Learn More and ApplyMathematics and Computer Science (BS) (College of Computing and Digital Media)

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CDM

The BS in Mathematics and Computer Science is designed to prepare students to compete for the more intellectually demanding jobs in software development or for graduate study in various areas of computer science and applied mathematics such as theoretical computer science, graphics, data analysis, artificial intelligence, and computational methods. ​

Program Requirements Quarter Hours
Liberal Studies Requirements 76
Major Requirements 88
Open Electives 28
Total hours required 192

Learning Outcomes

​Students will be able to:

  • Construct valid, logical arguments and analyze the reasoning of others.
  • Model a computation problem, select appropriate algorithms and data structures for a solution, justify the correctness of the algorithm, and implement an application solving the problem.
  • Use discrete and continuous mathematical structures to model problems and then solve them using appropriate techniques.
  • Analyze the efficiency of a computational solution mathematically, and validate the analysis experimentally.

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.

Plan of Study Grid
First Year ProgramHours
Chicago Quarter
LSP 110
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
Select one of the following:
CSC 394 SOFTWARE PROJECTS 1 4
DSC 394 DATA SCIENCE PROJECT 1 4
MAT 398 SENIOR CAPSTONE SEMINAR 1 4
1

Students must earn a C- or better in this course.

Learning Domains

Arts and Literature (AL)

  • 3 Courses Required

Historical Inquiry (HI)

  • 2 Courses Required

Math and Computing (MC)

  • Not Required

Philosophical Inquiry (PI)

  • 2 Courses Required (See note below)

Religious Dimensions (RD)

  • 2 Courses Required (See note below)

Scientific Inquiry (SI)

  • 1 Lab Course Required​

Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Inquiry (SCBI)  

  • 3 Courses Required:

Notes  

Students must take one of the following ethics courses:

Course Title Quarter Hours
Select one of the following:4
ETHICS IN TECHNOLOGY (PI)
BUSINESS ETHICS (PI)
BUSINESS, ETHICS AND SOCIETY (RD)

Specified required courses within Liberal Studies may have grade minimums (e.g. C- or better). Please consult your advisor or your college and major requirements.​​

Courses offered in the student's primary major cannot be taken to fulfill LSP Domain requirements. If students double major, LSP Domain courses may double count for both LSP credit and the second major. Students who choose to take an experiential learning course offered by the major may count it either as a general elective or as the Experiential Learning requirement.

Students with a primary major in Mathematics and Computer Science (joint degree) are required to complete one of the following Capstone courses: CSC 394DSC 394, or MAT 398. Students double majoring or pursuing dual degrees with the primary major or primary degree in Mathematics and Computer Science (joint degree) are also required to complete one of these courses. Mathematics and Computer Science (joint degree) students in the University Honors Program shall take the University Honors Capstone. They are not expected to take both the Honors Capstone and the primary major or primary degree Capstone.

In meeting learning domain requirements, no more than one course that is outside the student’s major and is cross-listed with a course within the student’s major, can be applied to count for LSP domain credit. This policy does not apply to those who are pursuing a double major or earning BFA or BM degrees.

Major Requirements

Course Requirements

Course Title Quarter Hours
Choose one (1) sequence:8
INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE I
and INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE II
OR
PYTHON FOR PROGRAMMERS (and one (1) major elective)
Remaining Requirements:
CSC 300DATA STRUCTURES I4
CSC 301DATA STRUCTURES II4
CSC 321DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF ALGORITHMS4
CSC 373COMPUTER SYSTEMS I4
CSC 374COMPUTER SYSTEMS II4
MAT 140DISCRETE MATHEMATICS I4
MAT 141DISCRETE MATHEMATICS II4
or MAT 215 INTRODUCTION TO MATHEMATICAL REASONING
MAT 260MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS I4
MAT 262LINEAR ALGEBRA4
Select one of the following calculus sequences:12
Calculus Sequence (option 1)
CALCULUS WITH INTEGRATED PRECALCULUS I
CALCULUS WITH INTEGRATED PRECALCULUS II
CALCULUS WITH INTEGRATED PRECALCULUS III
Calculus Sequence (option 2)
CALCULUS I
CALCULUS II
CALCULUS III
Summer Calculus Sequence (option 3)
SUMMER CALCULUS I
SUMMER CALCULUS II
Calculus Sequence (option 4)
CALCULUS FOR MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE MAJORS I
CALCULUS FOR MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE MAJORS II
CALCULUS FOR MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE MAJORS III
Calculus Sequence (option 5)
CALCULUS FOR LIFE SCIENCES I
CALCULUS FOR LIFE SCIENCES II
CALCULUS WITH INTEGRATED PRECALCULUS III
CALCULUS III
CALCULUS FOR MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE MAJORS III
Select One of the Following (Capstone)4
SOFTWARE PROJECTS
DATA SCIENCE PROJECT
SENIOR CAPSTONE SEMINAR
Select twelve (12) credit hours of CDM Major Electives12
Select twelve (12) credit hours of MAT Major Electives 12
Select four (4) credit hours of CDM or MAT Major Elective 4
Select twenty-eight (28) credit hours of Open Electives28

Note: Students may take CSC 243 and one (1) Additional Major Elective in lieu of CSC 241 and CSC 242.

