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A model curriculum for a liberal arts degree in computer science

Authors:

Norman E. Gibbs,

Allen B. TuckerAuthors Info & Claims

Communications of the ACM, Volume 29, Issue 3

Pages 202 - 210

https://doi.org/10.1145/5666.5667

Published: 01 March 1986 Publication History

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Abstract

This report proposes developing a rigorous undergraduate curriculum for a B.A.-degree program in computer science. The curriculum is intended as a model not only for high-quality undergraduate colleges and universities, but also for larger universities with strong computer science programs in a liberal arts setting.

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Cited By

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Guzdial MEvrard A(2023)Identifying the Computing Education Needs of Liberal Arts and Sciences Students (Discussion Paper)Proceedings of the 23rd Koli Calling International Conference on Computing Education Research10.1145/3631802.3631805(1-7)Online publication date: 13-Nov-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3631802.3631805
Mayhew EPatitsas EDoyle MStephenson BDorn BSoh LBattestilli L(2023)Critical Pedagogy in Practice in the Computing ClassroomProceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3545945.3569840(1076-1082)Online publication date: 2-Mar-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3545945.3569840
Holland-Minkley ABarnard JBarr VBraught GDavis JReed DSchmitt KTartaro ATeresco JDoyle MStephenson BDorn BSoh LBattestilli L(2023)Computer Science Curriculum GuidelinesProceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3545945.3569793(617-623)Online publication date: 2-Mar-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3545945.3569793
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A model curriculum for a liberal arts degree in computer science

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Reviews

Reviewer: John J. Hirschfelder

The authors propose a curriculum for a B.A. degree in computer science suitable for use in small four-year liberal arts institutions with limited personnel and laboratory resources. The curriculum is based on a small core of theoretical courses, preceded by two introductory courses and followed by electives emphasizing applications. The curriculum is contrasted with ACM's “Curriculum '78” [1], which tends to introduce applications early and theory later. The two introductory courses are similar to the CS1 and CS2 courses of Curriculum '78, with CS1 covering programming in a block-structured high level language with procedural and data abstraction, and CS2 emphasizing algorithm design and data structures. The core courses, to follow CS2, are Principles of Computer Organization, Algorithms, Theory of Computation, and Principles of Programming Languages. Ten specific electives, all requiring the core as prerequisites, are suggested. Only two semesters of mathematics are required, one course in discrete mathematics, and a second semester of calculus, linear algebra, or advanced discrete mathematics. The proposed mathematics requirement is extremely light; the employability of a computer science major with no knowledge of calculus or linear algebra is questionable. Staffing plans and course scheduling in the context of a department of only three or four members are also addressed.

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Information

Published In

Communications of the ACM Volume 29, Issue 3

The MIT Press scientific computation series

March 1986

71 pages

ISSN:0001-0782

EISSN:1557-7317

DOI:10.1145/5666

Editor:
Peter J. Denning

Issue’s Table of Contents

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Association for Computing Machinery

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Publication History

Published: 01 March 1986

Published in CACM Volume 29, Issue 3

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https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3631802.3631805
Mayhew EPatitsas EDoyle MStephenson BDorn BSoh LBattestilli L(2023)Critical Pedagogy in Practice in the Computing ClassroomProceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3545945.3569840(1076-1082)Online publication date: 2-Mar-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3545945.3569840
Holland-Minkley ABarnard JBarr VBraught GDavis JReed DSchmitt KTartaro ATeresco JDoyle MStephenson BDorn BSoh LBattestilli L(2023)Computer Science Curriculum GuidelinesProceedings of the 54th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education V. 110.1145/3545945.3569793(617-623)Online publication date: 2-Mar-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3545945.3569793
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Baldwin DHolland-Minkley ABraught G(2019)Report of the SIGCSE committee on computing education in liberal arts collegesACM Inroads10.1145/331402710:2(22-29)Online publication date: 25-Apr-2019
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Abstract

References

Cited By

Index Terms

Recommendations

Case Studies of Liberal Arts Computer Science Programs

An interdisciplinary undergraduate science informatics degree in a liberal arts context

An interdisciplinary undergraduate science informatics degree in a liberal arts context

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