Overview

A Computer Science degree is the foundation for many of the world’s most exciting and profitable careers. Computer Science emphasizes the mathematical and theoretical foundations of computing, rather than teaching specific technologies. A tremendous number of opportunities in a variety of fields awaits computer science graduates, including robotics, computer gaming, virtual reality, computer vision, media convergence, digital, evolutionary computing, computer architecture and so much more.

This section outlines the undergraduate Computer Science (CS) program for the Bachelor of Science degree offered by the School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS).

Computer Science students have many unique advantages at UCF:

• The UCF Programming Team is one of the best in the world! CS teams compete annually in the ACM’s International Programming Contest, and our CS team has an unmatched record — finishing in the Southeast region’s top three every year since 1982! CS teams have earned five Top-10 finishes out of 6,000 teams world-wide.
• EECS has prestigious research programs for undergraduates (REUs). EECS has been an NSF REU site in Computer Vision since NSF started the program in 1987.
• The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) student chapter, additional Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs), IEEE Computer Society and UPE Computer Science Honor Society and the CS Foundation Exam all provide real-life benefits including networking, face-to-face meetings with experts and career experience.
• The School’s new home is the Harris Corp. Engineering Center — an ultra high-tech building with revolutionary equipment, computers and labs for students.
• The Computer Science Foundation Exam is a qualifying test all CS majors must pass to advance to upper-level CS courses. Nationally, only UCF’s CS Program uses a test this way to qualify its students. The exam covers problem solving techniques, algorithms, abstraction, proofs and language skills. Tests are held each semester, and the exam helps ensure the success of our students. It is a major resume builder and a feature many industry partners highlight as a primary reason they want to hire CS graduates from our School of EECS.
• A detailed description of our computer facilities, faculty expertise and course descriptions are found in the adjacent tabs above.
• The Computer Science BS program is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202-4012, telephone: (410) 347-7700.
• EECS has been a site for an REU program in computer vision since the inception of REU by NSF in 1987. During the last two decades, close to 200 undergraduate students from different schools all over the country have participated in this program. NSF has extended its funding for the EECS Computer Vision Lab REU program through 2008. PIs on this project are Drs. Mubarak Shah, Niels da Vitoria Lobo and Takis Kasparis.
• EECS had 10 Honors in the Major students and 145 active Honors students in 2007. EECS had 9 LEAD scholars also.

Academic Program

The following information is gathered from the UCF catalog, the Undergraduate Policies and Procedures Manual and the program procedures in EECS. This web page should not be considered a legal document, is not necessarily exhaustive and is subject to change without notice.

All UCF students must fulfill a 36-hour General Education Program (GEP) requirement. The GEP is automatically satisfied by students with a prior B.S. from an accredited institution or an A.A. degree from a Florida community college. Please consult the UCF catalog for specific details. Students must complete 120 semester hours of course work with a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.00 and satisfy all University and Computer Science program requirements to earn a B.S. in Computer Science.

Any student wishing to receive a BS+MS degree in CS, a double-major or to seek a second Bachelor’s degree should consult the UCF catalog and the CS coordinator. A student must be an official CS major to earn the computer science degree.

Foreign Language & Multicultural Requirements

There are two separate issues with regard to foreign languages. In order to be admitted to the University, the State of Florida requires two years of high school foreign language (or equivalent). This is called “Foreign Language Admission Requirement.” In some cases, students who did not have two years of foreign language in high school are provisionally admitted but they must satisfy the requirement before graduation.

Foreign Language Graduation Requirement: All undergraduates must demonstrate proficiency in a testable foreign language (see UCF catalog for the definition of “testable”) equivalent to successful completion of one year at the college level. Alternatively, students may satisfy this requirement by the successful completion of the equivalent course work. In the case of non-testable languages, the requirement may be satisfied by documentation through the Office of Undergraduate Studies.

Computer science students who satisfied the Foreign Language Admission Requirement may satisfy the Foreign Languages Graduation Requirement by taking two courses from a list of multicultural or college-level foreign language courses. Those who have not yet satisfied the Foreign Language Admission Requirement should complete two (2) semesters of a single foreign language at college level. This simultaneously satisfies both admission and graduation requirements.

Please see the Computer Science Foreign Language Requirement or Multicultural Courses document for a current list of courses that satisfy this multicultural requirement. Note: PHI 3626 can also apply towards the multicultural requirement.

Course Requirements

The Computer Science Curriculum is divided into three categories: CS Core courses, Upper Division Required courses and Restricted Electives.

 Current CS Catalog Course List

1) Computer Science Core (56 hours) - The CS Core curriculum has two elements: Basic Core of 22 hours and Support Courses of 33 hours. There is also special CS degree requirement described below.

