The CS+GEO BS brings together the two distinct fields of Computer Science and Geography in a multi-disciplinary degree program that reflects the wide use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies and the application of computational methods in geography and other social sciences.
The CS part of the CS+GEO BS curriculum provides students training in fundamental computational problem-solving skills including thinking abstractly, applying formal logic and mathematics, developing algorithms and data structures, and reasoning about and developing software systems at different levels of abstraction. The GEO part of the CS+GEO BS curriculum provides students training in Geographic Information Systems and digital mapping, spatial analytics, and spatial reasoning to explore phenomena, relationships, and processes that have spatial patterns and distributions. Students in the CS+GEO BS will have a unique multidisciplinary combination of critical intellectual, technical and creative skills that will set them apart.
The program provides students with a coherent and complete education in each field and prepares them to become:
- software developers with an exceptional expertise in GIS and other application areas of geography and, more broadly, the social sciences, as well as
- social scientists with expertise in geographic research methods who can leverage and develop technology-based solution to social science questions.
A CS+GEO BS graduate will be ideally suited for many positions requiring knowledge of geospatial technologies that refer to tools contributing to the geographic mapping and analysis of the environment and human societies, including GIS. Since the CS+GEO BS program incorporates the core of the CS BS degree program and the core of the GEO BA degree program, graduates of the program will also be well-prepared to pursue a graduate degree in either field.
| Program Requirements | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|
| Liberal Studies | 72 |
| Computer Science | 48 |
| Geography | 44 |
| Open Electives | 28 |
| Total hours required | 192 |
Learning Outcomes
- Model a computational problem, select appropriate algorithms and data structures for a solution, justify the correctness of the algorithm, and implement an application solving the problem.
- Analyze and select an algorithm based on system effects.
- Analyze the efficiency of a computational solution mathematically, and validate the analysis experimentally.
- Criticize a program on the basis of its maintainability and suggest improvements.
- Use key concepts, theories, and vocabulary to interpret how socio-cultural, political, economic, and/or environmental phenomena may construct a "space," a "place," a "landscape," a "location," or a "region" as a complex material or symbolic structure.
- Use qualitative and/or quantitative methodologies to analyze spatial phenomena, and collect, identify, and apply spatial data from either primary or secondary sources to interpret the spatial character of a physical, socio-cultural, or environment-society problem.
- Interpret spatial patterns of economic inequalities and social injustices and their relation to urban, built, and natural environments.
- Demonstrate competence in one or more of several geospatial technologies, (i.e. remote sensing, geographical information systems, global navigation satellite systems, etc.) and articulate effectively the results of that use in speech, text, image, or map.
- Describe and differentiate processes of globalization and their effects on cities, regions, physical systems, cultures, and political divisions.
Liberal Studies Requirements
Honors program requirements can be found in the individual Colleges & Schools section of the University Catalog. Select the appropriate college or school, followed by Undergraduate Academics and scroll down.
| First Year Program | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Quarter | ||
| LSP 110 or LSP 111 | DISCOVER CHICAGO or EXPLORE CHICAGO | 4 |
| Focal Point | ||
| LSP 112 | FOCAL POINT SEMINAR | 4 |
| Writing | ||
| WRD 103 | COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC I 1 | 4 |
| WRD 104 | COMPOSITION AND RHETORIC II 1 | 4 |
| Quantitative Reasoning | ||
| Not Required | ||
| Sophomore Year | ||
| Race, Power, and Resistance | ||
| LSP 200 | SEMINAR ON RACE, POWER, AND RESISTANCE | 4 |
| Junior Year | ||
| Experiential Learning | ||
| Required | 4 | |
| Senior Year | ||
| Capstone 1 | ||
| CSC 394 or GEO 300 | SOFTWARE PROJECTS or GEOGRAPHICAL INQUIRY | 4 |
- 1
Students must earn a C- or better in these courses.
