Accreditation

The BS Computer Information Systems program is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the General Criteria and the Information Systems and Similarly Named Computing Programs Criteria.

Learning Outcomes

1. Students will demonstrate an ability to analyze a complex computing problem and to apply principles of computing and other relevant disciplines to identify solutions.
2. Students will demonstrate an ability to design, implement, and evaluate a computing-based solution to meet a given set of computing requirements in the context of the program’s discipline.
3. Communicate effectively in a variety of professional contexts. 
4. Students will demonstrate an ability to recognize professional responsibilities and make informed judgments in computing practice based on legal and ethical principles. 
5. Students will demonstrate an ability to function effectively as a member or leader of a team engaged in activities appropriate to the program’s discipline.
6. Students will demonstrate an ability to support the delivery, use, and management of information systems within an information systems environment. 

Academic Standards

Program GPA

Program GPA requirement policies are described in the College of Engineering and Computing section of this bulletin. For the purpose of these policies, the following courses are used to determine the Program GPA for the Computer Information Systems B.S. program: all Lower Division Computing courses, Computer Information Systems Major courses, Computer Information Systems Electives, CSCE 145, CSCE 390, and MGSC 290.

Exclusions

No Lower Division Computing, Computer Engineering Major, or Computer Engineering Elective course may be counted toward a minor. All other required courses and electives may be used for a minor as appropriate. CSCE 101 and CSCE 102 are not major courses and may not be used for degree credit.

Minimum Course Grades

The Computer Information Systems B.S. program requires that a grade of “C” or better be  earned in each of the following courses: ENGL 101, ENGL 102, MATH 122  or MATH 141, MATH 174  or MATH 374, and all CSCE courses applied to the degree.

Admissions

Entrance Requirements

Admission requirements and processes for freshman, transfer students, and former students seeking readmission are managed by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Transfer applicants from regionally accredited colleges and universities must have a cumulative 2.75 GPA on a 4.00 scale to enter the College of Engineering and Computing.  In addition, transfer applicants for the Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering majors must also have completed a four semester-hour calculus course equivalent to MATH 141 with a grade of “C” or better.  

Current University of South Carolina students who wish to enter the College of Engineering and Computing, and former students seeking readmission, must have an institutional GPA of 2.50 or better on at least 15 hours earned at USC.   In addition, such applicants for the Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering majors must also have completed a four semester-hour calculus course equivalent to MATH 141 with a grade of “C” or better.  

Degree Requirements (120-137 hours)

See College of Engineering and Computing for progression requirements and special academic opportunities.

Program of Study

Program Summary

Requirements	Credit Hours
1. Carolina Core	34-44
2. College Requirements	0
3. Program Requirements	57-59
4. Major Requirements	27-36

Founding Documents Requirement

All undergraduate students must take a 3-credit course or its equivalent with a passing grade in the subject areas of History, Political Science, or African American Studies that covers the founding documents including the United State Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation and one or more documents that are foundational to the African American Freedom struggle, and a minimum of five essays from the Federalist papers.  This course may count as a requirement in any part of the program of study including the Carolina Core, the major, minor or cognate, or as a general elective.  Courses that meet this requirement are listed here.

1. Carolina Core Requirements (34-44 hours)

CMW – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Written (6 hours)

Must be passed with a grade of C or higher.

• ENGL 101
• ENGL 102

ARP – Analytical Reasoning and Problem Solving (7-8 hours) 

Must be passed with a grade of C or higher.

• CSCE 145
• MATH 122 or MATH 141

SCI – Scientific Literacy (8 hours)

• Two 4-credit hour CC-SCI laboratory science courses

GFL – Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Foreign Language  (0-6 hours)

Score two or better on foreign language placement test; or complete the 109 and 110 courses in FREN, GERM, LATN or SPAN; or complete the 121 course in another foreign language.

• CC-GFL courses

GHS – ​Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Historical Thinking (3 hours) 

• any CC-GHS course

GSS – Global Citizenship and Multicultural Understanding: Social Sciences (3 hours) 

• any CC-GSS course

AIU – Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding (3 hours)

• any CC-AIU course

CMS – Effective, Engaged, and Persuasive Communication: Spoken Component¹ (3 hours)

• any CC-CMS course

INF – Information Literacy¹ (0-3 hours)

• any overlay or stand-alone CC-INF course

VSR – Values, Ethics, and Social Responsibility¹ (1 hour)

• CSCE 390 - must be passed with a grade of C or higher

¹

Carolina Core Stand Alone or Overlay Eligible Requirements — Overlay-approved courses offer students the option of meeting two Carolina Core components in a single course. A maximum of two overlays is allowed. The total Carolina Core credit hours for this program must add up to a minimum of 34 hours.

2. College Requirements (0 hours)

No college-required courses for this program.

