Department of Computer Science

Bachelor of Science

PSU students at the Park Blocks

The Bachelor of Science in Computer Science is the first university degree in the field and may take at least four years of full-time work to complete. Students may enter the program directly from high school; after preliminary coursework in a two-year community college program; or after they have work experience in the field without a college degree. The department makes every effort to place students in courses appropriate to their actual level of knowledge.

Note that these courses reflect the requirements for the most recent catalog (also known as the PSU Bulletin), which includes a section specifically for the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. For earlier catalogs and inquiries regarding degree requirements, please consult with an Advisor for more information.

CS Course Requirements

All computer science courses must be graded C or better. 

Non-CS Course Requirements

Courses taken outside the department must be graded C- or better. 

  • COMM 111Z Public Speaking (4)*
  • WR 227Z Technical Writing (4)
  • MTH 251 Calculus I (4)
  • MTH 252 Calculus II (4)
  • MTH 253 Calculus III or MTH 261 Intro. to Linear Algebra (4)
  • Approved Lab Science (12-15)**
  • Approved Mathematics Electives (7)**

*Waived for students who have taken Freshman Inquiry

** There are several categories of required electives, including Programming Intensive, Security, Lab Science, and Mathematics electives. Please see the Bulletin for details about which courses are approved for each category.

General Education Requirements

All undergraduate students must satisfy the university's general education requirements, which are designed to assure that graduates have a breadth of coursework from across the university's curricula.  Note that these can vary with the chosen catalog year.  For transfer students, the number and type of general education courses that are required depends on the total credits transferred.  Please consult with a Pathway Adviser for any questions regarding these requirements.

Beginning with the 2022-23 catalog, all Portland State undergraduate students must fulfill the Race and Ethnic Studies requirement (RESR) to earn their bachelor's degrees.

Course Prerequisites

Before enrolling in any Computer Science course, students should read the course description and ensure that they have completed all prerequisites with a grade of C or better. Students who have not met this requirement may be administratively dropped from the course. The prerequisites for each required CS course can be viewed in graphical form for the 2022-23, 2023-24, and 2024-25 academic years.  In these diagrams, an arrow points to the courses that require the prerequisite.

CS Upper Division Electives

  • Registration for 300-level and 400-level CS courses requires admission to the CS Upper Division program.
  • CS Upper Division electives can be any 300-level and 400-level CS courses including CS 410 and/or ECE 341, ECE 455, ECE 456, ECE 485, and ECE 486.
  • A total of 24 credits of CS Upper Division electives are required.  At least one of these electives must be a Programming intensive course (noted by a P suffix on the course number).  And at least one of these electives must be an approved Computer Science Security elective (currently CS 491, CS 495, or CS 496).
  • A maximum of 4 credits may count from CS 309, CS 401, CS 405, CS 406, CS 407, and CS 409.
  • CS 404 and any courses specifically described as not being applicable to the CS degree may not be used. 
  • 44 of the 52 Upper Division CS credits must be taken at PSU after admission to the CS Program. 

Postbaccalaureate

Postbac students working toward a second bachelor's degree must satisfy all required CS and Non-CS courses listed above, but are not required to take free electives or to satisfy the general University requirements. Courses taken for the first undergraduate degree may be used to satisfy these requirements, provided the student takes at least 45 credits at PSU. For example, a student with an undergraduate degree in physics or electrical engineering will have likely satisfied most or all of the science and math requirements while one with a major in literature or fine arts will likely need to take more courses to earn the CS degree.

Sample Possible 4-year Schedule

Sample schedules for completing the degree are available in the form of a degree map:

Previous versions of the sample schedule have been referred to as the "blue sheet" because they were customarily printed on blue paper. Click the links below to see the blue sheet for the corresponding years.

Graduation Procedure

Students must apply two terms prior to their expected date of completion. The online graduation application is available on myPSU. Details and specific deadlines for degree applications are published on the Office of Registrar page.