Computational Biology
Major overview: This degree, offered jointly between the Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Computer Science, prepares students to understand core principles, models, and theories in the fields of biology and computer science and use them strategically to solve key problems in comptuational biology.
Topics covered: Python, biology, genetics, data structures, chemistry, and software design.
Computational Social Science
Major overview: This degree educates students to build, compute, and improve theoretically informed models of social processes, bridging domain and technical expertise. This major will prepare students to understand, engage with, and innovatively solve evolving, complex multi-scale challenges such as climate change, transnational political violence, cybersecurity and privacy, social polarization, and inequality.
Topics covered: Politics, programming, human-centered systems, data analytics, visualization, web tech, social computing, and privacy.
Computer Science
Major overview: This degree introduces you to a scientific and practical approach to computation and its applications. In this degree program, you will learn about the theory, experimentation, and engineering that form the basis for the design and use of computers and will obtain a strong foundation in computer science fundamentals.
Topics covered: Systems, programming languages, theory of computation, algorithms, databases, machine learning, and security.
Data Science
Major Overview: This major allows students to gain critical skill sets that span key areas of statistics, computing, and mathematics, with foundational training that every student needs to master data science. Students will develop expertise that connects theory to the solution of real-world problems, and be able to specialize their studies towards a more specific career focuses. Completing this major will prepare students to work as a data science professional or to pursue graduate study in a direction involving data in a significant way.
Topics covered: Data, algorithms, mathematics, statistics, and modeling.
Digital Narrative and Interactive Design (DNID)
Major overview: This major is offered jointly between the Department of English and the School of Computing and Information. Students learn how to build interactive narrative systems such as games, interactive literature, virtual reality environments, and other interactive media experiences in a variety of fields. Through your course of study, you'll gain a solid foundation in English (writing, composition, film and media studies, and literature), computer science, and information science.
Topics covered: Composition, programming, data structures, storytelling, and interactive media.
Information Science
Major overview: This major teaches you how to look at problems holistically, so you not only understand the technology, but also the needs of the people who will be using it. You will gain critical skills and broad, theoretical knowledge in systems analysis, user needs, programming principles, database systems, networks and more. It’s a degree that opens doors for careers in technology, financial services, health care, judicial systems, private industry, government agencies, education, and communication.
Topics covered: Human-centered systems, wireless and virtual networks, responsive information systems, cybersecurity, data analytics, and system analysis.
Physics and Quantum Computing
Major overview: The physics and quantum computing major is an interdisciplinary degree that equips students with a strong foundation in both classical physics and modern computational techniques, with a particular focus on quantum computation. This major is designed to prepare students to contribute to the rapidly evolving quantum computing industry by bridging the gap between theoretical understanding and practical system development. Students will gain deep knowledge in quantum mechanics, algorithms, and computing systems, and develop the skills to work on cutting-edge problems in academia, research, and industry.
Topics covered: Quantum mechanics, algorithms, computer architecture, discrete mathematics, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, electromagnetism, programming, and quantum computation.