College Computer Science –Expectations and Trends

Mike Scott, Professor of Instruction, Computer Science

Department, University of Texas at Austin

scottm@cs.utexas.edu

http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~scottm/

Background

• 1998 – 2000, Round Rock High School

• APCS AB (data structures), CS1 in Pascal

• 2000 – Present, UTCS

• CS1 Intro to Programming (APCS A), CS 2 Data Structures

• Visual Programming, Android App Development, History

and Impact of Electronic Entertainment, CS 1.5, CS1 for

non CS majors

Outline

• The Computer Science Undergraduate Major at UT

• Preparing to be a CS major

Computer Science at UT Austin

Computer Science Undergraduate Program@ UT Austin

• UT Admissions: 75% of freshmen at UT admitted

automatically based on class rank

• Current cutoff – top 6%

• Admission to UT does not guarantee admission to

major of student’s choice

• Regular CS undergrad admissions done by

Admissions Department, not the CS Department

UT Austin Computer Science - Undergraduates

• Approximately 2500 CS majors at UT Austin (~6% of UT Students)

• First year students are probationary CS majors

• Admission to the CS major is Extremely Competitive

• My RRHS Top 10 story

• Average SAT and ACT of Students in CS312 (~ APCS A)

Semester Average SAT Math Average ACT Math

Fall 2018 750 32.5

Fall 2017 720 32

Fall 2015 715 31.5

75 percentile SAT

Math for admitted

UT students = 700

CS Interest Nationwide

• Computing Research Association

• Lobby organization for CS research,

academic departments and industry members

• Taulbee Survey

• Conducted each fall since 1974, the survey in general

covers the preceding academic year.

• Enrollments, degrees awarded, and other info

• https://cra.org/resources/taulbee-survey/

CS Major Requirements at UT Austin

• Multiple Degree Plans

• Bachelor of Science, most popular degree plan:

• 6 core CS courses (Programming, Theory, Systems)

• 8 upper division CS courses

• 4 or 5 Math courses (Calculus, Linear Algebra, Probability and

Statistics)

• 3 Science Courses

• General UT Requirements, Core Courses,

Foreign Language, and Electives

UTCS Core (Programming, Theory, Systems)

C S

312

Intro to

Programming Discrete Math

C S

311

Data Structures

C S

314

Computer

Architecture &

Organization

C S

429

Operating Systems

C S

439

Algorithms &

Complexity

C S

331

● Typically students follow one of two paths: (40% / 60%)

Fall Spring

CS312 CS314

CS311

CS429 CS439

CS331

Fall Spring

CS314

CS311

CS429

CS439 CS311

Entry-Level CS Courses – Moving Past Probationary CS Major Status

Semester 1

CS 312: Intro to Programming

4 or 5 on AP CS = CS 312

Semester 2

CS 311: Discrete Math

CS 314: Data Structures

RequirementsCS GPA = 2.75 (312, 314, 311)No more than two attempts per course*No grade lower than C-UT GPA = 2.0

CS 312 CS 311 CS 314 GPA

A B C 3.0

B B+ C 2.77

B B+ C- 2.67

A- A- D 2.78

APCS A = unofficial

B+

CS1 and CS2 pass rates have gone from 65% - 75%

circa 2012 to 85% - 90% today

Upper Division Courses

• After the core course students have a variety of

courses available to them:

• AI, Computer Security, Networks, Cryptography, Computer Vision,

Data Mining, Graphics, Software Engineering, Mobile App

Development (Android , iOS), Data Mining, Programming

Languages, Databases, Game Development, Formal Methods, …

Upper Division Courses

• Hope: Concentration Areas

• Big Data, Computer Systems, Cybersecurity, Game Development, Machine

Learning and AI, Theory (on the way)

• https://www.cs.utexas.edu/undergraduate-

program/academics/concentrations

• Reality: What courses are open when the student registers?

• NY Times Article

• https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/24/technology/computer-science-courses-college.html

CS Concentrations + Minors/Certificates

Big Data❏ Data Mining, Big Data Programming,

Computer Vision

Computer Systems ❏ Cloud Computing, Wireless Networks,

Cloud Computing

Cybersecurity❏ Computer Security, Cryptography,

Ethical Hacking

Game Development❏ Graphics, Game Technology, Software

Engineering

Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence❏ Neural Networks, A.I., Robotics

Mobile Computing❏ Distributed Computing and Mobile

Computing

Elements of Computing

Certificate

-Open to Non-CS Majors

-18 hours required

-Taught in python

Transcript-Recognized Minors & Certificates

Certificates❏ Applied Statistical Modeling

❏ Bridging Disciplines

❏ Digital Arts & Media

❏ Scientific Computation & Data

Science

Minors● Business Foundations

● Information Studies

Other Degree Options• Bachelor of Science, most popular degree plan

• Bachelor of Science and Arts

• 4 additional CS course (instead of 6)

• 1 fewer math course (calculus)

• 1 fewer science course

• Minor in another field (not natural science)

• Turing Scholars Honors Program

• ~50 students a year

• Admissions by CS department

• Extremely competitive

• Computer Science and

Business Honors (new fall 2019)

Other Degree Options, continued

• 5 year Integrated BS/MS in Computer Science

• Sophomore or junior year students admitted to program

• Again, extremely competitive

• UTeach, CS degree and Teaching Certificate

• Minor in CS (Elements Program and Certificate)

• IT degree from College of Business

• Software Engineering Concentration, Electrical / Computer Eng.