Major Electives

Students must earn a grade of C- or higher in all major requirements and major elective courses.

For the major electives, it is recommended that students concentrate on one or two areas to achieve depth, but they are not required to do so. Students are strongly encouraged to discuss course selection with an advisor. Students may wish to arrange with a professor to take an independent study or a research experience (MAT 399 or CSC 399 or IT 300) in order to explore a subject more deeply than is possible in a scheduled course.

Theory of Computation 

The courses in the theory of computation area explore the mathematical and logical foundations of computer science.

Course Title Quarter Hours
PROBLEM SOLVING
PROBLEM SOLVING FOR CONTESTS
CRYPTOLOGY
AUTOMATA THEORY AND FORMAL GRAMMARS
CONCEPTS OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
INTRODUCTION TO COMPILER DESIGN
SYMBOLIC PROGRAMMING
DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS
THEORY OF COMPUTATION
FOUNDATIONS OF ADVANCED MATHEMATICS
COMBINATORICS
THEORY OF NUMBERS
ABSTRACT ALGEBRA I
REAL ANALYSIS I
REAL ANALYSIS II
APPLIED PROBABILITY
PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS I
ADVANCED LINEAR ALGEBRA
LOGIC AND SET THEORY

Computational Methods

The computational methods area investigates quantitative and computational methods in computer science.

Course Title Quarter Hours
SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
METHODS OF COMPUTATION AND THEORETICAL PHYSICS I
METHODS OF COMPUTATION AND THEORETICAL PHYSICS II
SIMULATION MODELS AND MONTE CARLO METHOD
MATHEMATICAL MODELING
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS I
NUMERICAL ANALYSIS II

Artificial Intelligence 

For students with an interest in the computational relations between syntax and semantics.

Course Title Quarter Hours
EXPERT SYSTEMS
SYMBOLIC PROGRAMMING
INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAM ANALYSIS
FOUNDATIONS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Data Science Area

For students who are interested in statistical and computational analysis of data. Many of the courses in this area require the student to take MAT 351-MAT 353.

Course Title Quarter Hours
DATA ANALYSIS AND REGRESSION
APPLIED REGRESSION ANALYSIS
ADVANCED DATA ANALYSIS
MULTIVARIATE STATISTICS
INTRODUCTION TO BIG DATA PROCESSING
FOUNDATIONS OF DATA SCIENCE
MACHINE LEARNING
DATA VISUALIZATION
STATISTICAL METHODS USING SAS
APPLIED PROBABILITY
PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS I
PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS II
PROBABILITY AND STATISTICS III
MULTIVARIATE STATISTICS
STOCHASTIC PROCESSES
NONPARAMETRIC STATISTICS
APPLIED TIME SERIES AND FORECASTING
SIMULATION MODELS AND MONTE CARLO METHOD
GENERALIZED LINEAR MODELS

Computer Vision

Computer vision studies the mathematical and algorithmic underpinnings of image analysis and image processing.

Course Title Quarter Hours
MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS II
REAL ANALYSIS I
ADVANCED LINEAR ALGEBRA
FOURIER ANALYSIS AND SPECIAL FUNCTIONS
MATHEMATICAL MODELING
OPERATIONS RESEARCH: LINEAR PROGRAMMING
OPERATIONS RESEARCH: OPTIMIZATION THEORY
INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL IMAGE PROCESSING
APPLIED IMAGE ANALYSIS

Research

Course Title Quarter Hours
RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM
INDEPENDENT STUDY
MATHEMATICS READING AND RESEARCH
SENIOR THESIS RESEARCH

Finance

Course Title Quarter Hours
APPLIED PROBABILITY
MATHEMATICS FOR FINANCE
OPERATIONS RESEARCH: LINEAR PROGRAMMING
OPERATIONS RESEARCH: OPTIMIZATION THEORY

Open Electives

Open Elective credit hours are required to meet the minimum graduation requirements of 192 hours. Open Electives may be taken from any unit at DePaul.

See www.cdm.depaul.edu to see sample schedule of course requirements on a year-by-year basis.

Degree Requirements

Students in this degree must meet the following requirements:

  • Complete a minimum of 192 credit hours (generally 48 courses) 
  • Earn a grade of C- or higher in WRD 103WRD 104, and all Major and Minor courses 
  • Earn a grade of D or higher in all other Liberal Studies and Open Elective courses
  • Maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher

Program Combination Restrictions

Students pursuing the BS in Math and Computer Science are forbidden from pursuing the following secondary/double major(s): BS Computer Science (all concentrations); BS Game Programming; BS Information Technology.  Students pursuing the BS in Math and Computer Science are also forbidden from pursuing the following Minors: Computer Science; Information Technology.