Consistent with the university’s mission of being an accessible, responsive, and creative intellectual resource for the people and institutions of Connecticut, the department’s mission is to offer a broad and up-to-date curriculum that provides students with a comprehensive foundation that permits graduates to adapt to new technology and new ideas.

Goals

To accomplish this mission the Department of Computer Science emphasizes the following:

1. Technical understanding of Computer Science: Graduates will have a mastery of Computer Science as described in the Body of Knowledge of the current ACM/IEEE Computing Curricula.
2. Common themes and principles: Graduates will understand a number of recurring themes, such as abstraction, complexity, and evolutionary change, and a set of general principles, such as sharing a common resource, security, and concurrency, and will recognize that these themes and principles have broad application to the field of computer science and are not relevant only to the domains in which they were introduced.
3. The interplay between theory and practice: Graduates will understand the interplay between theory and practice and how theory and practice influence each other.
4. System-level perspective: Graduates will be able to think at multiple levels of detail and abstraction. They will be able to recognize the context in which a computer system may function, including its interactions with people and the physical world.
5. Problem-solving skills: Graduates will be able to apply the knowledge they have gained to solve real problems. They will realize that there are multiple solutions to a given problem and that selecting among them is not a purely technical activity, as these solutions will have a real impact on people’s lives. Graduates will be able to communicate their solution to others, including why and how a solution solves the problem and what assumptions were made.
6. Project experience: Graduates will have been involved in at least one substantial software development project, requiring evaluation of potential solutions, work on a larger scale, integration of modules, and providing opportunities to develop their interpersonal communication skills.
7. Commitment to life-long learning: Graduates will realize that the computing field advances at a rapid pace and that they must continue to learn and adapt their skills throughout their careers. To develop this ability, students will be exposed to multiple programming languages, tools, and technologies as well as the fundamental underlying principles throughout their course of study.

At the completion of their degrees in Applied Computing students will be able to:

1. Apply knowledge of computing and mathematics appropriate to solve a variety of software development problems of moderate difficulty
2. Analyze a problem, and identify and define the computing requirements appropriate to its solution
3. Design, implement, and evaluate a computer-based system, process, component, or program to meet desired needs
4. Function effectively on teams to accomplish a common goal
5. Understand professional, ethical, legal, security and social issues and responsibilities as they apply to computing
6. Communicate effectively ideas and computer-based solutions with a range of audiences

Minor Program Information:

• Minor in Computer Scienceopens PDF file
• Minor in Computer Science Digital Mediaopens PDF file
• Minor in Computer Science Informaticsopens PDF file
• Minor in Computer Science Securityopens PDF file
• Minor in Computer Science Web Developmentopens PDF file

To learn more about the Applied Computing degree, please follow the links below

• Catalog entry
• Computer Science department website
• Macricostas School of Arts and Sciences