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Bachelor of Science

Computer Science

 
Concentrations

 

 

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.
Melia Rodriguez '24
Computer Science

 

Learn to Disrupt and Adapt to Change

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. 

Program Highlights

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. 
computer science

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
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 Concentration
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
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. 
Interest Areas
Virtual RealitySystem DevelopmentSoftware Engineering
Cybersecurity
Information Assurance and Cybersecurity
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 Concentration
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 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. 
Interest Areas
Computing TheoryProduct EngineeringQuality Assurance

Careers in Computer Science

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.
Dark skinned female looking at a computer.

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
Job salary

Salary Ranges

Software developers earned an average salary of $108,080 in 2018. Comparable jobs earned the following average salary in 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.
 

 


Meet the Faculty

Assistant Professor - 9
Assistant Professor - 9
Assistant Professor - 9

 

Computer Science Research with an Impact

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.
Research.
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."
Karim Elish
Assistant Professor of Computer Science
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.  
Light skinned female in NASA t-shirt.
Internships are an important part of setting up you up for success after college and are a requirement for you to graduate. 
Two men pointing at a screen.
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. 
Light skinned male smiling wearing glasses.
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

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

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 Science requires 120 credits — typically 15 credits across eight semesters. You will complete 12 general education credits (Arts/Humanities and Social Science).

Click here for your complete plan of study for the B.S. in Computer Science.

Click here for your complete program description for the B.S. in Computer Science.

Click here for your complete degree planner for the BS in Business Analytics. 

Ready to be a Phoenix? Learn about our admissions requirements. 

 

Computer Science in the News

 

Want to be a Phoenix? Get in touch with Admissions.