Computer Science

Do you love computers? Have you ever wanted to developand/or modify computer systems software and hardware?Would you love to work with computer operating systems andutilities? According to the U.S. Department of Labor, seven ofthe ten fastest growing occupations over the next ten yearswill be in the information technology field. On the UW-EauClaire campus, the number of incoming computer sciencemajors has nearly doubled over the past two years.

Contact Info:Computer SciencePhillips Science Hall 130101 Roosevelt Avenue715-836-2526 | csinfo@uwec.edu

Majors• Computer Science - Software

EngineeringComprehensive major (no minorrequired)• Computer Science

Minor• Computer Science

Certificate• Computer Programmer

Where you'll findour grads• National: Google, Amazon,

Facebook, Microsoft, Intel Labs,NSA, Lockheed Martin

• Regional: JAMF, 3M, Cray, SGI,Cargill, Target, NorthwesternMutual, Liberty Mutual

• Grad school: UW-Madison andUniversity of Minnesota

Prepared forSuccessUW-Eau Claire’s CS program is appliedand leads to high placement rates.With a good GPA and the experiencesprovided through the program,placement rates are near 100 percent.

The department also boasts highplacement rates in well-paidinternships and full-time careers inlocal and regional Fortune 500companies and government agencies.Typical positions held by computerscience graduates include work as asoftware engineer, computerengineer, programmer/analyst,systems programmer, engineeringsoftware support personnel, computersystem engineer or Internet softwaredeveloper.

Why UW-Eau ClaireScholarshipsA $5 million gift was given to theComputer Science department byDavid and Marilyn Karlgaard tocontinually support financialincentives for outstanding faculty,scholarships for students andtechnology updates. The Karlgaardscholarship is a $20,000 award forcomputer science, softwareengineering, or computer engineeringmajors. The scholarship is awardedover four years, and recipients mustmaintain a 3.3 GPA or higher and beinvolved in research their junior andsenior years of college. The ComputerScience department is one of the fewacademic departments that awardsscholarships to incoming freshmen.

Faculty ExpertsThe computer science faculty haveexpertise in databases, operatingsystems, software engineering andweb development. Faculty haveexpertise in areas such as computergraphics, vision, robotics, computerarchitecture, computer security,

Computer Science (continued)distributed systems, networking,theory of computation, artificialintelligence and computationalscience. Excellent teachers designcoursework and assignments thatchallenge and engage students. Thedepartment has received two grantsfrom the National Science Foundationin the last six years in recognition of itsinnovative curriculum and has beennominated three times for the UWSystem Outstanding TeachingDepartment. 

InternshipsThe internships available to computerscience students are paid or apply forcredit, and some are both. TheComputer Science department andthe Career Services office work veryhard to make sure all students areplaced into the right internship fortheir interests and skills. UW-EauClaire's computer science students arein high demand by prestigiouscompanies: The department has a100% placement rate for internshipswith a $20.00 hourly wage, and eachsenior on average receives 2.5 joboffers with a starting salary of $60,000.

Research OpportunitiesWithin the Computer Sciencedepartment, professors are devotedand eager to collaborate with studentson different projects. Studentresearchers have the opportunity topresent their work at conferences andthe annual Celebration of Excellencein Research and Creative Activity(CERCA) on campus. Below are a fewtopics of ongoing research:• Natural Language Processing• Data Mining• Computer Security• Data Query Analyzer (DBQA)

Innovative FacilitiesThe Computer Science departmentmaintains four state-of-the-artcomputer labs uniquely designed andunlike any others in the region. The

Karlgaard Laptop Lab provides a quiet,comfortable study and workspace,reserved for computer sciencestudents only. The Teaching Lab has28 stations and laptop stations withequipment updated every two yearsto ensure students work with the mostrecent technology. The SoftwareDesign Lab offers computingtechnologies for developing andimplementing group software designprojects. The Cray ComputerEngineering Lab contains equipmentused to investigate computerhardware issues and build systems,integrating hardware and software.

First-YearSuggestedCurriculum• Big Picture in Computer Science+• Fundamentals of Object Oriented

Programming*• Calculus I• Freshman Experience course• General electives

Course Work / Pre-ProfessionalCoursesThe Computer Science departmentkeeps up with current technologytrends by constantly evaluating andupdating the curriculum, such asadding application developmentcourses. Two distinct majors arecurrently offered.• Computer Science —

Comprehensive major: acomprehensive major withcoursework in software engineeringand database systems, computerhardware and operating systems,

and computer networks.• Computer Science — Software

Engineering: a standard major witha focus on software design anddevelopment intended for studentswho wish to become professionalsoftware engineers.

Special AdmissionGuidelinesAll undergraduate computerscience majors should have a goodmathematics background. Studentsare required to show a college algebracompetency before taking freshmancoursework.