Community College Day Spring 2013

School of Computer ScienceProgram Overview

Dr. Tim RichardsLecturer

Chief Undergraduate Advisor

Community College DayMarch 28, 2013

CS Programs• Graduate Program

– PhD, MS/PhD, MS• Undergraduate Program

– Bachelor of Science in CS– Bachelor of Arts in CS– Minor in Computer Science

• Informatics Program– New Program– Likely to go live in the next year

or two

What We Are• Major Research Institution

– Working to change the face of computing– Nationally recognized professors– Highly selected graduate students– Competitive undergraduates

• Undergraduate Program– Doing Computing– Think About Computing




Teach programming and use programming as a tool. This is important as a means to an end, rather than an end itself.




Understand computing to adapt to new machines, systems, languages, and applications in the future.

By The Numbers• 550 Majors

– 516 BS– 34 BA

• 93 Applicants• 112 Minors• Graduate 80 UGs each year

(Feb, May, Sept)• ~40 Faculty• ~213 Graduate Students

Student Organizations, Groups, & Events

• ACM (http://umass.acm.org)• UMass Programming Team• CS Women• USpace• Leadership Committees

– ACE Peer Advising– ROCKs Recruiting & Outreach

• First Friday Events

http://umass.acm.org/

http://umass.acm.org/

Our Students• Freshman

– Interest in CS– Admitted directly

• Transfer Students– Apply to UMass + CS– Admitted directly or

evaluated to determine if ready • Any UMass Student

– Can apply to CS internally– Admitted directly or given contract

BS in Computer Science

• Technical Degree in CS• Course Requirements

– 14 Computer Science– 4 Math– 2 Majors-Level Science

• BS-CMPSCI Students Prepared For– Graduate Study in CS– Most Technical Entry-Level Jobs in Industry

BA in Computer Science• Computing Focus Degree in CS• Course Requirements (Less CS)

– 10 Computer Science– 3 Math– Foreign Language– 4-Course Concentration

• BA-CMPSCI Students Prepared For– Application of computing to

a secondary area

Minor in Computer Science

• Background in CS• Course Requirements (5)

– 2 Entry Level Computer Science– At Least 2 200-Level Courses– 1 200-Level or Above

• MINOR-CMPSCI Students Prepared For– Background in CS that can make you

stand out from the crowd!

CS Courses For Majors

CMPSCI 121 CMPSCI 187

Introductory sequence in Java programming




Often three-course sequence at community colleges.




Often three-course sequence at community colleges.

This course is called data structures



CMPSCI 220 CMPSCI 250 CMPSCI 230 CMPSCI 240

200-Level Cores




200-Level Cores

Intensive Programming




200-Level Cores

Intensive Programming Mathematical Foundations of Computing




200-Level Cores

Intensive Programming Mathematical Foundations of Computing

Require 1 yearof Calculus




200-Level Cores

BS-CMPSCI: Must take all 4 200-level cores.

BA-CMPSCI: Must take at least 3 200-level cores.

MINOR-CMPSCI: Must take at least 2 200-level cores.

✓✓




200-Level Cores

CMPSCI >=300 CMPSCI >=300 CMPSCI >=300 CMPSCI >=300 CMPSCI >=300

300-Level and AboveBS-CMPSCI: Must take 8 to satisfy a track.BA-CMPSCI: Must take any 5.

BS-CMPSCI Tracks• General CMPSCI• Artificial Intelligence• Computer Architecture• Networking• Programming

Languages & Compilers

• Theory of Computation

• Robotics, Vision, 7 Graphics

• Search & Data Mining• Security & Privacy• Software Engineering• Software Systems

Other Requirements

• Math– 2 semesters of engineering-level calculus– Linear algebra– Multivariate calculus OR calculus-based

statistics• Science

– 2 majors-level science courses– biology, chemistry, physics, geosciences

Other Requirements

• Writing– Junior-year writing (CMPSCI 305)

• Foreign Language– BA-CMPSCI only

• General Education– UMass requirements– Integrative Experience (CMPSCI 320)

Informatics Program

• Under Active Development– Will go live in 1-2 years.

• Courses– 12-14 in Total– Tracks: Big Data, Health Informatics, Multimedia

Informatics studies the design, application, use, and impact of computational principles and

technology in the context of multiple disciplines that encompass a wide range of human activity.

Research Opportunities

• Research Labs– Lots of opportunity to participate!– Great for jobs and graduate school in CS!

• Independent Studies– Work individually with a faculty member

• Honors Program (https://www.honors.umass.edu)

– Departmental honors / capstone experience• Paid Undergraduates

https://www.honors.umass.edu/



REU Program

• Research Experience for Undergraduates

• 9 ½ - week paid summer research program.

• Students participate on a research team with other students and faculty.

• LOTS OF LEARNING• LOTS OF FUN!

http://reu.cs.umass.edu

http://reu.cs.umass.edu/

http://reu.cs.umass.edu/

Bay State Program

• Tuition-Free Masters Degree– Complete BS-CMPSCI degree– GPA at least 3.6– With Small Assistantship ($$)

• http://www.cs.umass.edu/admissions/bay-state-fellowship-program

http://www.cs.umass.edu/admissions/bay-state-fellowship-program




Internship Opportunities

• Where do CS students get internships?– BBN/Ratheon, Cisco, EMC, Fiksu, Google,

Yahoo!, TripAdvisor, Vistaprint, Amazon, Microsoft, LinkedIn, General Dynamics, …

• How do they do this?– Attending Career Fairs (several at UMass)– Solid Resume, Start Sophomore Year– UMass CareerConnect

http://umass.experience.com/experience/login




Transfer Advising

• Transfer Advising– Summer & Winter

• Strategize– Pick courses that are sensible for you.– Identify any weak areas.– Discuss strategies to be successful.– Support during semester

How do I know what to do when I transfer to UMass CS?

[email protected]

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]