Welcome to your path toward a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science

The first year of CS courses consists of the following requisite chain: CS 1400 → CS 1410 → CS 2420. Each course must be completed before the subsequent course can be taken. That being said, the purpose of CS 1400 is to expand the understanding of students with no background in computer science topics. If you feel that your background is sufficient, you may be able to enroll directly in CS 1410. The following information can help you make this decision.

CS 1400: Introduction to Computer Science

CS 1400 is a prerequisite for students who are interested in taking CS 1410 (Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming) and CS 2420 (Introduction to Algorithms and Data Structures) but who have no background in computing. CS 1400 provides a gentle introduction to the fundamental concepts of computer science. In particular, students learn problem-solving skills and apply them by writing programs in a visual and fun programming environment that is friendly to beginners. Students also study, simulate, and visualize the inner workings of a simple computer.

CS 1400 gives students a sampling of what makes computer science an innovative and exciting field, and prepares them for the CS 1410/2420 sequence and the rest of the computer science degree program.

The following are some of the expected outcomes for students completing CS 1400.

• Students will learn how to approach (simplified versions of) scientific problems. The problem-solving skills acquired will include how to follow and compose algorithms, as well as, how to use variables, data types, assignment, selection, repetition, and lists. Students will gain experience solving problems and applying these concepts through the use of a beginner-friendly, graphical programming environment called Scratch.
• Students will study and simulate the fundamental workings of a simple computer. Concepts of data representation, logic gates and Boolean algebra, and digital circuits will be highlighted. Students will "program" a simple computer (made up of RAM, registers, an ALU, and a control path simulated using the Logisim tool) to solve simple problems in a variety of ways (including direct manipulation of the control path, machine language instructions, and assembly language instructions).
• Students will begin to understand abstraction as a crucial mental technique of devising simple models for complicated things by selectively ignoring details. Students will observe abstraction at work in the simple computer and in problem-solving techniques.

CS 1410: Introduction to Object Oriented Programming

CS 1410 is a course for students who are interested in building on their prior programming experience as they learn the fundamentals of object oriented programming. Students should be able to make use of assignments, conditionals, loops, and function calls to express simple algorithms. While all the programming in CS 1410 will be done in Java, all of the fundamental concepts will be applicable to programing in other languages.

The following are some of the expected outcomes for students completing CS 1410.

• Beginning from a problem statement, students will be able to design, implement, and test an object-oriented computer program that solves the problem.
• Students will be able to exploit procedural abstraction (non-recursive and recursive methods), data abstraction (classes), and polymorphism (inheritance and generics) as cornerstones of the program design process.
• Students will be able to leverage tools and techniques from software engineering (such as the Eclipse IDE, unit testing, pair programming, and documentation standards) to amplify their programming abilities.
• Students will understand the organization of common application types such as command-line programs, graphical user interfaces, and web server applications.
• Students will be able to assess the efficiency of algorithms.

Should you register for CS 1400 or CS 1410?

If you have some background in computing and are already familiar with many of the concepts mentioned in the description of CS 1400 (such as using variables, data types, assignment, selection and repetition in problem solving; as well as, data representation, logic gates and Boolean algebra), you should register for CS 1410. If you have no background in computing and will be encountering many of these concepts for the first time, you should register for CS 1400.

Futher, any student registered for CS 1410 must pass a test accessing computing skill and aptitude to remain in CS 1410. This test is conducted online. See this link for instructions.