Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Computer Science with a Major in Secondary Computer Science Education (6-12) (BSCS)

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with Teaching Licensure

This program leads to eligibility for teacher licensure in Virginia and is available only to individuals holding a baccalaureate degree or completing requirements for a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. Due to changing University requirements, national accreditation standards, and the Virginia Board of Education licensure regulations, the teacher preparation programs in the College of Sciences are under constant revision. Any changes resulting from these factors supersede the program requirements described in this Catalog. Students are encouraged to obtain current program information from their advisors and the Office of Clinical Experiences website at https://www.odu.edu/oce.

Admission

Students must first declare computer science with a major in secondary computer science education (6-12) with the computer science departmental advisor. All students must apply for and be admitted into the approved secondary computer science education program. Students must meet the required criteria for admission by earning the minimum required grade point averages (GPA).

Virginia Board of Education Prescribed Assessments for Admission to an Approved Teacher Education Program

• Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment (VCLA): Scaled passing score of 235 for the reading subtest and score of 235 for the writing subtest OR a composite score of 470 for the assessment.

Required grade point averages (GPA)

• A cumulative GPA of 2.75 is required.
• A major/content GPA of 2.75 is required - all computer science courses must be passed with a grade of C (2.0) or above and all other content courses must be passed with a grade of C- or higher.
• A professional education GPA of 2.75 is required – all professional education courses must be passed with a grade of C- or higher.

Although students may enroll in a limited number of education courses, students must be admitted into the approved computer science teacher preparation program prior to enrolling in any instructional strategies practicum education course. Students must also meet with an education advisor in the Office of Clinical Experiences in the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies.

Continuance

Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.75, a major/content GPA of 2.75 and a professional education GPA of 2.75. Computer science courses must be passed with a grade of C (2.0) or higher. Courses in the professional education core must be completed with a grade of C- or higher for continuance. A professional education GPA of 2.75 is required for continuance. Students must take and pass the Praxis Subject Assessment, Computer Science content knowledge (formerly Praxis II) prior to or while enrolled in the instructional strategies course. All assessments must be passed prior to the start of the Teacher Candidate Internship Orientation session.

Background Clearance Requirement

Old Dominion University requires a background clearance check of candidates interested in many of the professional education programs.  Professional education programs have several field experiences that are required for continuance and graduation from the program.  The background clearance must be successfully completed prior to a field experience placement. Candidates will be provided a field experience placement when the background check process is completed with resolution of any issues. The process to complete the ODU clearance background check is located at: http://www.odu.edu/success/academic/teacher-education/placement/background-checks.  The ODU clearance process includes:  an FBI fingerprint, a child protective service/social service review, and a Virginia State Police sex offender registry review. Candidates interested in the professional education programs are advised to complete this clearance process immediately upon entry into the program since the clearance process takes a minimum of eight weeks to complete.

Virginia Board of Education Prescribed Assessments for Licensure

Praxis Subject Assessment, Computer Science content knowledge (test code: 5652) - passing score of 142 is required.

To review more information on the Virginia Board of Education prescribed assessments visit the Office of Clinical Experiences website at https://www.odu.edu/oce.

Requirements

Lower-Division General Education

Additional hours may be required to meet the foreign language requirement.

Written Communication: ENGL 110C and ENGL 211C or ENGL 231C; grade of C or better required in both courses

Mathematics: satisfied in the major

Oral Communication: COMM 101R or PHIL 160R

Information Literacy and Research:  CS 121G or CS 202G

Language and Culture: competence must be at the 102 level

Impact of Technology: satisfied in the major by CS 300T

The Nature of Science: Computer Science majors must complete two Nature of Science courses in sequence for a total of eight credits from the following:

Upper-Division General Education

The professional education core satisfies the Upper-Division General Education requirement. 

Requirements for Graduation

Requirements for graduation include completion of  ENGL 110C, ENGL 211C or ENGL 231C, and the writing intensive (W) course in the major with a grade of C or better, completion of the Senior Assessment, a minimum cumulative 2.75 GPA, in the major area, and in the professional education core, with no grade less than a C in the major and C- in the professional education core; successful completion of the Teacher Candidate Internship and a minimum of 120 credit hours, which must include both a minimum of 30 credit hours overall and 12 credit hours in upper-level courses in the major program from Old Dominion University. Note that a C (2.0) must be earned in all computer science courses used to satisfy departmental requirements.

