I love programming because it is incredibly versatile. Coming here I got to learn
a lot of different programming languages and pick and choose which ones I like.
The B.S. in Computer Science gives you the broad computational thinking, programming,
and problem-solving skills you’ll need to succeed as a computing professional in a
range of emerging careers and industries — from automated vehicles to biomedical devices
and sensor-based technologies.
The Department of Computer Science offers a comprehensive curriculum that favors a
pragmatic, problem-solving approach to computing. The program builds upon a mathematically
rigorous foundation, while challenging you with physics, chemistry, and other sciences
to round out your ability to frame problems and think analytically.
Problem Solving the Next Big Thing
Whether you select from one of three concentrations (game development and simulation,
cyber-security, software engineering) or choose from advance topics, you will graduate
with a comprehensive foundation that enables you to adapt to new disruptive technologies
and changing demand.
Concentrations in Computer Science
Advanced Topics
Students can design their own four-course concentration within the major based on
their personal academic and professional pursuits. This unique combination of courses
works in concert with other co- and extra-curricular activities, including research
experiences, internships, and a wide variety of opportunities in our student organizations.
Advanced Topics offers the student the flexibility in curriculum choices to grow with
their changing interests as they look forward to graduation, graduate school, and
their professional endeavors.
Interest Areas
Advanced Concepts in Built-In Self-TestNeural NetworksWafer-Scale Integration
Big Data Analytics
Students in Big Data Analytics learn to collect, manage, and optimize large-scale
structured and unstructured data sets to facilitate information and decision-making.
Students in Big Data Analytics develop a strong foundation in essential programming
skills, quantitative analysis, and hardware and software solutions for facilitating
effective use of big data. Interests Areas
Interest Areas
Data Mining and Statistical AnalysisCloud and Distributed ComputingMarket-Related Data Analytics
Game Development and Simulation
Game Development and Simulation is an interdisciplinary concentration that applies
the rigor of computer science to the creative challenges of game development. With
a core curriculum in computing, mathematics, and science, this concentration combines
advanced technical skills with training in the visual arts to prepare students to
develop innovations in digital gaming.
With the increasing footprint of networked businesses, embedded computers, and global
conflict, the demand is increasing for individuals to help protect and monitor security
measures against hackers and breaches. The cybersecurity concentration focuses on
information assurance and computer security and will provide you with hands-on experience
designing systems and strategies for safeguarding information.
Interest Areas
Security AnalyticsCryptographerDigital Forensics
Intelligent Mobility and Autonomous Systems
Students focusing on intelligent mobility and autonomous systems learn programming,
hardware, and security for use in complex networks or collections of networks. Autonomous
systems increasingly run our workplaces, vehicles, and even our homes.
Interest Areas
Autonomous OperationsData Processing and ManagementSensor Network Technologies
Software Engineering
Software engineers apply the principles of effective management of software teams.
This growing field includes orchestration of application software engineers who create
and maintain computer applications, and systems software engineers who analyze the
client’s technical needs and develop and maintain optimal solutions. Because nearly
all employment sectors rely on complex software solutions, software engineering is
one of the fastest-growing occupations in the world.
While computer scientists work across every industry, two — transportation and logistics,
and finance — provide good examples of how a B.S. in Computer Science degree will
always be relevant, and why you might want to further specialization as you advance
through your career.
Job Growth
The US Department of Labor anticipates that employment of computer scientists will
remain strong, predicting that the three STEM jobs with the most growth will all be
in computing:
22,000 new software development jobs each year
12,500 new systems analysts jobs each year
11,000 new computing support jobs each year
Salary Ranges
Software developersearned anaverage salaryof $108,080 in 2018. Comparable jobs earned the followingaverage salaryin 2018: IT managers made $152,860, computer network architects made $111,130, computer
systems analysts made $93,610, and computer programmers made $89,580.
Computer Science Stats
At Florida Poly we’re educating the next generation of STEM leaders.
#1
Ranked by job site Glassdoor for undergraduate majors ranked by median base salary
($70,000).
10
Top identified skills according to LinkedIn researchers were all computer skills,
including expertise in cloud computing, data mining and statistical analysis, and
writing smartphone applications.
73%
Of growth in STEM jobs will be in computer occupations according to a study by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Florida Poly faculty researcher Karim Elish is the lead author of a paper recently
published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing about malware collusion
in Android devices. He is working to identify ways to determine which seemingly innocuous
apps become malicious when paired with others on a device.
The technique we developed is based on static analysis. We analyze the source code
or the byte code of the apps and try to extract some kind of features that distinguish
the malware collusion from the regular benign apps."
Co-authors of the research paper are Haipeng Cal, a faculty member at Washington State
University; Daniel Barton, a software engineer at Lockheed Martin; Danfeng Yao, a
faculty member at Virginia Tech; and Barbara Ryder, emerita faculty member at Virginia
Tech.
Make Your Passion a Career
We're here to give you the resources to land your dream internship, work alongside
faculty in groundbreaking research, and to develop leadership skills to stand out
in the workplace.
Conduct research along side faculty that is improving lives and changing businesses,
with impact ranging from local Lakeland community to the outer-reaches of space.
We understand the importance of feeling prepared, and we are committed to your success
here and beyond. That's why we have resources to support you in your continued career
development.
Get Involved Outside the Classroom
We have an active student organization community with more than 35 clubs that vary
based on specific academic interests, professional development, and activities just
for fun.
Programming Club
Florida Poly’s Programming Club is a place where people with an appreciation of programming
and any level of skill can go and learn and have fun.
Purple Fire Robotics
Students focus on building Combat, VEX, and other robotics and entering them in competitions
around the region and across the nation. The Purple Fire Robotics team welcomes students
of all skill levels to join.
Program Requirements
Your future as a trusted professional and confident problem solver begins with some
essential skills. Your General Education courses give you:
Critical Thinking Skills…so that you can both make and follow a reasoned argument
and develop habits of organized thinking and rational analysis.
Communication Skills…so that you can translate thoughts into words (spoken and written)
and make the complex simple.
Exposure to Arts/Humanities and Social/Behavioral Sciences … so that you see all problems
in their larger human context.
Mathematical Reasoning…so that you find and follow the quantitative thread connecting
all scientific inquiry.
Scientific Reasoning…so that you can apply the scientific method to phenomenon big
and small.
Your B.S. in Computer Sciencerequires 120 credits— typically 15 credits across eight semesters. You will complete 12 general education
credits (Arts/Humanities and Social Science).
Click here for your completeplan of studyfor the B.S. in Computer Science.
Click here for your completeprogram descriptionfor the B.S. in Computer Science.
Click here for your completedegree plannerfor the BS in Business Analytics.
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