Bachelor of Computer Science

Welcome to the Bachelor of Computer Science degree program!

Please read this degree guide prior to registering.

Your School

The School of Computer Science is located in the Herzberg Laboratories (HP) Building. For questions about the program, please contact the Undergraduate Advisors located in our Main Office, Room 5302, by telephone at (613) 520-2600 ext. 4364 or by email at scs.ug.advisor@carleton.ca.

The School’s teaching labs are located on the fourth and fifth floors of the HP. Technical help is available to students at the dedicated Help Desk in 5161 HP.

For information on your undergraduate program please refer to the Undergraduate Calendar for course and program information, or the School of Computer Science (SCS) website for general information.

Your Degree Program

The Bachelor of Computer Science program is a 20.0 credit degree program that can be completed in four years. With the Co-op option, the program can be completed in five years, with the first work term scheduled after students complete the second year of their program. To participate in Co-op, students must meet all eligibility requirements as stated in the Undergraduate Calendar.

For more information about the Bachelor of Computer Science program offered in the School of Computer Science, please visit our Bachelor of Computer Science webpage.

Registration Terminology

Before you register for courses, you should understand the various registration terms that you will encounter throughout the registration process. These terms are found on the Registration Terminology page, e.g., “preclusion”, “prerequisite”, “Year in Program” and more. There is also information about registering for tutorials and how tutorials differ from lectures.

Courses Required for First-Year BCS Honours Programs

For the following programs:

• BCS Honours (no stream)
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Stream
• Software Engineering Stream
• Cybersecurity Stream
• Algorithms Stream

For the Management and Business Systems Stream:

For the Computer Game Development Stream:

Courses Required for First-Year B.C.S. Major Program

**Students granted permission to take the accelerated versions of COMP 1405 Z and COMP 1406 Z will take both of these courses in the fall term. Please see “section information” for these courses on the fall schedule (in Carleton Central) for details.

Electives and Prohibited Courses

The Bachelor of Computer Science program requires students to complete a number of Breadth Electives and Free Electives as part of the program requirements. Students are encouraged to take electives each term throughout their degree.

Breadth Electives are courses offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, the Faculty of Public Affairs, the Sprott School of Business and the Faculty of Science (except for courses in COMP, MATH and STAT) excluding courses on the prohibited courses list. Free Electives are courses in any subject, also excluding courses on the prohibited courses list.

Prohibited courses can not be used for credit towards the program, or minor requirements, for any student enrolled in a B.C.S. program. Students should always refer to the most recent Undergraduate Calendar for information regarding prohibited courses and course preclusions.

Courses preclude credit for each other if they contain sufficient content in common that credit may not be earned for more than one of the courses. Should two or more courses be taken that preclude each other, only the most recent attempt will be available for program credit; the remaining earlier attempt(s) will be forfeited. Courses that preclude each other are not necessarily considered equivalent and may or may not be interchangeable in fulfilling degree requirements.

B.C.S. students may register for up to two minors from other departments at any time during their academic career. For example, you could add a minor in Math or Psychology to your degree and double count some, or all, of your minor courses towards your free elective requirements. You may view the Program section of each degree in the Undergraduate Calendar to see the requirements of the specific minor.

Adding a minor(s) is not a requirement, and students may instead choose their electives based on personal interest. If you are having a hard time deciding on which electives to take, our best advice is to choose courses in topics you found interesting in high school or take courses in topics you are generally interested in studying. All course titles and descriptions can be found online in the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar under “Courses”. Students in a B.C.S. Honours program may also choose to enroll in one of the many streams offered by the School of Computer Science. Adding a Stream is a great way to diversify your learning experience with a set of courses focused in: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Algorithms, Game Development, or many other fields. Only students in a B.C.S. Honours program have the option to enroll in a Stream. Much like a minor, adding a stream is not a mandatory requirement for your program.

Laptop Requirement

• Students may only count a maximum of 7.0 credits in zero and 1000-level courses toward fulfillment of graduation requirements. Credits in excess of this limit will be set aside as Extra to the Degree (ETD), No Credit for the Degree (NCD) or Forfeit.
• If you encounter a restriction when trying to register, please submit a Registration Override Request on Carleton Central, and the department offering the course will get back to you.
• Find more information about registration and course selection on the School of Computer Science website.

Notes for First-Year Students

• Computer Science students may register for up to two minors from other departments at any time during their academic career. For example, you could add a Minor in Math or Psychology to your degree and double count some or all of your minor courses towards your electives. View the Program section of each degree to see the requirements of their particular Minor.
• Electives can be taken anytime throughout your academic career prior to graduation. See Electives above for more information or visit the School of Computer Science website.
• Find more important information for first year computer science students, such as the laptop requirement, free software, and student support, on the School of Computer Science website.
• Find more information about registration and course selection on the School of Computer Science website.