Licensure requirements also include certificate of completion in First Aid/AED/CPR, Dyslexia Awareness Training, Child Abuse and Neglect Recognition and Intervention Training, and Regulations Governing the Use of Restraint and Seclusion in Elementary and Secondary Schools, and Cultural Competence Training.

Professional Education Core

Secondary Computer Science Education (6-12) Major

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Excluding CS 315

Computer science majors must earn a grade of C or better in all (non-elective) computer science courses required for the major and in all computer science prerequisite courses.

Additional Requirements and Information

Advanced Placement

Advanced placement credit is awarded to students who earn qualifying scores on AP and IB subject examinations.  See the equivalency charts on the Office of Undergraduate Admissions website at https://ww1.odu.edu/academics/academic-records/score-analysis/ap-ib.

Cooperative Education

Computer science majors interested in gaining practical experience and on-the-job training while completing undergraduate degree requirements may find opportunities through participation in the Cooperative Education Program.

Those students usually start in the junior year working with an employer in a field of computer science. Students must apply through the Center for Career & Leadership Development prior to registering for Cooperative Education credit. All work experiences must be approved by the Center for Career & Leadership Development and the academic department concerned.

Undergraduates can earn a maximum of six semester credits through cooperative education that apply toward degree requirements. For further information, see the Center for Career & Leadership Development section of this Catalog.

Honors Program in Computer Science

Undergraduate computer science majors maintaining an overall GPA of at least 3.25 and of 3.50 in the major have the opportunity to participate in the Honors Program in Computer Science (program coordinator: Dr. Jing He). Students who complete the program and also meet the University's standards for graduation with honors (see description in this Catalog) may earn the designation of departmental honors on their diplomas. Students must complete one of three options.

A. Departmental Honors in Computer Science

Students maintaining an overall GPA of at least 3.25 and of 3.50 in computer science can receive a "Bachelor's Degree with Honors in Computer Science" subject to satisfaction of the minimum University standards for the departmental honors and completion of one of the following three options:

1. Successful completion of two semesters of honors research taken as either CS 491 and CS 492 or CS 491 and CS 499W.

2. Successful completion of four upper-division courses in Computer Science as “Contract Honors Courses” and achievement of the "Honors" designation in each.

3. Successful completion of one semester of honors research taken as CS 491 and two “Contract Honors Courses” in Computer Science and achievement of the Contract Honors designation in each.

Note:  Completion of at least 60 credit hours at Old Dominion University, 54 of which must be in grade-point graded courses, is also required.  Candidates who have used grade forgiveness or adjusted resident credit should be aware that the enhanced grade point average determined by use of these procedures does not determine eligibility for departmental honors.  To determine eligibility for departmental honors, the student’s complete record, including grades and hours for courses that have been forgiven or adjusted, will be evaluated to calculate the final grade point average. 

B. Honors Research Scholars

Undergraduates with junior or senior standing and a minimum of 3.0 GPA (or with approval by Honors Program Coordinator) are eligible to participate in Honors Research. After consultation with the Honors Program Coordinator, students select a faculty member who agrees to oversee the research project. The research project, time commitment, and the basis for grading are mutually determined by the student and the mentor. An outline is to be submitted and approved by the Honors Program Coordinator before registration of the course.  Students are expected to perform mentored research. Faculty mentors encourage students to present/publish results at scientific conferences or journals. Students are encouraged to apply for funds to support undergraduate research. The following honors research courses are provided:
 

C. Contract Honors Designation for Upper-Division Computer Science courses

Students with a grade point average of at least 3.25 may convert any upper-division computer science course into an Honors course on an individual basis.  No grade below B is accepted for Honors designation.  An Honors designation of a course requires successful completion of honors-level tasks to be agreed upon by the student and the instructor. Students who plan to apply for the honors designation of a course are required to communicate with the instructor before registration. Students are required to submit an outline of honors work to Honors Program Coordinator and obtain an approval before the start of the semester in which the course is taken.  

Degree Program Guide

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Excluding CS 315

Language and Culture I & II may be met in high school and is not included in this four-year plan. Please see requirement details. 

