Interdisciplinary Major in Computer Science

Interdisciplinary Major in Computer
Science



Congratulations to our 2008 Graduates!
Computer Science Diploma Ceremony, Sunday, May 18, Gilmer Hall Auditorium

Students  |  Alumni  |  BA Committee
Curriculum  |  Course Flowchart  |  Integration Electives  |  Undergraduate Record [PDF]
Application [PDF] [Word]  |  Brochure |  Distinguished Majors Program  |  Degree Information [PDF]
Differences between CS Degrees  |  Computer Science Department  |  News Articles

Starting in Spring 2006, the Computer Science department offers a interdisciplinary major in Computer Science leading to a BA degree for students in the College of Arts & Sciences. We accepted our first group of students in 2006. We held our first graduation ceremony in May 2008.

Computer Science is the study of information processes. Computer scientists learn how to describe information processes, how to reason about and predict properties of information processes, and how to implement information processes elegantly and efficiently in hardware and software. The Computer Science major concentrates on developing the deep understanding of computing and critical thinking skills that will enable graduates to pursue a wide variety of possible fields and to become academic, cultural, and industrial leaders in areas that integrate the arts and sciences with computing. The Computer Science major is designed to provide students entering the University without previous background in computing with an opportunity to major in Computer Science, while taking courses in arts, humanities, and sciences to develop broad understanding of other areas and their connections to computing. Computing connects closely with a wide range of disciplines including, but not limited to, the visual arts, music, life sciences including biology and cognitive science, the physical sciences, linguistics, mathematics, and the social sciences. The core curriculum focuses on developing methods and tools for describing, implementing, and analyzing information processes and for managing complexity including abstraction, specification, and recursion.

The Computer Science interdisciplinary major is administered by a Computer Science BA Committee, composed of faculty from the College and the Computer Science Department. The committee is responsible for the degree curriculum, student advising, and deciding on exceptions to the major requirements.

After declaring the major, students are assigned two advisors: a primary advisor from the Computer Science department (who will be the contact point for approval signatures) and a secondary advisor from Arts and Sciences.

For information about the major, or to be added to an email list for further announcements, contact David Evans (evans@cs.virginia.edu), Director of the Undergraduate Program.

News

11 November 2009 — There are two new courses being offered this Spring that would count as integration electives:
  • HIST 4501: From Vellum to Very Large Databases: Historical Sources Past, Present, and Future (Course Page)
  • MDST 3703: An Introduction to the Digital Liberal Arts (this is not officially listed in SIS yet, but we expect it to be offered this Spring).
24 October 2009 — The course formerly known as CS230 is offered in Spring 2010 as ECE 2330 (Digital Logic Design). This is the same course as CS 2330. Previously, the courses were cross-listed, but apparently SIS is not able to support cross-listed courses, so it is only listed as ECE2330 this spring. This course is the prerequisite for the required Computer Architecture (CS 3330) course. ECE 2330 will count as a CS elective for BACS students.

8 September 2009 — STAT 2120 has been added to the list of Integration Electives.

16 December 2008 — Congratulations to two BACS students who have won research awards!

Sara Alspaugh won the ACM Best Undergraduate Student Poster award a SuperComputing 2008 for her poster on Policy-Driven Data Management for Distributed Scientific Collaborations Using a Rule Engine.

Rachel Miller was a finalist for the 2009 CRA Outstanding Undergraduate Award, a national award recognizing "undergraduate students in North American universities who show outstanding research potential in an area of computing research".

15 October 2008 — The Distinguished Majors Program is now open. Prof. Westley Weimer is director of the DMP.

13 August 2008 — David Evans will be away on sabattical for the 2008-2009 academic year. Tom Horton is Director of the BACS program for 2008-2009.

16 April 2008 — MATH 215 (Mathematical Explorations) has been added to the list of intergration electives. (Note that this course is only open to second year courses.)

26 October 2007 — STAT 533 (Data Mining/Machine Learning) has been added to the list of integration electives.

We graduated our first three majors in 2007: Megan Hicks, Jonathan Morgan, and Wayne Warner.

CS Day Poster (large PPT file), 28 February 2006.
The Cavalier Daily. College to offer new Computer Science major. 27 February 2006.

23 April 2006 — MUSI 239 (Introduction to Music Technology) has been addded to the list of intergration electives. (Thanks to Andre Steele for the suggestion.)

30 October 2006 — ECE 200 (Science of Information) has been added to the list of integration electives. (Thanks to Ian Redd for the suggestion.)

30 November 2006 — ECON 402 (Auction Theory and Practice) has been added to the list of integration electives.

Computer Science Major
University of Virginia
 evans@cs.virginia.edu