Computers are used in virtually every discipline and it is useful for students of all majors to have a basic understanding of computer science. The CS minor provides students with the opportunity to supplement their studies with courses that provide a foundation in basic programming fundamentals with an emphasis on modern programming practices. Students can expand their programming foundation by either delving more deeply into programming or by sampling selected theoretical or applied areas within computer science. The CS minor has been designed to have as few restrictions as possible so that virtually any student at RIT can enroll in the program.
The CS minor is open to all undergraduate students matriculated at RIT (except for students majoring in Computer Science). To earn a CS minor a student only needs to complete 20 quarter hours of approved courses. At least 12 of the 20 quarter hours must be in courses not required by a student's home program. Successful completion of the minor requires that a student maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the minor courses.
The minor advisor will evaluate a student's prior computing background and advise the student regarding initial placement. Students may choose any course from the master list of undergraduate computer science course offerings subject to the exceptions listed below. Under appropriate circumstances, students may also be permitted to take graduate-level computer science courses.
Students may not use any of the following courses toward a CS minor:
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Service courses that begin with the 4001 prefix
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Honors Seminar (4003-102)
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C for C++ Programmers (4003-309)
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Scientific Programming (4003-318)
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Professional Communications (4003-341)
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Problem Solving Seminar (4003-598)
Students should set up a meeting with either the minor advisor or the Manager of Student Services in the CS Department. Professor Henry Etlinger, Undergraduate Program Coordinator, serves as the minor advisor and Liane Fitzgerald serves as the Manager of Student Services. They will evaluate a student’s prior computing and programming background, approve a student’s plan of study, authorize course substitutions, if appropriate, and notify a student’s home department program once a student has satisfied the minor requirements. Once the form is signed by either the minor advisor or the Manager of Student Services, the form will be returned to the student’s home department for processing.