Linked Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Master of Business Administration

This program allows students to earn a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and a Master of Business Administration. After students have satisfactorily completed their undergraduate requirements, they must complete the remaining requirements in the MBA program.  Additional information can be found in the section on BS/MBA Linked Program at the beginning of the College of Sciences section of this Catalog and the Strome College of Business section in the Graduate Catalog.

Linked Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Master of Science in Computer Science

This program allows for exceptionally successful students to earn both a BSCS and an MS in Computer Science by allowing up to 12 credits of graduate coursework to count toward both their bachelor’s and master’s degree in Computer Science. All options available under the MS degree are available under this program.  Students must earn a minimum of 150 credit hours (120 discrete credit hours for the undergraduate degree and 30 discrete credit hours for the graduate degree).

Admission

To be admitted to the linked program, students must have completed at least 60 undergraduate credit hours with at least 24 credit hours from ODU. Students must have completed CS 361, CS 381, MATH 212 and all prerequisites for those courses. At the time of admission, they must have an overall GPA of 3.00 or better, and an overall GPA of 3.00 or better in CS and MATH courses.

Interested students who meet the admission requirements should apply to the graduate program director, after consulting with the undergraduate chief departmental advisor, as soon as possible upon completing the required courses and 60 credit hours. In consultation with the graduate program director, a student will:

1. Officially declare an undergraduate Computer Science major with the undergraduate chief departmental advisor.
2. Draft a schedule of graduate courses to be taken as an undergraduate to be presented to the undergraduate chief departmental advisor.
3. Apply, during their senior year, to the Office of Graduate Admissions for admission to the master's in computer science program.

Students who have completed at least six hours of graduate courses upon attaining senior standing (completion of 90 credit hours) and who have earned a GPA of 3.00 or better in those courses will not be required to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) for admission to the master's program. Otherwise, in keeping with normal admission requirements for the MS in computer science, students will take the GRE as an undergraduate and will subsequently be reevaluated for continuation into the master's program.

Once students have been awarded their bachelor's degree and fulfilled all regular admission requirements for the MS in computer science, they will be officially admitted into the MS program.

Program Requirements

Students in the program will fulfill all normal admission and curricular requirements for both a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and an MS in computer science with the following exceptions:

1. Students in the program may count up to 12 hours of graduate courses, at the 500 or 600 level, excluding independent study, taken as an undergraduate toward both the bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science.
   1. Students in the program may substitute computer science graduate courses for undergraduate courses according to the following schema. All students must complete an undergraduate writing intensive course in the major.
      Students may substitute 500- and 600-level courses for the upper-level CS electives in the undergraduate program so long as they have the prerequisites for those courses. 700- or 800-level courses may not be used.
   2. Students will not receive credit for both the 400 and 500 level version of the same course.
   3. Students in the program may make a written petition for other substitutions to the graduate program director, who will consider them in consultation with the chief departmental advisor and the instructor(s) of the courses involved.
   4. To maximize the accelerated benefit one or more of the following required courses should be selected: CS 517, CS 518, CS 550, or CS 571.

NOTES:

1. In accordance with University policy, up to 21 hours of graduate courses taken as an undergraduate may be counted toward the bachelor's degree in computer science. However, only 12 hours of graduate courses taken as an undergraduate may also be counted toward the MS degree in computer science. This will limit students' scheduling flexibility subsequently.
2. Like students in the regular MS in computer science program, students in the linked BSCS/MS computer science degree may count no more than 12 hours at the 500-level toward their MS degree. Students are advised against taking all 12 of those 500-level credits as an undergraduate, since doing so will limit their scheduling flexibility subsequently.

Linked Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Master of Science in Data Science and Analytics

This program allows for exceptionally successful students to earn both a BSCS and an MS in Data Science and Analytics by allowing up to 12 credits of graduate coursework to count toward both their bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and master’s degree in Data Science and Analytics. All options available under the MS degree are available under this program.  Students must earn a minimum of 150 credit hours (120 discrete credit hours for the undergraduate degree and 30 discrete credit hours for the graduate degree).

Admission

To be admitted to the linked program, students must have completed at least 60 undergraduate credit hours with at least 24 credit hours from ODU. Students must have completed CS 361 , CS 381, MATH 212 and all prerequisites for those courses. At the time of admission, they must have an overall GPA of 3.00 or better, and an overall GPA of 3.00 or better in CS and MATH courses.

