Department of

Computer Science
Undergraduate Degree
Program
Overview

Main points:
1.Computer Science is a good career
choice
2.The Kent State University Department of
Computer Science provides excellent
preparation for a career in Computer
Science

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Computer Science vs. Management
Information Science
 Computer science is  Information
programming Technology is
intensive organization related
 Involves applications
 system architecture  business related
 software engineering  organizational
 application automation
programming
 hardware
 theory

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Careers – Graduating Bachelors

 Software  Internet Engineering

Development  Web Development
 Software  Systems
Engineering Administration
 Database  Network
Administration Administration
 Database  Information
Programming Technology

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Job Prospects in CS
 Dot-com bust did not reduce the demand
 Outsourcing is mainly in lower level help
desk jobs. More jobs are being created
 Job prospects are very bright
 2004-2014, 71% of new jobs in science and
engineering will be for computer specialists
 59% of new jobs plus net replacements

 US universities will graduate half this amount

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 New Jobs – Labor Department
Projected Science & Engineering Job Creation
(new jobs, 2004–2014)

Engineers 15%

Social Scientists 7%

Life Scientists 4%
Physical Scientists 2%
Mathematical Scientists 1%

Computer Specialists 71%

US Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2005

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 Projected Science & Engineering Job Openings
Job Prospects ( New + Replacement )
(new jobs plus net replacements, 2004–2014)

Engineers 22%

Social Scientists 9% 59%

Computer Specialists 59%

Life Scientists 4%
Physical Scientists 4%
Mathematical Scientists 2%

US Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2005

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Job Demand & Growth
 Computer Science graduates are in top 5 of
demand market (CNN)
 U.S. Department of Labor – Projected to be
top 5 fastest growing occupations (46% over
next 10 years)
 CNN Money says “Software Engineer” is best
job in US
 2700 Software development jobs are currently
unfilled in Northeast Ohio (Northeast Ohio
Workforce Report)

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Employment and Salaries
 75% alumni in Ohio companies such as:
Progressive Insurance, NASA Lewis, Goodyear,
Cisco Systems, Hitachi Medical, Davey Tree, Fed
Ex, Ernst & Young, Philips Medical, Sherwin
Williams, National City Bank, Key Corp, Procter and
Gamble, Lexis-Nexis, Bell and Howell
 Multinational companies such as IBM, Intel
 National labs:
NASA, Oakridge and Lawrence Livermore
 Average Starting Salary ~$50K (2006)
 Earning range $60K - $90K

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KSU CS Degree Programs

 Bachelor of Science

 Minor in Computer Science

 Minor in Web Design and Programming

 Master of Science with thesis option

 Master of Science with course only option

 Doctor of Philosophy

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KSU CS Department Ranking

 National ranking top 60 CS departments

 State ranking top three CS departments
 Best in the Northeast Ohio
 Largest faculty
 Many courses are offered

 Industrial internship is part of the curriculum

 One of the four CS departments in Ohio

funded by Ohio Board of Regents
 100% employment of our graduates
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CS Undergraduate Curriculum

 Aligns with the current ACM & IEEE-CS

curriculum guidelines
 Keeps up with latest industry demands
 through senior year elective courses
 through internships

ACM & IEEE-CS are major professional

organizations that provide curriculum
guidelines for computing programs

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Focus of BS Program

 Integration of theory and system perspective

of computer and software development
 Solid emphasis on software development
 Provide solid foundation essential to keep
pace with rapid change in evolving field
 Keep up with the changing market demands
 Incorporation of new emerging areas through
 senior level elective optional courses
 project oriented courses
 internships in industries
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Flexible Course Structure

 Students take electives in junior/senior

years based upon their interest
 Minors in other fields can broaden a
student's perspectives and marketability
 bioinformatics and biotechnology
 web development and graphics

 mathematics

 business administration

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Teaching and Advising
 Interactive classes around 25 students
 Programming courses taught by Professors/Lecturers
 Coordinators for entry level courses
 Continuous monitoring and assessment of entry level
courses for better coordination
 Graduate students help with labs/ entry level courses
 Junior / Senior level courses taught by Professors
 Evening courses for part-time students
 Opportunity for undergraduate research experience at
junior and senior level
 Professional advisors for undergraduate students
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Work/Study Opportunities during BS

