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CIS Major

Effective Fall 2009

General Information

Computer Science is a vast source of intellectual challenges, from understanding the fundamental mathematics of computational complexity to designing the next generation of Internet protocols to organizing and distributing vast stores of genomics data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that software development will be the fastest growning field in the next decade, and eight of the ten fastest growing occupations will be in information technology. The UO CIS major provides the kind of broad, comprehensive education that prepares graduates to adapt to future opportunites and to create them.

The CIS major includes internal and interdisciplinary tracks to prepare our students for future careers in this rapidly changing field. We offer four interdisciplinary tracks in collaboration with the Lundquist College of Business, the Department of Art, and the Department of Biology. Three internal tracks highlight the strengths of our leading-edge research faculty.

Degree Checklist

To obtain a computer science degree, you must complete the following steps.

You need not complete all steps in order, but you should carefully plan all steps at the outset of your academic career. As a CIS student, it is essential that you meet with your advisor to be sure that you are satisfying your major requirements. Advising hours may be obtained from the department's main office, 120 Deschutes Hall. You should also work with Academic Advising make sure you are satisfying your general university requirements.

General University Requirements

To earn a bachelor's degree, you must satisfy general university requirements as stated in the UO Bulletin for the year you entered the UO. In addition, you must satisfy the specific CIS major requirements that are in effect at the time you are admitted to that program. Since the major requirements change over time, you must be careful to adhere to the requirements in effect at the time of admission to the program as a CIS major.

The College of Arts and Sciences awards both Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degrees to students who major in CIS. In general, if you fulfill the CIS major requirements, you will automatically qualify for a B.S. degree. To qualify for the B.A. degree, you must also fulfill the College of Arts and Science's language requirement.

Lower-Division Requirements

Before you begin the taking CIS Core Requirments, you must have completed one Computer Science sequence and one Mathematics sequence from the following.

Lower-Division Computer Science Sequences

  • CIS 210, 211 and 212 Computer Science I, II and III.
  • CS 161, 162 Computer Science I, II, CS 260 Data Structures from an Oregon Community College.
  • CS 161, 162 Computer Science I, II, CS 261 Data Structures from Oregon State University.

Lower-Division Mathematics Sequences

  • MATH 231, 232, 233 Discrete Math.
  • MATH 251, 252, 253 Calculus from an Oregon Community College.

Students completing the Computer Science sequence at the UO, must take the Discrete Math courses as part of their lower-division requirements. A calculus sequence is also required to graduate in CIS, and you should consider taking it early in your education.

You must achieve a grade of B- or better in each of these lower-division courses in enroll in CIS 313 or 314. If you achieve a GPA of 2.60 or better in all six courses, but receive a grade of C-, C or C+ in some courses, you will be allowed to enroll in CIS 313 and CIS 314 provided you have met with your advisor. Please see Cheri at the front desk for the necessary paperwork. You may retake Lower-Division courses once, but all earned grades are used to compute your GPA.

Additional information is available for students coming from Oregon community colleges.

Major and Track Requirements

To be elligible for a B.S. or B.A. in Computer and Information Science, you must meet the major requirements for CIS Core classes, and complete an interdisciplinary or traditional CIS track. Note that the Foundations track is identical to the major requirements listed in the 2005-2006 University Bulletin. The department offers the following choices for CIS track.

Traditional Tracks

Interdisciplinary Tracks

All required coursework must be completed with a grade of C- or Pass or better. Unless otherwise indicated, all coursework used to satisfy the major requirements must be taken graded.

If you receive two grades below C- in the fundamental or upper-division core, you will be removed from the major.

Major Progress Review Form:

You are required to meet with your advisor and file the Major Progress Review form after completing 8 to 12 credits of the Fundamental Core courses. If you have not already done so, you must specify your track at that time.

Petitions

Exceptions or modifications to departmental requirements may be requested via written petition to the Undergraduate Education Committee. It is expected that you will have discussed the matter with your advisor.

Some matters do not require a petition, but must be handled exceptionally. These include, but are not limited to:

  • The automated prerequisite checker is unable to recognize the formal prerequisite for CIS 313 and 314, namely a 2.60 GPA in Introduction to Computer Science and Discrete Math. Therefore, it substitutes a grade check. If you pass the GPA requirement, but fail the grade check, you must come to 120 Deschutes - see Cheri to override the prerequisite checker and allow you to register.
  • If you transferred from a community college that does not offer 3 terms of Discrete Mathematics, you will be given the opportunity to make this up as you take the foundational courses. Please talk to Cheri in person about how you must accomplish this. In particular, the automated prerequisite checker may not allow you to register for CIS 313 and 314 until Cheri has overridden it.

Prerequisites

Admission to a given CIS course requires completion, with a grade of C- or better, of all the prerequisites listed in the UO General Bulletin. CIS 399 and CIS 410 courses taken prior to completion of stated prerequisite will result in course not counting toward elective requirements. Waiver of a prerequisite is possible only through petition to the Undergraduate Education Committee.