The objective of the undergraduate program in computer science is to produce graduates with:

1. A thorough understanding of and ability to apply the core principles and practices of computing;
2. The professional skills to meet the immediate needs of regional and other employers, while being able to adapt to rapidly changing technology;
3. A foundation in the supporting areas of communication, science, and mathematics;
4. An understanding of ethical responsibilities in the social context in which their contributions occur;
5. The motivation and preparation to engage in life-long learning, including entering advanced degree programs in computer science.

To achieve these objectives students should master the following expected competencies (learning-based outcomes).

A. Knowledge
Students should acquire knowledge of:

1. Computing at all levels of abstraction, including: (a) Circuits and computer architecture; (b) Operating systems; (c) Programming languages, and (d) Algorithms.
2. The management and sharing of persistent data.
3. The interdependence of hardware and software.
4. Engineering principles used to meet the challenge of large-scale software production.
5. Mathematical foundations of computer science.
6. The impact of computing on society.
7. The ethical and legal responsibilities of computing professionals.

B. Skills
Students should acquire the ability to:

1. Develop program specifications from a variety of informal descriptions.
2. Develop program designs from specifications under a variety of software paradigms/architectures.
3. Use analytical techniques to evaluate and compare different designs that meet specifications.
4. Adapt algorithms and data structures drawn from a large standard repertoire to new problems.
5. Implement selected designs as programs in a variety of programming languages.
6. Debug and test programs.
7. Perform quantitative evaluation of program behavior by experiment.
8. Assess new developments in computer science.
9. Present the results of their work orally.
10. Present the results of their work as written technical documents.
11. Communicate with other members of development teams and with customers.

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