Learning Domains
Arts and Literature (AL)
- 3 Courses Required
Historical Inquiry (HI)
- 2 Course Required
Math and Computing (MC)
- Not Required
Philosophical Inquiry (PI)
- 2 Courses Required
Religious Dimensions (RD)
- 2 Courses Required
Scientific Inquiry (SI)
- 1 Course Required
[1 Lab Course]
Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Inquiry (SCBI)
- 1 Course Required
Major Requirements
| Course | Title | Quarter Hours |
|---|---|---|
| The Modern Language Requirement (MLR) | ||
| All students will be required to demonstrate competence in a modern language (i.e., a language other than English) equivalent to the proficiency attained from one year of college-level language study. This Modern Language Requirement (MLR) may be demonstrated by: | ||
placing into 104 or above on the DePaul language placement exam | ||
completing the last course or earning AP or BI credit for the last course in the first-year collegel sequence of any language (e.g., 103 for DePaul language classes) | ||
completing a college course or earning AP or IB credit for a college course beyond the first-year level in any language (e.g., 104 or above for DePaul language classes) | ||
completing the final course of a four-year sequence of the same modern language in high school * | ||
completing a proctored exam by BYU and passing the exam (see the Department of Modern Languages website for registeration details) | ||
completing a proctored Written Proficiency Test (WPT) by Language Testing International (LTI) and achieving a score of Beginner High or above (see the Department of Modern Languages website for registration details) | ||
| *Students are strongly encouraged to take the DePaul language placement exam even if they have met the MLR via study of a language in high school. This will ensure continuation of language at the proper level. | ||
| Please note: Modern Languages courses with an E-designation are taught in English and may not be applied to the Modern Langague Requirement. | ||
| Students who complete an Inter-College Transfer (ICT) to the College will abide by the MLR in place on the effective date of the ICT, regarless of when they first matriculated at DePaul. | ||
| COMPUTER SCIENCE REQUIREMENTS | ||
| MAT 140 | DISCRETE MATHEMATICS I | 4 |
| MAT 141 | DISCRETE MATHEMATICS II | 4 |
| CSC 241 | INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE I | 4 |
| CSC 242 | INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE II | 4 |
| CSC 300 | DATA STRUCTURES I | 4 |
| CSC 301 | DATA STRUCTURES II | 4 |
| CSC 321 | DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMS | 4 |
| CSC 373 | COMPUTER SYSTEMS I | 4 |
| CSC 374 | COMPUTER SYSTEMS II | 4 |
| One course from the following | 4 | |
| CONCEPTS OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES | ||
| DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS | ||
| OBJECT-ORIENTED SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT | ||
| Eight (8) additional credit hours, can be any 300-level CSC, CSEC, DSC or SE | 8 | |
| GEOGRAPHY REQUIREMENTS | ||
| GEO 101 | ENVIRONMENTAL GEOGRAPHY | 4 |
| GEO 103 | URBANIZATION | 4 |
| GEO 241 | GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS I: DIGITAL MAPPING | 4 |
| GEO 299 | KNOWLEDGE, PLACE AND POWER | 4 |
| GEO 391 | STATISTICAL DATA ANALYSIS FOR GIS | 4 |
| Twenty-four (24) credit hours, at least four (4) of which must be 300-level, from the following: | 24 | |
| URBAN GEOGRAPHY - EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING | ||
| CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY: THE NATURE-CULTURE INTERFACE | ||
| SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT | ||
| GEOPOLITICS | ||
| RELIGIOUS GEOGRAPHY | ||
| RACE, JUSTICE, AND THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT | ||
| INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION | ||
| BIOGEOGRAPHY | ||
| INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND REGIONAL INEQUALITY | ||
| WOMEN AND SCIENCE | ||
| OCEANOGRAPHY | ||
| EARTH'S CHANGING CLIMATE | ||
| HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF CHICAGO | ||
| COMPARATIVE URBANISM | ||
| GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS II: COMMUNITY GIS | ||
| EARTH OBSERVATION | ||
| GLOBALIZATION AND RESOURCES | ||
| WORLD ECONOMY: STATES, MARKETS AND LABOR | ||
| CULTURAL AND POLITICAL ECOLOGY | ||
| KNOWLEDGE, PLACE AND POWER | ||
| GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE | ||
| THE EUROPEAN UNION | ||
| SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORTATION | ||
| URBAN PLANNING | ||
| URBAN/CITY DESIGN | ||
| TOPICS IN ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM | ||
| PLACES, HUMANITIES AND GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS | ||
| EARTH OBSERVATION II | ||
| GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS III: SPATIAL ANALYSIS FOR SUSTAINABILITY | ||
| GIS ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH | ||
| WEB GIS AND SPATIAL DATA VISUALIZATION ON THE WEB | ||
| SPATIAL DATA SCIENCE | ||
| WORLD OF WINE | ||
| GEOGRAPHY, FOOD AND JUSTICE | ||
| SEMINAR IN SELECTED TOPICS | ||
Note: Students enrolled in the University Honors Program are not required to complete the Modern Language Requirement for this major.
Note: CSC 243 Python for Programmers and a CS elective can take the place of CSC 241 & CSC 242
Open Electives
Open elective credits are also required to meet the minimum graduation requirement of 192 quarter-credit hours.
Program Combination Restrictions
Students pursuing the BS in Computer Science + Geography are forbidden from pursuing the following secondary/double majors: BS Computer Science (all concentrations); BS Game Programming; BS Information Technology; BS Math and Computer Science; BA Geography (all concentrations).
Students pursuing the BS in Computer Science + Geography are also forbidden from pursuing a Minor in the following areas: Geography; Computer Science; Information Technology.