• Computational Engineering Degree, Aerospace Engineering

Our Undergraduate Students

• First year and transfer students placed in CS PODS

• Meet once a week, same small sections in courses

• I have the privilege of teaching the first

two programming courses

• CS312 (Programming 1, APCS A)

• CS314 (Data Structures)

• And I use undergraduate Teaching Assistants in Those Courses

• So I get to know some students quite well

Our Undergraduates

• Audra, Intern at Microsoft after first and

second year

• Lucas, intern at Toyota and

Facebook

Our Undergraduates

• Marquis, intern at Microsoft and Nike

• Lilliana, intern at Nike, working

at Facebook

Our Undergraduates

• Sonika (Westwood HS grad), Starting her

second year as a Ph.D. student at Georgia Tech

• Roman, working

at Facebook

Our Undergraduates

• Muriel, Worked at UShip and

now at Favor Delivery

• Chris, working

at Home Away

Other CS Activities at UT - FRI

• FRI – Freshmen Research Initiative

• Research Methods course, then work on projects

part of tenured faculty research

Other CS Activities at UTCompetitive Programming

• Competitive Programming Team

• April 2019 finished 28th in the world

at ICPC in Portugal

• 1 credit class

• Local contests

• ICPC run by CS

department at Baylor University

Other CS Activities at UT

• MAD – Mobile Apps Development Group

• CS Ambassadors – Tours to Prospective Students

• WICS – Women in Computer Science

• MORE

https://www.cs.utexas.edu/undergraduate-

program/student-organizations

CS at Other Schools

• Most colleges and universities have CS programs

• No standardization

• Example: Controlling Enrollment?

• Take them all

• Rigorous early courses

• Admission after early courses

• Curriculum, order of courses,

other opportunities -

DIFFERENT

Preparation for Computer Science

What Did I Want to Do When I Was 18?

• Go to college, go some place other than St. Louis

• Very difficult for high school kids to know what field of

academic study will interest them

• Taking a CS course is a good start, but!

• Programming != CS

• Programming a key tool in CS

Computing Science

Some Programming, Very Helpful

• Having some (any) programming experience helps

an enormous amount

• Many students taking CS312 (CS1, Introduction to

Programming, ~APCS A) have some

programming experience

• And they tend to do a little better in CS312

Gaining Credit

• UT Austin grants a lot of course credit for

AP and IB exams

• https://testingservices.utexas.edu/search-undergraduate-

exams

• APCS A (CS312), APCSP (CS302 – Breadth course), AP CALC

AB, BC (M408C), AP CHEM (CHEM sequence), AP BIO (BIO

sequence), APUSH (History Req.), and many more!

• CS312 Exam for Credit administered by UT

Composition 1 (RHE 306) AP Language, score 3-5, SAT 33, ACT 9 N/A

Humanities (E 316x) AP Literature, 4-5 IB English A Lit or Lang (HL/SL) 4-7

US History, 6 hrs (HIS 315L from AP) AP US History, 3-5 = 3 hrs N/A

Government, 6 hrs (GOV 310L from AP) AP Government, 3-5 = 3 hrs (TX Supp Reqr) N/A

Social Science, 3 hrs AP Psychology, Economics, Geography, 3-5 IB Art History (SL) 4-7, Economics (HL/SL) 4-7

Visual & Performing Arts, 3 hrs AP Music Theory, Art History, 3-5 IB Music (HL) 4-7, IB Theater & Dance (HL/SL) 4-7

BIO 311C + BIO 311D AP Biology, 5 IB BIO (HL), C+D 6-7, C 4-5

CH 301 + CH 302 + CH 204 AP Chemistry, 4-5 IB CH (HL), 301+302 6-7,

PHY 303K + 103M AP Physics C (Mechanics), 3-5 N/A

PHY 303L + 103N AP Physics C (E+M), 3-5 N/A

C S 312 AP Computer Science 4-5 IB C S (HL/SL) 4-7

M 408C AP Calc AB 5, BC 3-5 IB Mathematics (HL) 5-7

** UGS 302/303s do not have an AP test. Students must take this course at UT Austin **

Tips for Students

• Discrete mathematics

• Programming project

(something that

interests them)

• Soft Skills

• Responsibility

• Communication

• Self Motivation

• Integrity

Succeeding in My Courses

• “Be the first penguin”

• Ask questions!!!

• lecture, section, Piazza, lab hours

• “It is impossible to be perfect”

• Mistakes are okay.

• That is how we learn.

• Trying to be perfect means not taking risks.

• No risks == no learning

• “Find a Pack”

• Make friends.

• Study with them!

33