Undergraduate Brochure - Department of Computer Science ...

ADDITIONAL RESOURCESInternships and student work: Students incomputer science can supplement their classroomand laboratory education with on-the-jobexperience through an internship with a majorcorporation or a campus student work position.Internships usually entail a semester or a summerterm of full-time work. SIUC computer sciencestudents have pursued rewarding internships withsuch organizations as Motorola, IBM, Eli Lilly,State Farm, Caterpillar and Texas Instruments, toname a few. It is becoming increasingly importantfor students to engage in some career-relatedemployment before graduation. In fact, manyemployers require it. In response to this, UniversityCareer Services offers seminars to assist students insecuring summer internships.SIUC has an extensive student employmentprogram, with approximately 6,000 studentsemployed each year. Students work in everydepartment of the University and manydepartments employ students to do computerprogramming, web development, software andhardware installation, and so forth.SIUC operates a computing center andlaboratories and maintains extensive informationsystems that include academic and financialrecords. Students can often find computer-relatedpart-time jobs in departmental offices or withSIUC’s Information Technology-ComputingServices.Computing facilities: We have extensivefacilities available for instructional and researchuse. Department instructional facilities containnumerous Pentium-based PCs running Windowsand Linux. Every computer science major isprovided an account for these systems, with accessto e-mail and the Internet. All departmentalsystems are integrated into a high-speed local areanetwork that is connected to the campus areanetwork. Laptop computers are available for useon a semester-by-semester basis for students whohave no access to their own personal computer.The University’s central computing serviceprovider, Information Technology, has severalcomputer learning centers on campus, containinghundreds of personal computers.Financial AssistanceIn addition to financial assistance for qualifiedstudents from the federal and state governmentsand the University, the department administersscholarship programs available to computer sciencestudents. There are several computer science alumnischolarships available to outstanding computerscience students who have advanced to junior-levelcourses in the major. An additional scholarship isgiven to an outstanding incoming transfer studentfrom an Illinois community college. Four-yearscholarships are available on a competitive basis toincoming freshman.Morris LibraryMorris Library, the University’s main library,will be an important resource for you. It holds morethan 2.4 million volumes, 3.1 million microformunits and more than 12,500 current periodicals andserials. You will have access to I-Share (the statewideautomated system) as well as a wide array ofdatabases and other electronic data files. Our libraryoffers a wide range of services, including referenceassistance, instructional and technical support,distance learning, geographic information systems(GIS), and multimedia courseware development.For More InformationUndergraduate Program DirectorDepartment of Computer ScienceFaner Hall Room 2125 – Mail Code 4511Southern Illinois University Carbondale1000 Faner DriveCarbondale, IL 62901618 | 536.2327csinfo@cs.siu.eduwww.cs.siu.eduwww.siu.edu/siucWhy Study AT SIUC?• Our computer science classes are taught bycontinuing faculty members, all holding doctoraldegrees and actively involved in research.• SIUC provides access to extensive instructional andresearch facilities.• SIUC computer science students are recruited bytop corporations and laboratories.• A student chapter of the Association for ComputingMachinery is active in our department, and anystudent at SIUC with an interest in computerscan become a member. There is also a Minoritiesin Computer Science club. These clubs hostboth local and external speakers, coordinateprogramming contests, organize and sponsor fieldtrips to industrial computing facilities, and holdvarious social events.• A full-time faculty member serves as undergraduateadviser in the department. This adviser helpsstudents with questions about careers, degreerequirements, course content and scheduling classes.• Each undergraduate student is assigned a facultymentor who is available to assist students withacademic challenges and career questions related tothe computer science degree.Undergraduate AdmissionsAdmissions Reception Center – Mail Code 4710Southern Illinois University Carbondale425 Clocktower DriveCarbondale, IL 62901618 | 536.4405joinsiuc@siu.eduwww.admissions.siu.eduProduced by University Communications,Southern Illinois University Carbondale 618 | 453.2276, news.siu.eduPrinted by SIUC Printing & Duplicating Services Carbondale, IL, 3/07, 2MComputer ScienceA degree with endlesspossibilities....We Have A Place For You!

