The B.S. degree program requires successful completion of fourteen term courses (not including courses taken to satisfy prerequisites) and the senior project. Nine of the fourteen courses are listed below; the remaining five courses are electives. With permission of the DUS and the academic adviser, a student may substitute a more advanced course in the same area as a required course. When a substitution is made, the advanced course counts toward the nine required courses and not toward the five electives.
The required courses include CPSC 2010; CPSC 2230; CPSC 3230; CPSC 3650 or 3660; ECON 2121 or 2125; two courses in econometrics (ECON 1117 and 2123 or ECON 2135 and 2136); ECON 3351 or CPSC 4550; one course in the intersection of computer science and economics (e.g., CPSC 4550, CPSC 4740, ECON 4417, 4433, 4486, 4441, 4435, or 4478). With permission of the DUS, S&DS 2410 and 2420 may be taken instead of ECON 2135.
Elective courses are essentially those courses that count as electives in the Computer Science major, the Economics major, or both. Exceptions are courses such as CPSC 4550, ECON 4417, and ECON 4433 in the intersection of computer science and economics that count as electives in CPSC or ECON or both. At least one such course is required for CSEC, and students may not count the same course as an elective for CSEC. At least two electives must be taken in the CPSC department, and at least one must be taken in the ECON department. With the permission of the academic adviser, a student may use as the fourth and/or fifth elective one or two courses in related departments that do not usually serve as electives in CPSC or ECON.
Credit/D/Fail: Courses taken Credit/D/Fail may not be counted toward the major.
Outside Credit: Courses taken at another institution or during an approved summer or term-time study abroad program may count toward the major requirements with DUS approval.
Senior Requirement: In the senior year, each student must complete CSEC 4910, a one-term independent-project course that explicitly combines both techniques and subject matter from computer science and economics. A project proposal must be approved by the student’s academic adviser and project adviser, and it must be signed by the DUS by the end of the third week of the term.
Distinction in the Major: Computer Science and Economics majors may earn Distinction in the Major if they receive grades of A or A– in at least three quarters of their courses in the major (not including courses taken to satisfy prerequisites), and their senior-project advisers determine that their senior projects are worthy of distinction.