Program description
Computer science is the study of computation, including its principles and foundations, its efficient implementation, its analysis, and its practical use in a wide range of different application areas.
Computer science is far more than just programming, and no other science or engineering discipline has had a greater impact in such diverse areas as commerce, communication, entertainment, finance, medicine, the social sciences, the physical sciences, and the life sciences. Computer science impacts our daily lives in a multitude of ways, and computer scientists are instrumental in driving these changes.
The mission of the bachelor of science in Computer Science program is to prepare students for a wide range of careers as computer scientists, software engineers, software developers, and related positions in the field of computing. The curriculum covers fundamental programming techniques and skills; broad knowledge of computer hardware, operating systems, programming languages, and the mathematical foundations of computing; and advanced topics in software design and application development. Recurrent themes in the program include security, algorithmic complexity, cooperating systems, performance evaluation, and software correctness.
This curriculum provides students with the skills needed to design, develop, evaluate, and analyze software solutions to a wide spectrum of computational problems and prepares them to be leaders in the rapidly changing field of computing.
You might like this program if ...
- You are interested in creating solutions to challenging problems involving computers
- You want to understand how to build and analyze complex software solutions
- You want to understand how computer hardware and software work and how to make them better
- You want to design software that impacts and improves people’s everyday lives
Accreditation
The Computer Science program is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET under the General Criteria and the Computer Science Program Criteria.
Course delivery
Penn State Beaver, Penn State Brandywine, and Penn State Hazleton jointly deliver the bachelor of science in Computer Science. All required courses are offered at each campus, although students should expect to take some courses via interactive video and/or the web.