CURRICULUMCAREERS IN COMPUTER SCIENCEWhat is Computer Science?Computers are a very prominent part of modernbusiness and society. Many of the most importantand exciting technological developments todayinvolve computers and computer systems. Theexpanding role of computer-based systems has causeda high demand for computer professionals,a situation that is expected to continue well intothe future.Computer science is an extremely exciting,challenging and rewarding area of study. Itincorporates an excellent combination of theoreticaland intellectual content on the one hand, andpractical application and societal importance on theother. By some standards, it is the strongest disciplinein academia today, and has been for the pastthree decades.Computer science is a broad and multidisciplinaryfield. Its general focus is on the design, analysisand use of computer hardware and software. As anacademic discipline, it does not focus on just onetechnology, programming language, or computerarchitecture. Rather, it seeks to ground the student infundamental concepts that are applicable tomany environments.WHAT WE OFFEROur curriculum prepares graduates for positionsin the computer industry, as well as for advancedstudies and research. We offer an undergraduatemajor leading to the bachelor of science and bachelorof arts degrees, an undergraduate minor, and graduateprograms leading to the master of science degree anddoctor of philosophy degree in computer science.The bachelor’s degree programs in computerscience provide students with the technical backgroundnecessary to use, design, analyze and implementcomputer software and systems. All students mustcomplete the required University Core Curriculum andsatisfy the College of Science requirements. Computerscience majors are required to take a core set ofcourses dealing with programming, data structures andalgorithms, computer organization, operating systems,social issues of computing, and a senior project.Along with taking the core courses, computer sciencemajors may choose from a broad selection of computerbasedcourses in order to complete their departmentalrequirements. This broad selection of courses coversall principal areas of computer science: languages,networks, databases, architecture, graphics, softwareengineering, artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, webdevelopment, computer security, robotics and parallelcomputing. The curriculum for the bachelor of sciencedegree is more traditional and somewhat more flexiblethan that for the bachelor of arts degree. It preparesstudents for a wide range of technical careers assoftware developers, systems administrators, databaseadministrators, network administrators, etc. It alsoprepares students for entry into graduate degreeprograms in computer science. The bachelor of artsprogram includes eight business courses. It providesstudents with a combined background in computerscience and business, and it prepares students to pursuea fifth year of studies leading to an MBA degree.Our department also offers a minor in computerscience. Students can choose from a variety ofspecializations. Service courses are also available forstudents who wish to acquire some computer literacybut are not pursuing a career as a computer professional.Computer science majors can enrich their computerscience degree with a secondary concentration, minor, ordouble major in areas such as mathematics, engineering,business, communications, etc.FACULTYAll of our continuing faculty members holddoctorates from such respected universities as Alabama(Birmingham), Case Western Reserve, LouisianaState, Maryland (Baltimore County), Massachusetts,Michigan State, Southern Mississippi, State Universityof New York (Buffalo) and such internationallyrenowned universities as Calcutta (India), and BejingUniversity of Aeronautics and Physics (China). Theability to attract excellent professors from such diversebackgrounds illustrates the national and internationalrespect our department has earned.Our faculty members are active researchers. Theirresearch specialties include: artificial intelligence,computer graphics, database systems, distributed andparallel processing, computer networks, computersecurity, wireless sensors, soft computing, faulttolerantcomputing, visualization, object-orientedprogramming, logic programming, bioinformatics,and multi-agent systems. The results of their researchare published in both journals and conferenceproceedings. Faculty members also present resultsof their research at national and internationalconferences in their fields of specialization. Facultyresearch is integrated into the curriculum, keepingstudents abreast of the latest developments in the field.Teaching continues to be the central mission ofour department, and all courses are taught by full-timefaculty members. We work to maintain and improvethe strength of our courses and to offer students thebest possible instruction. Two members of the facultyhave received college-wide awards for outstandingteaching. Graduate students are used primarily asteaching assistants in support of the full-time faculty,helping with laboratory sessions, grading, tutoringand consulting.Career opportunities in computer science areexcellent, both now and into the foreseeable future.The work of computer professionals involves muchmore than just writing programs. It also encompassesthe analytical and technical skills needed to designalgorithms and data structures, understand and exploitthe sophisticated hardware and software systemsavailable today and in the future, and develop newsystems for myriad applications.Graduates find careers in computer scienceavailable from a variety of employers and in allregions. Some of the companies that have recentlyhired SIUC computer science graduates are: Microsoft,Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, Motorola, Caterpillar, StateFarm Insurance, Trans Union Credit, United Airlines,Nortel Networks, and TAOS. The positions thesegraduates have filled include: software engineer,systems analyst, programmer, manager, andsystems administrator.University Career Services coordinates avigorous placement program for all students. It offersassistance with resume preparation and interviewskills. For a small fee, they will provide job noticesand mail your cover letters, resumes and referencesto specific job openings. The office also plans andpublicizes campus recruiting visits by employersand will help you arrange interviews with recruiters.They will help you maintain a placement file with theUniversity for as long as you like.