Interested students who meet the admission requirements should apply to the graduate program director, after consulting with the undergraduate chief departmental advisor, as soon as possible upon completing the required courses and 60 credit hours. In consultation with the graduate program director, a student will:

1. Officially declare an undergraduate Computer Science major with the undergraduate chief departmental advisor.
2. Draft a schedule of graduate courses to be taken as an undergraduate to be presented to the undergraduate chief departmental advisor.
3. Apply, during their senior year, to the Office of Graduate Admissions for admission to the master's in Data Science and Analytics program.

Students who have completed at least six hours of graduate courses upon attaining senior standing (completion of 90 credit hours) and who have earned a GPA of 3.00 or better in those courses will not be required to take the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) for admission to the master's program. Otherwise, in keeping with normal admission requirements for the MS in Data Science and Analytics, students will take the GRE as an undergraduate and will subsequently be reevaluated for continuation into the master's program.

Once students have been awarded their bachelor's degree and fulfilled all regular admission requirements for the MS in data science and analytics, they will be officially admitted into the MS program.

Program Requirements

Students in the program will fulfill all normal admission and curricular requirements for both a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and an MS in Data Science and Analytics with the following exceptions:

1. Students in the program may count up to 12 hours of graduate courses, at the 500 or 600 level, excluding independent study, taken as an undergraduate toward both the bachelor's and master's degrees.
   1. Students in the program may substitute computer science graduate courses for undergraduate courses according to the following schema. All students must complete an undergraduate writing intensive course in the major.
      Students may substitute 500- and 600-level courses for the upper-level CS electives in the undergraduate program so long as they have the prerequisites for those courses. 700- or 800-level courses may not be used.
   2. Students will not receive credit for both the 400 and 500 level version of the same course.
   3. Students in the program may make a written petition for other substitutions to the graduate program director, who will consider them in consultation with the chief departmental advisor and the instructor(s) of the courses involved.

The graduate courses taken must be from the following:

*

Substitutions of other computer science courses may be made with approval of the graduate program director.

NOTE:

1. In accordance with University policy, up to 21 hours of graduate courses taken as an undergraduate may be counted toward the bachelor's degree in computer science. However, only 12 hours of graduate courses taken as an undergraduate may also be counted toward the MS degree in Data Science and Analytics. This will limit students' scheduling flexibility subsequently.

BA or BS to MBA (Master of Business Administration) Linked Program

The linked BA/MBA or BS/MBA program is an early entry to the MBA program of study.  The early-entry program is designed for well qualified non-business undergraduate ODU students to start their MBA program prior to completing their undergraduate degree.  Well qualified non-business undergraduate students may take MBA-level courses as early as three semesters prior to graduation and count up to 12 graduate credits toward their undergraduate degree.  Students participating in the early-entry program must earn a minimum of 150 credit hours (120 discrete credit hours for the undergraduate degree and 30 discrete credit hours for the graduate degree).  Early-entry program students should carefully consider their undergraduate degree program requirements when planning their course of study.  Students in the early-entry program work in close consultation with the MBA Program Office and should refer to information in the Strome College of Business section in the graduate catalog to develop an individualized plan of study based on the required coursework.

BA or BS to MPA (Master of Public Administration) Linked Program

The linked BA/MPA or BS/MPA program provides qualified Old Dominion University undergraduate students with the opportunity to earn a master's degree in public administration while taking credits in the MPA program as an undergraduate student.  The program is designed for highly motivated students with the desire to immediately continue their education after the bachelor's degree.  The program is especially relevant to individuals seeking to work (or currently working) in the public or non-profit sectors, but is suitable for students from any undergraduate major.  Graduate courses may be taken during the fall and spring semester of the student's senior undergraduate year.  Up to 12 graduate credits can count toward both the undergraduate and graduate degree and can meet upper-level General Education requirements. After receiving the undergraduate degree, a student will continue with the MPA program, taking MPA courses until completing the required 39 credit hours. Students in the linked program must earn a minimum of 150 credit hours (120 discrete credit hours for the undergraduate degree and 30 discrete credit hours for the graduate degree).

Requirements for admission to the graduate program can be found in the School of Public Service section of the Graduate Catalog.  For additional information, please contact the School of Public Service in the Strome College of Business.