science electives chosen from A, B, C, and D below. At least one must be chosen from A and at least one from B. At most one can be taken from E.
A.
B.
C.
The following courses and CS 400-level courses approved for future catalog years.
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Prerequisites vary by course
D.
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E. To count as a CS elective, must be taken for 4 credits
CS 395. Computer Science Internship. Prerequisites: CS 220, 240, junior or senior standing and CS Department approval
CS 396. Computer Science Co-op. Prerequisites: CS 220, 240, junior or senior standing and CS Department approval
CS 499. Undergraduate Research. Prerequisites vary by research area. Requires junior or senior standing and CS Department approval
General Education Requirements
Students must fulfill the general education requirements for computer science. Students normally complete these requirements within the 126-credit program described above.
Supplemental information regarding the BSCS Degree Requirements
The following information supplements that provided in the University Academic Guide. It applies to students who matriculated Fall 2016 or after.
All required Computer Science courses, except CS 101, are offered every semester. The minimum grade in a required Computer Science course must be at least a C- to be allowed to take any Computer Science course, for which it is a prerequisite.
Calculus topics are broken down as follows:
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Humanities/Social Science – May be filled by courses offered by the Division of Humanities, the Division of Social Sciences, the Psychology Department and HDEV courses offered by the College of Community and Public Affairs. Many of the courses taken to meet the general education requirements will fulfill the humanities/social science requirement.
Mathematics - Students who are strong in math are encouraged to take MATH 330 (Number Systems) instead of MATH 314 (Discrete Mathematics). Students with a strong math background may take MATH 381 (Graph Theory) as their Math elective. The following course can be substituted for MATH 327: MATH 448 (Introduction to Probability and Statistics II), which has a prerequisite of MATH 323 and MATH 447.
Free Electives – May be filled by extra courses from any of the areas listed above, SOM courses, or additional computer science courses. A maximum of two HWS credits may be counted as free elective credits. At least four of these credits must be in humanities, social sciences, arts and other disciplines (excluding computer science) that provide breadth of background. CS 110 counts as a free elective.
Prerequisites for Computer Science Courses
The MATH and CS pre-requisites must have a grade of at least C-.
- CS 101: None
- CS 110: MATH 225
- CS 120: CS 110, MATH 225
- CS 140: CS 110, MATH 225
- CS 220: CS 120, 140
- CS 240: CS 120, 140, MATH 226
- CS 301: CS 101, Gen Ed C course, CS 220/CS 240
- CS 320: CS 220
- CS 350: CS 220, 240, 301
- CS 373: CS 140, MATH 314/330
- CS 375: CS 240, MATH 227, 314/330, CS 301
- CS 402: CS 220, 240
- CS 424: CS 350
- CS 426: CS 350
- CS 428: CS 350
- CS 432: CS 375
- CS 433: CS 375
- CS 435: CS 375, MATH 304, 327/448
- CS 436: CS 375, MATH 327/448
- CS 440: CS 240, 350
- CS 441: CS 140, 375
- CS 442: CS 140, 375
- CS 443: CS 320, 350
- CS 444: CS 320/CS 350/CS 375
- CS 445: CS 350/375
- CS 451: CS 350
- CS 455: CS 375
- CS 457: CS 350
- CS 458: CS 350, 375
- CS 459: CS 375, MATH 327/448
- CS 460: CS 375
- CS 465: CS 375
- CS 471: CS 373, 375
- CS 472: CS 373, 375
- CS 476: CS 140, 320, 350