 Internships in industries organized through

department
 Summer internships in national labs such as
 NASA Lewis, Oak Ridge, and Lawrence
Livermore
 Part time employment in local companies
 Work study programs in local industries

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BS Student Research Experience

 An Individual Study course allows

students to work on projects with
professors for elective credit
 Many opportunities for undergraduate
involvement in faculty research projects
 Combined Bachelors/Masters program
 time savings of one or two terms

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Faculty Research Project Areas
 Artificial Intelligence
 Bioinformatics and
application to
biotechnology
 Cluster computing
 Computer graphics and
game Design
 Database and data
mining
 Image processing
 Internet application
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 Multimedia and
programming languages
 Networking, Internet
Engineering, and
distributed sensor
networks
 Software engineering
 Parallel & distributed
systems,
 Visualization
 Web based education
18
Scholarships

Scholarships for qualified Ohio students

 STEM scholarship for undergraduate
research experience
 OBR scholarship for BS/MS students

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Cost Effectiveness of CS Program

 In state tuition is half of private colleges

 Low tuition fee for 12 or more credit hours
 1 - 10 credit hours: $384 / credit hour
 11 and above fixed amount of $ 4215 / semester
 Best CS department in northeast Ohio with in-
state tuition
 Credit transfer within NE Ohio universities
 Transfer from two year colleges possible

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Student Body

 Undergraduate majors: ~250

 Graduation rates (Bachelors): ~35/year
 Most students are full-time (traditional)
and come from NE Ohio

 Masters students: ~100

 Doctoral students: ~40

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Department Faculty & Staff
 Professors: 19 (largest in NE Ohio)
 nationally and international known

 some with industrial experience

 Lecturers: 3
 university wide teaching award winning instructors

 Graduate teaching assistants: ~20

 Adjuncts: ~5
 Systems staff: 3
 Office staff: 3

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Department and Facilities
 Three instructional labs
with 25 computers each
 Class rooms equipped
with projectors
 Gigabit network speed
 Faculty offices equipped
with computers
 All Faculty research labs
have latest state of art
computers

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BS Degree Requirements - 1
 Foundation Courses - 5
 Introduction to Computer Science (4)
 Discrete Structures for Computer Science (3)
 Computer Science I: Programming & Problem Solving (4)
 Computer Science II: Data Structures & Abstraction (3)
 Computer Architecture (3)

 Mathematics Courses - 3
 Calculus I (5)
 Calculus II (5)
 Linear Algebra (3)

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BS Degree Requirements - 2
 Core Upper Division Courses – 8
 Operating Systems (3)
 Structure of Programming Languages (3)
 Social & Ethical Issues (3)
 Algorithms (3)
 Networks (3)
 Databases (3)
 Software Engineering (3)
 Capstone Project (4)

 CS Electives Courses – 5 X 3 credit hours

 Electives can be new selected topics courses to reflect latest
industry demand and new emerging areas

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40000-Level Electives
 Artificial Intelligence  Internship
 Automata Theory  Numerical Computing
 Bioinformatics  Systems Administration
 Compilers  Systems Programming
 Computer architecture  VLSI Design
 Game programming  Web design &
 Graphics Programming
 Human Computer  Special Topics
Interfaces  And others….
 Information Security
 Internet Engineering

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BS Prerequisite Structure

70 credits in Major
+ College requirements

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Student Activities in the Department

 Very active ACM student chapter

 organizes seminars from industry
 teaches popular courses such as Unix and
Linux
 ACM programming competition
 IGDA local chapter

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For More Information

 See our web page:

www.cs.kent.edu

 Email:ugradinfo@cs.kent.edu
 Phone: 330-672-9102

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References
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook

Ohio Labor Market Information

NorTech Technology Workforce Report (pdf)

Money Magazine Sorfware Engineering

Article

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