Applied Computing
Our Bachelor of Arts in applied computing is an ideal degree for students with both the desire to develop application-based computer science skills and acquire a broad set of practical and highly marketable skills. As a student of applied computing, you will take in-depth computer science classes, along with allied field coursework. Whether you choose to focus on emergent digital practices, learning how to use new digital tools for expression or a media, film studies and journalism theme, you'll be prepared with a flexible set of skills to enter any number of in-demand careers.
The collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of the BA in applied computing means that you have the flexibility to add a minor or a second major. Our BA in digital media studies is particularly complementary with this degree, but it can also pair well with degrees ranging from business to studio art. Graduates of the program find career opportunities in fields like graphic design, web development and systems administration.
The bachelor of arts in applied computing (BA in AC) provides a quality education for the serious computer user. It complements the department's bachelor of science in computer science by providing a program that combines collaboration with other departments and an applications-oriented emphasis.
The BA in applied computing provides a computer science foundation suitable for interdisciplinary collaborations in other disciplines. The degree is ideal for students interested in combing computing with other disciplines such as digital art and design, media, bioinformatics, computational science, psychology or business. Most of our BA majors double major in another discipline. A graduate with a BA in applied computing would be attractive to any employer who wants both computational and other disciplinary skills.
For the graduating class of 2018, computer science majors are projected to be one of the top-paid degrees at the bachelor’s degree level.
Featured Courses
COMP 3723
Ethical Hacking
About this Course
Ethical hacking is the process of probing computer systems for vulnerabilities and exposing their presence through proof-of-concept attacks. The results of such probes are then utilized in making the system more secure. This course will cover the basics of vulnerability research, foot printing targets, discovering systems and configurations on a network, sniffing protocols, firewall hacking, password attacks, privilege escalation, rootkits, social engineering attacks, web attacks, and wireless attacks, among others. Prerequisites: COMP3361
COMP 3831
Game Capstone I
About this Course
Students design, build, test and debug a fully working game from scratch. Both art and programming are developed by the student teams with the instructor acting as a project manager to ensure that goals are met through the 10-week development process through various milestones. In addition to building the game, students learn group collaboration, software processes, testing, and the methodology for researching new game concepts to implement in their final project. Prerequisite: COMP 3821.
COMP 3432
Machine Learning
About this Course
This course will give an overview of machine learning techniques, their strengths and weaknesses, and the problems they are designed to solve. This will include the broad differences between supervised, unsupervised and reinforcement learning and associated learning problems such as classification and regression. Techniques covered, at the discretion of the instructor, may include approaches such as linear and logistic regression, neural networks, support vector machines, kNN, decision trees, random forests, Naive Bayes, EM, k-Means, and PCA. After taking the course, students will have a working knowledge of these approaches and experience applying them to learning problems. Enforced Prerequisites: COMP 2370 and COMP 2355.
Application Information
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