ComSci at NSU

Challenges and Careers

If you come to NSU in Computer Science,you will join a group of talented and motivated faculty and students working together to extend their horizons: learning new concepts, exploring new ideas, and in general having a remarkable educational experience.

Students in our Computer Science program will:

• Develop and refine their critical thinking skills.
• Increase their problem solving skills: learn how to break down difficult problems into manageable size problems and work out solutions.
• Develop abstraction skills: learn how to classify and categorize data/items and how to identify similarities between problems.
• Learn how to write computer programs to solve problems and implement new ideas.

Learn more about our Computer Science program, career opportunities, and what computer scientists do.

Job Outlook for CS

The national job outlook for Computer Science majors is excellent. This is also reflected locally in eastern Oklahoma and Northwest Arkansas. In the past two years we have had serious inquiries from many quality, area employers seeking to interview NSU CS students and graduates. The U.S. Department of Labor also has excellent long-term predictions: “Computer scientists and database administrators are expected to be among the fastest growing occupations through 2014.” and “Median annual earnings of computer and information scientists ... were $85,190 in May 2004.” For more information on CS jobs, view the Computer Science information in the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Outlook Handbook. From there you can explore a wide variety of information on Computer Science and related jobs: Nature of the Work, Working Conditions, Employment, Job Outlook, and Earnings.

Why NSU?

1. The faculty is experienced and dedicated to excellence. There are five full-time Computer Science faculty members with a total of more than 50 years' teaching experience. All of the faculty also have experience in industry, which allows us to share real world experience with our students.
2. Smaller class sizes enhance the learning experience. Instructors can give attention to individual students, and they have more opportunity to extend class discussions beyond the textbook.
3. Experienced faculty teach the introductory courses. Some universities assign these courses to temporary faculty or teaching assistants. NSU Computer Science students get the best for all CS courses.
4. The faculty is available outside of the classroom. Students can stop by faculty offices almost anytime. Students and faculty get to know each other, and it is common to see them conversing around campus.
5. The curriculum is outstanding. The core courses of the degree program are consistent with the recommendations of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). There are also new courses in many current topics, such as Windows.NET programming, database design & SQL, computer graphics/game programming, networking, network security, Internet programming, Linux, and Language Theory with Applications in HTML & XML. These offerings exceed other CS curriculum in Oklahoma and surrounding states.
6. The students are a great group from across Oklahoma and around the world. They study, work, play, and explore computing together. They build bonds that will last a lifetime. Alumni often return to share their experiences.
7. There are exceptional extracurricular activities. The student chapter of the ACM conducts seminars and takes trips to Wal-Mart, Flight Safety, and other employers in the area. The student programming team attends regional programming contests, and many students enter their senior projects in area research competitions.
8. Each student takes a Professional Development course in his or her senior year. This is one of the most outstanding features of our degree program. Under the supervision of a faculty member, each student develops a Capstone project that involves learning and applying state-of-the-art computing. This builds competence and confidence as they prepare to begin a career.
9. Students who complete the degree program are prepared for a job in software development and related areas. The curriculum has practical, up-to-date courses, as well as solid background in the theory of Computer Science. Students who do well in their coursework and take appropriate electives and a suitable minor are prepared for graduate work in CS.
10. Graduates get good jobs. Area businesses know that NSU has an outstanding Computer Science program, and they frequently hire our graduates. Recent graduates have gone to work for Wal-Mart in Bentonville, Flight Safety in Broken Arrow, Georgia Pacific in Muskogee, Williams Company in Tulsa, and others.