An Analysis of the Math Requirements of 199 CS BS/ BA Degrees at 158 U.S. Universities
Article
Brodley, CE, Quam, M, Weiss, M. (2024). An Analysis of the Math Requirements of 199 CS BS/ BA Degrees at 158 U.S. Universities
. COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM, 67(8), 122-131. 10.1145/3661482
Brodley, CE, Quam, M, Weiss, M. (2024). An Analysis of the Math Requirements of 199 CS BS/ BA Degrees at 158 U.S. Universities
. COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM, 67(8), 122-131. 10.1145/3661482
FOR AT LEAST 40 years, there has been debate and disagreement as to the role of mathematics in the computer science curriculum. This article presents the results of an analysis of the math requirements of 199 computer science (CS) BS/BA degrees from 158 universities, looking not only at which math classes are required, but at how they are used as prerequisites (and corequisites) for CS courses. Our motivation stems from three observations. First, in prior work on degree complexity,28 we observed that, in the 60 schools analyzed, mathematics (particularly calculus) represented a barrier to student progression in the CS sequence. Second, as part of the Center for Inclusive Computing’s (CIC)a work, we performed all-day site visits at the CS departments of 54 universities and observed significant variation in both the number and placement of required math courses. Third, at Florida International University (FIU), we observed firsthand that a BA in CS, with fewer math requirements than the BS in CS, increased student retention, diversity, and demand for computer science. The goals of this analysis are to determine: ‣ If the variability in the requirements and placementb of math classes we observed held for a larger sample of universities. ‣ If there are differences in the number of math classes for ABET-accreditedc versus non-ABET accredited CS programs and for BA versus BS CS degrees. ‣ Commonalities across institutions as to what math is required to be a successful computer scientist. This article presents our methodology, results, and guidelines published by ABET3 and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM),27 and offers several recommendations for CS departments to consider.
