University of Portland Bulletin 2024-2025

Post Baccalaureate Professional Computer Science Degree

The Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering offers a post-baccalaureate program leading to a professional bachelor of computer science (B.C.S.) degree. The degree is designed to enable students with a broad range of undergraduate degrees to pursue careers that benefit from a strong preparation in computer science. The B.C.S. degree program is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (N.W.C.C.U.) but is not accredited by ABET.

Student Outcomes

Students will:

  • Adapt to rapidly changing technology by learning core principles of computing.
  • Define and analyze the requirements of complex computing problems.
  • Design, implement, and evaluate computational solutions.
  • Use agile software development.

Admission Requirements

  1. Statement of goals
  2. Current resume
  3. Two recommendation letters
  4. Official transcripts from all previously attended academic institutions. (International Applicants: all foreign transcripts will be evaluated by International Student Services prior to an admissions decision.)
  5. A bachelor's degree or its equivalent from an accredited college or university recognized by the University of Portland.
  6. International Applicants: An official score from either the TOEFL (minimum score of 80), IELTS (minimum score of 7.0), or Duolingo (minimum score of 110) exam is required.
  7. International Applicants: Proof of financial support will be required to attend the University of Portland, but is not required for application review.
  8. Prerequisites. The program requires 18 credit hours of prerequisite courses (listed below) or their equivalents before matriculation into the program. Applicants from outside the University of Portland should indicate how they have acquired the equivalent prerequisite topic knowledge in their statement of goals. Experience with programming in Java and C is expected prior to matriculation.

Degree Requirements

Prerequisites - 18 credit hours

MTH 201Calculus I

4

MTH 202Calculus II

4

MTH 311Discrete Structures

3

CS 203Introduction to Computer Science

3

CS 273Computer Science Laboratory

1

CS 305Data Structures

3

 

Required Courses - 31 credit hours

Once all prerequisite requirements have been satisfied, all students must complete a minimum of 31 credit hours towards the degree. If students complete any of the required courses for the degree prior to matriculation, they will need to complete additional courses at the 300-level or higher in CS (only) to reach the 31-credit hour requirement.

CS 301Object-Oriented Design

3

CS 371Object-Oriented Design Laboratory

1

CS 333Computer Architecture

3

CS 357Theory of Computation

3

CS 376Unix/Linux Tools Laboratory

1

CS 324Analysis of Algorithms

3

CS 334Operating Systems

3

CS 341Software Engineering

3

CS 352Programming Languages

3

CS 358Compiler Design

3

CS 368Computer Science Seminar

2

EGR 361Analysis of Engineering Data

3

CS 358: A CS 400-level elective may be substituted for CS 358.