Computer Science

Chairperson: Paul De Palma

Professors: Paul De Palma, Kathie Yerion
Associate Professors: D. Hughes (Emeritus),  Christopher Smith
Assistant Professor: Shawn Bowers, Patricia Crowley

The Department of Computer Science offers a B.S. in Computer Science and jointly administers the B.S. in Computer Engineering with the Department of Electrical Engineering.  The computer science program is built upon a foundation of mathematics, natural science, intensive programming, computer architecture, and the liberal arts. All seniors participate in either a large software engineering or group research project, completed under the guidance of a faculty member and a project sponsor.

Faculty research interests include remote sensor networks, robotics, genetic algorithms, speech recognition, mathematical modeling, scientific data management, and database systems.  Select students can participate in these and other projects through the Gonzaga University Center for Evolutionary Algorithms, the Intel Corporation Computational Sciences Laboratory, the Sensor Networks and Robotics Laboratory, or directly with a faculty mentor. Students are encouraged to pursue summer research or internships. Many of our students secure summer research funding through the National Science Foundation-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates program. Others intern in the computer industry, some with companies that regularly work with our department.

The department has several laboratories and a multiuser Linux server. The laboratories include a microcomputer lab with machines running Linux and Windows, a lab used in the senior software engineering and group research courses, a sensor networks and robotics lab, and a computer cluster composed of Intel quad and dual core blade servers. All computer labs on campus, as well as the dormitory rooms, are connected to the campus-wide network and from there to the Internet. The department sponsors two student organizations: a chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery, the world's largest and oldest organization of computer scientists, and a chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon, the international honor society for computer science and related disciplines.

Computer Science majors can graduate with departmental honors if they have fulfilled all computer science degree requirements, achieved a grade point average of at least 3.50 in their CPSC courses needed for a major in Computer Science, written a senior thesis under the supervision of a Computer Science faculty member, and successfully completed CPSC 495 and 496.

Computer Engineering

The Departments of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering jointly administer the B.S. in Computer Engineering program.  Computer Engineering combines computer science and electrical engineering.  Computer engineers develop computer hardware, software, and especially the kinds of embedded systems found in cell phones, industrial control devices, and medical instruments.  See the Undergraduate Catalog 2011-2012 entry "Computer Engineering" for a full description of the program.

B.S. in Computer Science: 129 credits

IV. Computer Science Core: 21 credits

The Department of Computer Science requires that its students take courses in history, fine arts, social science, foreign culture, and social justice.

1. a. History (6 credits): HIST 101 and either HIST 102 or HIST 112.  HIST 201 or HIST 202 may be substituted for one 100-level course.  Courses can be taken in any order.
2. b. Fine Arts (3 credits): one course in either VART, MUSC, or THEA from courses approved by Dean of Arts and Sciences.
3. c. Literature (3 credits): one British or American literature course (ENGL 201-285, except ENGL 250).
4. d. Social Science (6 credits): CRIM 101, ECON, SOCI, POLS, or PSYC: two courses from these departments.
5. e. Foreign Language or Culture (3 credits): one course in any foreign language (classical or modern) or one (foreign culture) course approved by the Dean of Arts and Sciences. Foreign-language speaking students from foreign cultures who have completed the nine English core credits at Gonzaga prior to their fourth year (last thirty credits) may petition the Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences for a waiver of the foreign language or culture requirement.
6. f. Social Justice (3 credits): One course on Social Justice issues related to experiences of difference (like race, class, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation), from courses approved by the Dean of Arts & Sciences; (may be combined with other core or major requirements).