Applied Computer Science Tracks
Students chose from one of four tracks within the Applied Computer Science option. Each of the tracks is grounded in computer science and designed to prepare students for either a computer science career or graduate studies in computer science. Additionally, each track offers students a chance to study particular topics in more depth, thereby increasing not only their knowledge, but also their problem-solving skills as they work on application-specific problems. Our graduates will certainly be competitive for computer science jobs in areas outside of a chosen track, but they will also have a competitive edge in jobs related to their track.
One main benefit for our students of the tracks we have chosen to offer is that they represent areas of fast growth in the marketplace today. For students who are interested in studying an applied area of computer science, the tracks provide both interesting courses as well as knowledge in areas of high demand. Some other benefits of the tracks include
- There is published evidence that “application to real world problems” increases the retention of students in CS.
- The tracks are interdisciplinary by nature, which are likely to increase the job-marketability of our graduates.
- Students will be able to use their University Studies courses and required track courses to finish, or at least be very close to finishing, a minor in addition to the CS major.
1. COMPUTER INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Our Business-related CS curriculum has been updated to include a number of Web-related
courses. In particular, students will have the opportunity to study Web programming
– both client-side and server-side technologies, and also component-based reusable
software architectures, in this option. These are important topics for computer science
majors who will either work directly in E-business areas or work indirectly in the
development of software to support E-business applications.
2. HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACTION
HCI is an interdisciplinary field that attempts to understand the tendencies
and limitations of humans in order to design and develop effective
software that is user friendly. As such, a successful HCI computer
scientist must be well-versed in both computer science and psychology. Specifically,
he/she should be grounded in the foundations of computer science but should also
understand the human side of the interaction by studying cognitive psychology,
sensation and perception, experimental design, ergonomics, and human activity
in a social context.
3. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer application area that
uses digital technology to combine maps and images with computer databases.
GIS has a broad range of applications that allow businesses, engineers and
governments make better, quicker decisions. For example, law enforcement uses
GIS technology to more efficiently identify crime patterns and manage traffic
problems. Governments use GIS in planning how to respond to disasters and
in managing parcel, deed, and property tax data. National retail companies
use GIS to determine where to locate new outlets for their products. The area
called Geographic Information Technology (GIT) has evolved to support this
rapidly growing field.
4. BIOINFORMATICS
Bioinformatics is the study of using computational tools and computer
technologies to model, analyze, store, retrieve, manage, present, and
visualize biological data. The data to be processed are primarily huge
amounts of molecular biology data such as DNA sequences and proteins.
(Computers come into play because of the data’s magnitude.) Computing
techniques, such as databases, programming, and algorithms, are explicitly a
major component of bioinformatics to process the data. The data generated by
computing tools are analyzed and managed – either by people, computers,
or both – to become information. That information is then
applied to solving biological problems such as cancer research, drug
manufacturing, and evolution.
