Objectives for Computer Science (CS)

A little history of CS at Le Moyne

As you may know, Le Moyne College had a computer science (CS) major in the late 1970's through 1994. The CS major was terminated in 1994 due to a sharp nationwide decline in CS enrollments, a sense that enrollment was not going to improve, and two of the three full-time CS faculty were approaching retirement.

Like many CS programs that started in the mid 1970's, Le Moyne's CS major was developed by faculty that had an interest in computing and whose Ph.D. was in mathematics. This resulted in curricula that emphasized theory instead of balancing theory and practice.

The new CS major at Le Moyne

This program is based on the latest curriculum guidelines for computer science, which were published in 2001 by the Joint (IEEE Computer Society and Association for Computing Machinery) Task Force of Computing Curricula. Here is the final report of this task force.

Distinctive features of CS program

Le Moyne's CS major is distinctive in the following ways.

1. The theory and practice of software design is emphasized throughout the curriculum. Instead of covering some traditional CS topics in separate courses, these topics are integrated into a coherent theme that permeates the curriculum.
2. Each CS major is required to minor in another discipline. This gives each student an opportunity to apply computer science to another discipline/domain.
3. Students' are given two semesters to complete a research/capstone project. This provides significant time for a student to investigate their chosen topic.
4. A technology transition course is taken in the fourth year of study. This course will help students prepare for their professional career (whether the student goes to graduate school or begins working in industry).

CS mission and goals

The mission of the computer science major program is to prepare students for a career in a computing technology related field, with emphasis on becoming a life-long learner with regard to both personal and professional aspirations.

Le Moyne College expects its computer science graduates to:

• Demonstrate critical thinking skills, apply problem solving techniques, and construct various software artifacts as prescribed by a software development process. Particular emphasis is placed on the design, validation and verification, and programming aspects of a software development process.
• Be prepared for continued growth as a computing professional; be able to apply what they have learned; and to communicate their knowledge to others in an ethically responsible manner.
• Be prepared to work individually or in a collaborative environment.