• Basic Core (Total 22 hours)
  COP 3223 Intro to Programming with C
  COP 3330 Intro to OO Programming with Java
  COP 3502 Computer Science I
  COP 3503 Computer Science II (4 cr)
  EEL 3801 Computer Organization (3 cr)
  COP 3402 Systems Software
  COT 3100 Intro to Discrete Structures
  COT 3960 CS Foundation Exam

   

• Support Courses (Total 33 hours)
  MAC 2311 Calculus w/ Analytic Geometry I
  MAC 2312 Calculus w/ Analytic Geometry II
  STA 2023 Statistical Methods I
  PHY 2048 Physics for Engr. & Sci. I
  PHY 2048L Physics for Engr. & Sci. Lab I
  PHY 2049 Physics for Engr. & Sci. II
  PHY 2049L Physics for Engr. & Sci. Lab II
  Two (2) Science Courses¹
  Two (2) Math Courses
  ENC 3241 Technical Report Writing
  PHI 3626 Advanced Ethics in Science and Technology
  ¹ These must be courses required by the respective science majors, such as BSC 2010, BSC 2011, CHM 2045 or CHM 2046. (8 cr)

   

2) Upper Division Required Courses (20 hours)²

 

• COP 4331 Procs. for OO Development (4 cr)
  EEL 4768 Intro to Computer Architecture (4 cr)
  COP 4020 Programming Languages
  COP 4600 Introduction to Operating Systems
  COT 4210 Discrete Computational Structures
  ² Students must earn a 2.5 GPA in above courses.
  COT 4810 Topics in Computer Science

 

3) Restricted Electives (15 hours)

 

• Nine (9) additional hours of 4000- and 5000-level computer science courses. A partial list of such elective courses includes: CAP 4020, CAP 4453, CAP 4630, CGS 5131, COP 4520, COP 4516, COP 4710, COT 4110, COT 4500, (CIS 3360 & CIS 3362)³, CIS 4361³, and CIS 43633. No more than three (3) hours of independent study in computer science may be used. (³ See SCAN Minor.)

  Six (6) hours of math or statistics, exclusive of independent study. Course work must be selected from STA, MAP, MAA, MAD, MAS prefixes at the 4000 or 5000 level and MAC 2313, MAP 2302, MAS 3105 and MAS 3106.

Special Departmental Requirements

CS Foundation Exam: Prior to taking COP 4331 and COP 4600 (and beyond), students MUST pass the Foundation Exam, which covers problem solving techniques, algorithms, abstractions, proofs, programming skills, etc. Typically, students are expected to take the Foundation Exam in the same semester they complete COP 3502 and COT 3100.

Grade Requirements: All department-required courses (listed in sections 1, 2 and 3 above) must be passed with a "C" grade or better. A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required in the courses listed in section 2 above.

Departmental Residency Requirement: At least 24 hours of computer science coursework must be completed in the CS department at UCF (18 hours of these in regularly scheduled 4000- and 5000-level courses and six (6) of these in 3000- to 5000-level).

Transfer of Credit

Courses with a common course number taken at any Florida State University System (SUS) institution or Florida community college are automatically transferable. Students with a Bachelor of Science from an accredited institution or an Associate of Arts degree from a Florida SUS institution or Florida community college automatically satisfy the GEP. Substitutions for GEP must be approved through Academic Services, Millican Hall (MH) 210.

Substitutions for department requirements are on a course-by-course basis and MUST be approved by the CS Undergraduate Coordinator and the EECS Director. Instructions for this process are in the Computer Science office: Harris Corporation Engineering Center (HEC 246). The decision is typically based on the degree of similarity of the two courses both in content and in the level of presentation. Regardless of transfer credit, the University and School residency requirements must be satisfied.

Exception: Substitution requests for MAC 2311, MAC 2312, PHY 2048, PHY 2049, CHM 2045, CHM 2046, BSC 2010 and BSC 2011 must be filed in the Academic Affairs Office (ENG1 107).

Admissions & Deadlines

For application information to UCF and CS, visit: Whether you need information on deadlines, requirements or have questions, feel free to contact Undergraduate Admissions for help. We want to help you become a Knight. So, let us help you get started.

For UCF Application forms and other forms, visit:
Application Forms

or write to:
UCF Office of Undergraduate Admissions
PO Box 160111
Orlando, FL 32816-0111
admission@mail.ucf.edu
Phone: (407) 823-3000
Fax: (407) 823-5625

UCF Admissions Office Hours:
Mon & Thurs: 9 - 6
Tues, Wed, & Fri: 9 - 5
Closed Weekends & Holidays

Application Deadlines

Freshmen:
Spring: Nov 1st
Summer: Mar 1st
Fall: May 1st

Transfers:
Spring: Nov 1st
Summer: Mar 1st
Fall: Jul 1st

International:
Spring: Sep 1st
Summer: Jan 1st
Fall: Mar 1st

 Plans of Study

• Current Computer Science Plan of Study (2006 - forward)
• Current Computer Science Elective List (2006 - forward)
• Previous plan of study (2005)
• Previous elective list (2005)