Program Overview

Computer Science Undergraduate Certificate

Overview

This certificate targets students who are working on or possess an undergraduate degree in a technical (science or engineering) field but lack a formal credential in the computer science field. The certificate also targets students who have shown an aptitude for graduate study but do not have the academic prerequisites required for admittance into a graduate MS computer science program.

Admissions

Students must have two semesters of calculus (equivalent to MATH 113 Analytic Geometry and Calculus I (Mason Core) and MATH 114 Analytic Geometry and Calculus II), two semesters of programming experience (equivalent to CS 112 Introduction to Computer Programming (Mason Core) and CS 211 Object-Oriented Programming), and either a bachelor’s degree with at least a 3.00 GPA or current enrollment in an undergraduate major.

Policies

For policies governing all undergraduate programs, see AP.5 Undergraduate Policies.

Certificate Requirements

Total credits: 28

This certificate may be pursued on a full-time basis only.

Basic Computer Science

• CS 262: Introduction to Low-Level Programming (3 credits)
• CS 310: Data Structures (3 credits)
• CS 330: Formal Methods and Models (3 credits)
• CS 367: Computer Systems and Programming (4 credits)
• CS 471: Operating Systems (3 credits)
• CS 483: Analysis of Algorithms (3 credits) Total Credits: 19

Mathematics

• MATH 125: Discrete Mathematics I (Mason Core) (3 credits) Total Credits: 3

Additional Coursework

• Complete two of the following:
  • CS 321: Software Engineering (Mason Core)
  • CS 351: Visual Computing
  • CS 425: Game Programming I
  • CS 440: Compilers
  • CS 450: Database Concepts
  • CS 451: Computer Graphics
  • CS 452: Virtual Reality
  • CS 455: Computer Communications and Networking
  • CS 463: Comparative Programming Languages
  • CS 465: Computer Systems Architecture
  • CS 468: Secure Programming and Systems
  • CS 475: Concurrent and Distributed Systems
  • CS 477: Mobile Application Development
  • CS 478: Natural Language Processing
  • CS 480: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
  • CS 482: Computer Vision
  • CS 484: Data Mining
  • CS 485: Autonomous Robotics
  • CS 487: Introduction to Cryptography
  • CS 499: Special Topics in Computer Science 1 Total Credits: 6

At most 3 credits of CS 499 may be taken for this certificate.