General university degree requirements stipulate that 1) at least four units of the major or three units of the minor be taken in residence at Puget Sound; 2) students earn at least a cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken for the major or the minor; and 3) all courses taken for a major or minor must be taken for graded credit. Any exceptions to these stipulations are indicated in the major and minor degree requirements listed below.
The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science offers courses cross-listed as both Mathematics and Computer Science as indicated in their course descriptions. A student majoring or minoring in both Mathematics and Computer Science may apply only one such course to both majors, to both the major and the minor, or to both minors.
The department offers two options for a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science: a contract major and a standard major. The contract major emphasizes the value of planning a coherent set of courses based on goals and interests articulated by the student. The contract major also allows the flexibility of including a course from another department if the course has sufficient computer science content and relates to the student's interests. The standard major is available for those students who declare a computer science major later in their undergraduate career.
This degree is awarded on the basis of a course of study agreed upon by the student and a committee of faculty members. A student who intends to complete a contract major in Computer Science should select a faculty member in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science as an advisor. The student and advisor form a committee that consists of one additional faculty member from the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science and, if a course from another department is to be part of the contract, a faculty member from that department. The student works with the committee to select a coherent set of courses (satisfying the requirements given below) that advances the student's educational goals. The contract is signed by the student, committee members, and chair of the department, and is filed in the Office of the Registrar. The student can later modify the contract with the approval of all committee members and the department chair.
Each contract course of study will meet the following requirements.
This degree is awarded on the basis of a course of study that meets the following requirements.
Although there is no time restriction on when a course taken in the past can apply to a major or minor, students who plan to use a course taken several years ago as a prerequisite for a current course should consult the instructor to determine if they are adequately prepared.