CS Revision 2026 #
v2 compromise #
- Intermediate programming is 3 credits, 2 + 1 lab.
- New course: Secure Web Development (3xxx, 3 credits)
- Prereq: Intermediate Programmming
- Postgreq: Software Engineering, Senior Project
- Students work in teams.
- To build a web app with a modern framework (e.g. Next.js)
- Using an SQL database
- Deployed to public cloud providers (e.g. Vercel, Prisma)
- With a focus on common security issues
- This is intended to be a required IT and Cybersec course, with the intentional design of major-mixed teams.
- Short term compromise: Cross-list with existing web dev course. CS majors then will have one more programming course.
- Fundamentals remains 3 credits.
- Covers SQL basics
- Weeks 2 and 3 of SQL DBs go to Web Dev
- Systems Programming in C remains 2 credits (blargh)
Other program impacts:
- All: Computing Fundamentals unnests; should still recommend taking it first for IT & Cybersec
- Robotics: AI now has Intermediate Programming as Prereq, not Algo
- IT & Cybersec: Need to keep DB until they require Intermediate Programming
v1 #
Changes:
- Fundamentals Changes Drastically
- Not a prereq for cs2370, but may be a prereq for later courses.
- Doesn’t cover circuits
- Does cover files, CLI usage, and other domain basics.
- Covers some short topics from ACM core: DB, Networking
- Intermediate Programming
- Data structures isn’t in the name
- Still cover using lists, maps.
- Needs to cover short topics from ACM core: Graphics, HCI
- Algorithms
- Data structures is in the name
- Operating Systems
- Requires C Programming, Not Architecture
- Databases: Gone (-4 credits)
- Calc 2 -> Calc Stats, Basic Stats Gone (-4 credits)
- Added AI (+3)
- Added Programming Languages (also acts as “Advanced Programming”) (+3)
- Still need to clean up credit numbers.
Tweaking Credits
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Systems Programming wants to be 3 credits, we can add “And security” if we must.
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That leaves us 1 credit.
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But Elman wants Web Dev & DB.
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Fundamentals could be 2 credits (1 + 1 lab).
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Algo could conceptually be 3 credits (2 + 1 lab); some of the overflow could get pushed into Theory of Computation.
Implications for RB, CY, IT
- Fundamentals is no longer pre-req for Intro to Programming
- Still may recommend it comes first in course sequence.
- Databases still exists: It’s an IT / CY only course.
- Robotics already requires AI; now we can definitely run it.
Still Want To
- Figure out 3-year IT, minimizing unique courses.
- See what more overlap we can get between the four majors.
- Stare more closely at what the math reqs are between majors:
- Can we offer low-math CS, or high math CY, or similar?
- Do the math reqs for CS/RB want to be the same?
