Introduction
Computer Science at Western is composed of core classes organized around the study of design and analysis techniques used to write software in various application domains along with details about the internal workings of computers and networks. Elective classes in areas such as AI, mobile device programming, robotics, graphics, bioinformatics, computer security, video game programming, and many others allow students to explore areas of individual interest.
Why Consider a Computer Science Major?
Computer Science is exciting, socially impactful, and provides many challenging, rewarding, and lucrative career paths for graduates to pursue. As a computer scientist you can make an impact on the advancement of medicine, clean energy, entertainment, communication for the disabled, climate research, and automotive technologies to name a few. For some, the most motivational aspect of being a computer scientist is being involved in creating the next great technology that will help people the world over.
Apart from the compelling work you can do is the fact that computer scientists are highly sought after and many attain very lucrative jobs directly out of college. Anyone who enjoys abstract thinking and problem solving would most certainly appreciate computer science because the discipline is not just about programming. It is about the ways we organize data, solve problems, discover applications, and build devices and associated software that are effective and easy to use.
Student Resources
Department Website: Computer Science
Contact information: Kaiser Borsari Hall 421, 360-650-3805
Department advising:
- CS Program Director: Yudong Liu, Communications Facility 493, 360-650-4831, liuy2@wwu.edu
- CS Pre-Major Advisor: Mary Hall, Kaiser Borsari Hall 421C, 360-650-2300, Mary.Hall@wwu.edu
- Transfer Advisor: Please contact the Main Office, cs.dept@wwu.edu, which will direct you to the transfer advisor.
Degree Works: Current students should also log on to Degree Works to check student-specific program progress.
Career Services Center: Connect major to a career
Sample Careers: Computational Scientist, Computer Engineer, Data Scientist, Database Administrator, Game Programmer, IT Consultant, Network Engineer, Project Manager, Research Analyst, Robotics Programmer, Software Engineer, Systems Administrator, Systems Analyst, Systems Engineer, Technical Writer, User Experience Designer, Web Developer
How to Declare (Admission and Declaration Process):
Admission to the Computer Science BS major is a two-phase process. Students are pre-majors until they have completed CSCI 141, CSCI 145, CSCI 241, CSCI 247 and CSCI 301 as well as MATH 124. Students may declare the CS Pre-major when they are enrolled in CSCI 145. The pre-major application is in the Academics Section of the Computer Science Department website.
Admission to the Computer Science BS major is based on multiple factors, including the student’s academic performance in CSCI 241, CSCI 247, and CSCI 301. Evidence that the student will have a positive impact on the department culture is also taken into account. For example, a student’s involvement in clubs, faculty-mentored research, and volunteer work, although not required, is looked at favorably; students are encouraged to highlight those and other activities when they apply for the major. Students are eligible to apply to the major when they are in the last of CSCI 241, CSCI 247, and CSCI 301. Admission is based on a space available basis: neither completion of the pre-major classes nor attaining any specific GPA guarantees admission.
Students may retake at most one of CSCI 241, CSCI 247 or CSCI 301 to improve their major application GPA. Please note that late withdrawals are counted as one attempt. We make exceptions only in cases of hardship withdrawal from the quarter. Transferred courses do not count in the GPA calculation.
Application materials, and instructions along with deadlines, are available on the Computer Science Department website.
Pre-major Insufficient Progress Policy
Declared Computer Science Pre-majors who fail to make progress towards applying to the CS BS major based on one or more of the following criteria may have their pre-major status removed.
- When a student (a) has completed all three of CSCI 241, 247, CSCI 301, (b) is not eligible to retake a pre-major course, and (c) has an average GPA below 2.0 in CSCI 241, CSCI 247 and CSCI 301.
- When a student (a) is not eligible to retake a pre-major course and (b) has a grade below C- in any of CSCI 241, CSCI 247, and CSCI 301. WWU’s Repeating a Course Policy
- When a student has not applied to the major or attempted to take a CSCI class required by the Computer Science major for two consecutive quarters (not including summer).
Grade Requirements
A grade of C- or better is required for a student’s major or minor courses, and supporting courses for majors and minors.
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