The requirements discussed herein follow the NIU's 2008-2009 through 2009-2010 Catalogs. Tthe Department made quite a few changes to its requirements effective 2008-2009. There are at least two other catalogs that a student might be able to choose, depending upon a student's dates of enrollment at NIU and other institutions. See “Choosing a Catalog Year” at left to determine catalog eligibility as well as requirements for previous catalogs. The Computer Science Undergraduate Advisor will be happy to help you choose a catalog.
The diagram below summarizes the 2008-2009 requirements for all three emphases: Emphasis I: Software Development (formerly the General Emphasis), Emphasis II: Enterprise Software (formerly the Applied Emphasis), and Emphasis III: Computational Software (formerly the Theoretical Emphasis). Note the color coding for courses required for the specific emphases.
See the most current CSCI course descriptions by scrolling down to Computer Science on the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences page of the Undergraduate Catalog.
Unless otherwise noted, requirements are for all three emphases. Students will need to take additional courses to satisfy other university graduation requirements such as general education, 120 hours to graduate, and 40 hours of 300-400 level credits.
| Fall Semester | Spring Semester | Summer Semester | |
| Freshman Year |
Math 110 | CSCI 240 Software Development & Enterprise Software: MATH 206 or MATH 229 Computational Software: MATH 229 |
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| Sophomore Year |
CSCI 241 CSCI 330 Software Development & Enterprise Software: Math 211 or MATH 230 Computational Software: MATH 230 |
CSCI 340 CSCI 466 Software Development & Enterprise Software, with MATH 229+230 option: MATH 206 Computational Software: MATH 232 |
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| Junior Year |
CSCI 360 CSCI 467 or 480 Software Development & Enterprise Software: STAT 301 or 350 ACCY 288 Computational Software: MATH 240 MATH 206 |
CSCI 463 Software Development: CSCI Elective Enterprise Software: CSCI 465 Business elective Computational Software: CSCI 462 STAT 350 |
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| Senior Year |
CSCI 480 or 467 CSCI Elective Enterprise Software: Business elective Computational Software: MATH or STATS elective |
CSCI Elective Computational Software: MATH or STATS elective PHYS 253 |
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This plan assumes that transfer students have taken all possible preparatory courses at their transfer institution, including CSCI 240 and 241, plus either MATH 229+230 or MATH 211 (Applied and General Emphases only). Unless otherwise noted, requirements are for all three emphases. Students will most probably need to take additional courses to satisfy other university graduation requirements such as general education, 120 hours to graduate, and 40 hours of 300-400 level credits.
| Fall Semester | Spring Semester | Summer Semester | |
| Junior Year |
CSCI 330 CSCI 340 Math 206 Enterprise Software: ACCY 288 Computational Software: MATH 232 |
CSCI 467 CSCI elective Software Development & Enterprise Software: STAT 301 or 350 Business elective Computational Software: MATH 240 STAT 350 |
CSCI 360 |
| Senior Year |
CSCI 480 CSCI 466 Enterprise Software: Business elective Computational Software: MATH or STATS elective PHYS 253 |
CSCI 463 Software Development: CSCI Elective Enterprise Software: CSCI 465 Computational Software: CSCI 462 MATH or STATS elective |
CSCI elective |
Choose one of the following sequences:
See Extra-departmental Course Substitutions for possible substitutions for the above courses.
Choose one of the following sequences:
See Extra-departmental Course Substitutions for a list of possible substitutions for the above courses.
Select three of the following four courses:
The above business courses fill up quickly, so students are advised to register as soon as they are eligible. Fully-declared Applied Emphasis majors have priority in registering, while pre-majors, General Emphasis majors, and Theoretical Emphasis majors must usually wait a week or more after registration opens before they will be allowed to register. These courses are not predictably available in summer terms.
Students with credit for UBUS 310 are exempt from fulfilling the three non-ACCY business course requirements for the Applied Emphasis. See Extra-departmental Course Substitutions for how to obtain a waiver.
In extraordinary cases (e.g., the course is the only remaining requirement for graduation and it's not not available that semester), the Department will consider substituting one or more of the 300-level courses in the Public Administration minor for a business requirement in the Applied Emphasis sequence (see Extra-departmental Course Substitutions ). Even in such cases, however, the Department strongly recommends that Applied Emphasis majors complete the business courses as outlined in the catalog. Students facing such predicaments because of not being permitted to declare until late in their college career may want to include some of the 100-200 level courses in the Public Administration minor so that such substitutions are feasible. The Public Administration minor is a Liberal Arts and Sciences interdisciplinary minor and can be found in that section of the catalog.
Applied Emphasis majors with a second major in business or a declared minor in Business Administration should apply to the College of Business for a substitution of required Liberal Arts & Sciences courses for required business courses (e.g., Liberal Arts and Science's STAT 301 or STAT 350 may substitute for the College of Business's UBUS 223, etc.).
Please check with the Department of Mathematical Sciences for sequencing and availability of mathematics courses at the 400 level. Theoretical Emphasis majors are encouraged to contact the Department of Mathematics about declaring a minor or a double major in mathematics, since many of the courses can be used to satisfy requirements in both departments.