The Department of Computer Science and Information Systems (CSIS) offers undergraduate degrees in four areas of study: computer science, cybersecurity, computer gaming and entertainment technology, and information systems.

CSIS also offers a Master of Science in Computer Information technology and a Master of Science in Data Science. Please refer to the Graduate Study section of this catalog for more details.

In addition to the CSIS graduate programs, several computer related programs are available to adults who are interested in professional development or making a career change. These include a Bachelor’s Degree Completion Program in Information Technology; an undergraduate certificate in cybersecurity; and graduate Certificates in Application Development, Enterprise Optimization and Network Administration. Please refer to the Degree Completion and Certificate Programs sections of this catalog for details.

In all areas of study, students learn foundational computer concepts and apply that knowledge within software-development environments and on computer platforms widely used in the software industry and the information-technology sector in general. Using this foundational knowledge, students have the opportunity to develop their problem-solving skills and become lifelong learners in the ever-changing computer field.

In all the CSIS curricula, students go beyond learning several programming languages and related development tools. CSIS majors learn to apply their knowledge in several subareas within their respective major. All majors have capstone courses in which students work on term-long, team-based projects, often for “real-world” clients. In addition to applying their knowledge and problem-solving skills in courses, students are encouraged to complete internships. Internship opportunities have included transaction-oriented website development, scientific research, cybersecurity, game development, mobiledevice software development, market research systems, geographic information systems, financial systems, network communications, and many others. One of the many attractions to a career in computing is that it is very interdisciplinary, giving students the opportunity to broaden and apply their knowledge and develop communication skills.

The Computer Science (CS), Cybersecurity (CYS), and Computer Gaming and Entertainment Technology (CGE) curricula share a core number of courses and mathematical courses. The IS curriculum emphasizes the applications of information technology to business systems and project management. Some business classes are required and the mathematics requirements and many core courses are different than those for CS, CYS, and CGE.

CS students develop their abilities to work at various levels of abstraction and study mathematical models needed to design, develop, implement, and test software systems. The core areas of CS allow students to choose to work in many application areas, such as mobile-device software development, web-application development, machine learning, intelligent systems, high-performance computing, and cloud-based and distributed database systems used for processing big data.

CYS students study information assurance and network security from both a hardware and software perspective with topics in cryptography, cloud security, incident response, digital forensics, and mobile device handling. The CS courses are designed to apply the core computer science and mathematics courses to the above-mentioned topics in a hands-on approach. The CYS courses provide practical network security skills necessary for securing software systems and infrastructure. In addition to the CYS courses, cybersecurity concepts are integrated within many of the CS courses.

CGE students learn game design, but emphasize the software development side of gaming, such as graphics processing, artificial intelligence, and game engines. Students interested in the artistic side of gaming, such as game asset design, animation, digital music, and sound design are encouraged to explore the Digital Media section of this catalog. CGE majors acquire knowledge and abilities that will not only prepare them for many areas of the gaming industry, but also to pursue many aspects of website development or simulation applications used in business and scientific disciplines.

The IS curriculum emphasizes applications related to business. Therefore, in addition to computer courses, IS students are required to choose from a set of business courses. Most software applications in IS tend toward accounting, finance, inventory control, and marketing systems, however, the range of applications continues to grow and the IS curriculum is designed to adapt to applications that may or may not be business related. For example, some IS students focus their study on geographic information systems. Some focus on intelligent decision systems and data mining applications within all the above-mentioned fields.

A grade of C- or better is required in all major courses for graduation in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Computer Game and Entertainment Technology, and Information Systems. A grade of C- or better is required for all courses that count toward a minor.

Chair: John Jeffrey

Faculty: David Brown, Ali Ghane, Dean Jensen, James Kulich, Kathy Rossi, Gary Smith