Majoring in Computer Science

To major in computer science, you must complete the following courses. All of these courses are four credits; there are 56 total credits.

• The three-course introductory computer science sequence (COMP 141, 142, and 241).
• Three mid-level courses in discrete structures (COMP 172), computer organization (COMP 231), and computer systems (COMP 251).
• Five upper-level computer science electives, including one each from the categories:
  • Theory: Theory of Computation (COMP 350) or Advanced Algorithms (COMP 355).
  • Systems: Computer Networks (COMP 315), Operating Systems (COMP 330), Databases (COMP 340), Programming Languages (COMP 360), Parallel Systems (COMP 380), and Distributed Systems (COMP 385).
  • Applications: Computer Graphics (COMP 320); Graphics, Virtual Environments, and HCI (COMP 325); Bioinformatics (COMP 342); Data Mining (COMP 345); Programming Languages (COMP 360); Human-Robot Interaction (COMP 370); Artificial Intelligence (COMP 372); Machine Learning (COMP 375).
• One mathematics course, which may be any version and level of calculus (Math 112, 115, 116, 122, 223), Applied Statistics for the Natural Sciences (Math 122), or Mathematical Modeling with Biological Applications (Math 214).
• The computer science senior seminar sequence, which consists of a fall component (Senior Software Engineering, COMP 485), and a spring component (Senior Seminar, COMP 486).

Guidance and suggestions

• Students intending to go to graduate school should try to take both Theory of Computation (COMP 350) and Advanced Algorithms (COMP 355). Such students are also highly encouraged to take additional math classes.
• Certain fields of computer science such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computer graphics may require knowledge of additional math, and students intending further study in those areas may want to take additional math courses, such as Calculus II and III (Math 122 and 233), Statistics (Math 211), and Linear Algebra (Math 261).

Computer Science Major Essay Prompt

All students at Rhodes must write an essay as part of their major declaration process. Students seeking to major in computer science should write an essay of at least one page, double-spaced, about why they want to be a computer science major at Rhodes College. This essay should include a reflection of the student’s goals in pursuing a major in computer science; possible links between their computer science coursework and other courses taken or to be taken; what areas of computer science represent the student’s greatest interests; and what other areas of computer science will help the student to become more well-rounded in the major field.

Minoring in Computer Science

To minor in computer science, you must complete the following courses. All of these courses are four credits; this comes to 24 total credits.

• The three-course introductory computer science sequence (COMP 141, 142, and 241).
• Two mid-level courses in discrete structures (COMP 172), and computer systems (COMP 251).
• One upper-level computer science elective of your choice, numbered above 300.