Prospective Students - [ About Undergraduate Studies ]

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• Why get an Undergraduate Degree in Computer Science and Engineering?
• What Undergraduate Degrees are Offered?
• What Scholarships are Offered?
• Undergraduate Research Experiences
• After Graduation?

Why get an undergraduate degree in computer science and engineering?

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering offers high quality undergraduate education.

• All of our degree programs are accredited by ABET.
• Students get to choose between three different degree programs.
• Graduates are hired by quality employers.
• A growing job market.  Click here to find out more.

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What Undergraduate Degrees are Offered?

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering offers undergraduate degrees as follows:

• Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Computer Science
• Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Software Engineering
• 5-year B.S./M.S. Program
  • A typical student could complete a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science or in Software Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Computer Science in four academic years plus one calendar year. This will be accomplished by counting a maximum of nine credits of graduate courses toward both degrees.

Additionally, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering cooperates with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering to offer the:

• Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Computer Engineering

How many students are there? - There are typically about 130 computer science majors, 60 software engineering majors, and 120 computer engineering majors.

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering also offers Certificate programs in Information Assurance (DOC) and Bioinformatics.

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What Scholarships are available?

• The Department of Computer Science and Engineering participates in the College of Engineering scholarship program. All computer science, software engineering and computer engineering majors are eligible to compete for college of engineering scholarships.
• Phi Theta Kappa scholarships are available for students transferring from community colleges and are awarded based on merit.
• Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics (CSEM) scholarships are also available for students transferring form community colleges and are awarded based on merit and need.
• Information security scholarships (CyberCorps) are sponsored by the government for citizens who want a career as computer security/information assurance professionals employed by the government. One year of government service is required for each year of scholarship.

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Undergraduate Research Experiences

Research? - The Department of Computer Science and Engineering has the following research focus areas.

• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Security and Forensics
• High Performance Computing
• Software Engineering
• Visualization and Computer Graphics

Faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students can participate in a wide variety of research projects. Many research projects are multi-disciplinary or multi-specialty in nature.

Collaborators? - Some research projects are in conjunction with MSU research centers, such as the following.

• Center for Computer Security Research (CCSR)
• High Performance Computing Collaboratory (HPC2) consisting of the following.
  • Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS)
  • Center for Computational Sciences (CCS)
  • Center for DoD Programming Environment and Training (PET)
  • Computational Simulation (SimCenter)
  • GeoResources Institute (GRI)
• Institute for Digital Biology (IDB)
• Institute for Neurocognitive Science and Technology (INST)

Computer science researchers are also actively working with scientists at other universities and in industry. Graduate students are actively involved in the research of the department.

Who sponsors the research? - Research projects are funded by government agencies such as the following.

• National Science Foundation (NSF)
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• US Department of Energy (DOE)
• US Department of Justice (DOJ)
• US Department of Defense (DoD)
• Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
• Office of Naval Research (ONR)
• US Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)

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After Graduation?

After earning a B.S. degree, some students choose to pursue a graduate degree, either at MSU or elsewhere. Students earning a B.S. degree in computer science at MSU immediately satisfy all prerequisites for the M.S. and Ph.D. programs in computer science at MSU. Students earning a B.S. degree in software engineering or computer engineering lack only two prerequisites for graduate study in computer science at MSU.

Recent graduates have gone to work for employers such as the following:

• Microsoft
• Bearing Point
• Harbinger
• Clear Orbit
• Exxon Mobil
• Adtran
• Bell South
• National Security Agency
• Naval Oceanographic Office
• Harris Corporation
• Other companies and government agencies

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