Graduation Requirements

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To receive the degree of Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, a student must satisfy all general UNM regulations concerning baccalaureate programs, and the student must have completed all work defined by the following groups.

If you need any additional information, please contact an Undergraduate Advisor in the Computer Science Department.

IMPORTANT:Completion of 130 credit hours is required to graduate, regardless of the number of hours that a major and a minor require. In other words, if a major requires 80 hours and a minor requires 40 hours, this adds up to 120 credit hours, which is 10 credit hours short of the required 130.

Computer Science Requirements

Completion of at least 42 hours in courses numbered 300 or above. Completion of 47 hours in computer science with a GPA of not less than 2.3 in the 47 hours presented; and a grade of not less than C- in any given course. The 47 hours must include the following courses, which total 41 hours:

The remaining six hours are technical electives of the student's choosing to be taken from among the Computer Science Department offerings. Several courses in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering are also acceptable as technical electives. All courses used as technical electives are subject to the approval of the CS advisor. CS 259L may be substituted for CS 152L and CS 251L, but only five hours credit is awarded. The computer science hour requirement is reduced to 46, but the overall graduation requirement remains at 130. The following additional rules apply.

Departmental offerings below the 300 level cannot be used as technical electives. CS 390, 420, 490, and 492 cannot be used as technical electives.

At most 3 hours of CS 499 may be used toward satisfaction of this elective requirement. At least 15 credits at or above the 300 level used to satisfy this requirement must be taken from full-time University of New Mexico Computer Science Department faculty. At least 18 credits must be taken in the CS Department at UNM.

UNM Core Requirements

All classes taken in fulfillment of UNM Core requirements must have a C or higher—a grade of C- is not acceptable.

Mathematics

Taken in this sequence:

These 300 level mathematics courses may not be used in satisfying a minor in Mathematics. Math 327 cannot be used for credit in addition to CS 261. It is recommended that students who minor in mathematics or wish to take additional mathematics as general electives take Math 314 (Linear Algebra with Applications) and Math 316 (Applied Ordinary Differential Equations), as these better prepare the student for Math 375.

Communication Skills

Nine hours including:

and one of the following:

Part of this communications requirement may be satisfied by passing an authorized proficiency examination.

Humanities, Social Sciences, Fine Arts, Second Language

18 hours in humanities, social sciences, the fine arts, and a second language. The student must develop both breadth and depth. In particular, at least six credits must be taken in the humanities, and six credit hours in the social and behavioral sciences. In addition, three credits must also be taken in each of a second language and the fine arts.

Course selection for these 18 credit hours must be made from the following, per core curriculum requirements:

Humanities

Social and Behavioral sciences

Foreign Language

Fine Arts

Certain courses offered by departments of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Fine Arts may not be used to satisfy this requirement, because they do not satisfy the spirit of the requirement, which is to broaden the perspectives of the student. In particular, Phil 156 (Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking) and Phil 356 (Symbolic Logic) may not be used to satisfy the humanities requirement, Psych 200 (Statistical Principles) and numerous technical courses in the Department of Geography may not be used to satisfy the social science requirement, and numerous technical courses in the School of Architecture and Planning may not be used to satisfy the fine arts requirement.

Students who speak a foreign language fluently are encouraged to take literature courses taught in the foreign language, but the applicability of basic language and grammar courses toward the humanities requirement will be decided on an individual basis after consultation with the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

If there is any doubt regarding applicability of a course, an undergraduate advisor in the Computer Science Department should be consulted.

Laboratory Science

At least 14 hours, including four (3 or more credit) science courses for science and engineering majors. One of the following sequences of laboratory science must be included in the 14 hours:

The two remaining classes can be more advanced courses in the discipline chosen for the sequence or they can be introductory laboratory science hours taken from this list. Laboratory science courses other than those above are subject to the approval of the CS advisor. They must be, at least, at a level such that majors in that discipline earn credit in the course and must have substantial laboratory content. Course work sufficient to satisfy requirements of a minor.

Additional Notes

Minors approved by the College of Arts and Science are generally acceptable for computer science majors. The University of New Mexico Catalog should be consulted for the requirements for completing a minor in various fields of study. An interdisciplinary minor of not less than 24 hours can be developed to suit the goals of individual students; such a minor must be approved by the undergraduate Curriculum Committee of the department.

Courses taken to satisfy the minor requirement may also be used to satisfy the UNM Core requirements.

All courses taken to satisfy these requirements are subject to final approval by an undergraduate advisor. At most 24 semester hours taken for CR/NC may be applied toward the baccalaureate degree. Courses taken for CR/NC may only be used to satisfy the requirement of 130 hours.

Students may not take elementary courses in a department after progressing past a certain point in the course offerings of that department. An example is taking CS 150 after having taken CS 251L. Courses taken out of sequence in this manner may not even be used as general elective credits to satisfy the requirement of 130 hours. In the same vein, students may not go back and retake elementary computer science courses in order to raise their grade point average in computer science to 2.3.

No one course may be used to satisfy more than one requirement of CS, Math, and Minor category requirements. Due to the cross listing of various courses within the university and the different requirements for the minor from department to department, this has a number of implications. For example, mathematics minors cannot count the required CS sequence in mathematics toward the minor in mathematics and computer engineering minors cannot use EECE 438 as a technical elective in fulfilling CS degree requirements.

The following courses cannot be used to satisfy any requirements:



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