3. Program Requirements (57-59 hours)

Supporting Courses (39 hours)

Foundational Courses

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
ENGL 462	Technical Writing	3
or ENGL 463	Business Writing
MATH 174	Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science 1	3
or MATH 374	Discrete Structures
STAT 509	Statistics for Engineers	3
or STAT 515	Statistical Methods I
STAT 516	Statistical Methods II	3
Total Credit Hours		12

¹

MATH 174 and MATH 374 must be passed with a grade of C or higher

Liberal Arts Electives (9 hours)

Select from the following:

• AERO 401, AERO 402
• AFAM 201-AFAM 580
• ANTH 101-ANTH 499
• ARMY 401, ARMY 402
• ARTE 101, ARTE 260
• ARTH 105-ARTH 366
• ARTS 103-ARTS 261
• CHIN 103-CHIN 550
• CLAS 220-CLAS 598
• CPLT 150-CPLT 597
• CRJU 101-CRJU 494
• DANC 101-DANC 381
• ECON 123-ECON 499
• ENGL 270-ENGL 499
• FAMS 180-FAMS 597
• FREN 109-FREN 615
• GEOG 103-GEOG 595
• GERM 109-GERM 615
• HIST 101-HIST 692
• ITAL 101-ITAL 615
• JAPA 121-JAPA 500
• LASP 201-LASP 451
• LATN 109-LATN 615
• LING 101-LING 600, but only one of the LING 300, LING 301, and LING 600 can be used
• MART 110-MART 341
• MUSC 110-MUSC 140
• NAVY 401, NAVY 402
• PHIL 101-PHIL 109, PHIL 112-PHIL 598
• POLI 101-POLI 499
• PORT 121-PORT 615
• PSYC 101-PSYC 499
• RELG 101-RELG 552
• RUSS 121-RUSS 616
• SOCY 101-SOCY 499
• SOST 101-SOST 500
• SPAN 109-SPAN 615
• THEA 170-THEA 565
• WGST 112-WGST 555

Lower Division Computing (18 hours)

Must be passed with a grade of C or higher.

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
CSCE 146	Algorithmic Design II	4
CSCE 190	Computing in the Modern World	1
CSCE 201	Introduction to Computer Security	3
CSCE 210	Computer Hardware Foundations	3
CSCE 215	UNIX/Linux Fundamentals	1
CSCE 240	Advanced Programming Techniques	3
CSCE 247	Software Engineering	3
Total Credit Hours		18

Minor in Business Information Management (18 hours)

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
ECON 224	Introduction to Economics	3
ACCT 222	Survey of Accounting	3
MGMT 371	Principles of Management	3
MGSC 290	Computer Information Systems in Business	3
Electives
Select two of the following:		6
ACCT 324	Survey of Commercial Law
ECON 311	Issues in Economics
ECON 379	Government Policy Toward Business
FINA 333	Finance and Markets
IBUS 301	Introduction to International Business
MKTG 350	Principles of Marketing
MGMT 373	Entrepreneurship and New Venture Opportunities
MKTG 351	Consumer Behavior
MGSC 395	Operations Management
Total Credit Hours		18

Elective (0-2 hours)

The CIS curriculum includes 0-2 hours of electives depending on how students fulfill the Carolina Core requirements. Any course in the university can be used to satisfy the elective requirement (including additional electives in the major).

4. Major Requirements (27-36 hours)

Must be passed with a grade of C or higher.

Major Courses (24 hours)

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
CSCE 205	Business Applications Programming	3
or CSCE 242	Web Applications
CSCE 350	Data Structures and Algorithms	3
CSCE 416	Introduction to Computer Networks	3
CSCE 490	Capstone Computing Project I	3
CSCE 492	Capstone Computing Project II	3
CSCE 520	Database System Design	3
CSCE 522	Information Security Principles	3
CSCE 594	Strategic Management of Information Systems	3
Total Credit Hours		24

Major Elective (3 hours) 

Students must complete 3 hours of Major Electives below. Students may choose to complete a concentration in Artificial Intelligence or Cybersecurity in place of the Major Electives.

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
Select one of the following:		3
ITEC 447	Management of Information Technology
ITEC 560	Project Management Methods
Select an approved CSCE course, 510 and higher
Total Credit Hours		3

Concentrations

Students may choose to complete a concentration below in place of the 3 hours of Major Electives.

Artificial Intelligence Concentration (12 hours)

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
CSCE 580	Artificial Intelligence	3
Select any three courses from the following:		9
CSCE 555	Algorithms in Bioinformatics
CSCE 567	Visualization Tools
CSCE 574	Robotics
CSCE 578	Text Processing
CSCE 582	Bayesian Networks and Decision Graphs
CSCE 585	Machine Learning Systems
CSCE 587	Big Data Analytics
Total Credit Hours		12

Cybersecurity Concentration (6 hours)

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
Select any two courses from the following:		6
CSCE 311	Operating Systems
CSCE 548	Building Secure Software
CSCE 557	Introduction to Cryptography
Total Credit Hours		6

Major Map

A major map is a layout of required courses in a given program of study, including critical courses and suggested course sequences to ensure a clear path to graduation.

Major maps are only a suggested or recommended sequence of courses required in a program of study. Please contact your academic advisor for assistance in the application of specific coursework to a program of study and course selection and planning for upcoming semesters.

Computer Information Systems, B.S.