Department of Computer Science

Mission Statement

The Department of Computer Science supports the university mission of being a student-centered research university by fostering discovery and intellectual growth through the traditional activities of education, research, and service, with stated missions in each of these areas.

• Education Mission: To provide excellence in teaching and education, providing rigorous undergraduate and graduate programs that produce graduates who have the theoretical foundation and technical skills to become productive professionals and/or to contribute to research in computer science, and supporting general liberal education through courses for non-majors that promote critical thinking and skills for life in a technical and information-based society.
• Research Mission: To contribute to the creation and dissemination of ideas through research and scholarly activities, such as publication of original research, presentations at scholarly meetings, and participation in externally funded research projects, in the context of a program which values the academic freedom of faculty to set their own research directions in basic or applied research.
• Service Mission: To support the university and computer science profession through participation in activities, committees, and policy making.

In Support of Our Mission...

The Computer Science department offers programs leading to undergraduate (B.S.) and graduate (M.S.) degrees in Computer Science. The B.S. program is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org/ (ABET is the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology). The courses in the department are designed to teach the foundations of computing rather than a particular technology, so that the student is prepared to change with changing technology. Courses use a variety of programming languages, with introductory courses using Java and further coursework that can include C++, Prolog, PHP, and other languages. A variety of platforms, including both Windows and Unix/Linux machines are used in coursework. The faculty of the department are active in research. The department has approximately 200 students pursuing a degree in one of the following programs:

Undergraduate	Graduate
BS in Computer Science Computer Science minor	MS in Computer Science

The job market in computer science is strong. A student completing a bachelor's degree with good grades can expect job offers in the range $40,000 to $48,000 as a systems programmer or analyst, applications programmer, systems support staff member, technical staff member, or similar position. A computer science student completing a master's degree can expect job offers in the $50,000 to $75,000 range for senior level system programmer or analyst positions. Masters students who choose to continue their education experience will find the program here at UNCG a well respected platform for entry into the PhD programs at other universities.

Department History

The Department of Computer Science was created in 2006 when the Department of Mathematical Sciences was split into two units: the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the Department of Computer Science. While the department is relatively new as an administrative unit, the courses and degree programs are high quality and mature, with a B.S. program offered since 1991 and an M.S. degree program offered since 1998. Computer science courses existed for over a decade prior to that as part of a computer science concentration within the mathematics B.S. degree. Department faculty have been with UNCG for as many as 20 years, giving continuity to instructional and research activities.