Schedule of Classes

An introduction to programming concepts and languages for non-Computer Science (CS) majors. Topics include the structure and design of algorithms, variables, constants, data types, arithmetic operations, selection and repetition structures, functions, input/output, arrays, structures, files, libraries. Students will design, write, test and run computer programs using a modern programming language as the development tool.

Introduces the fundamental concepts of programming from an object-oriented perspective. Topics include simple data types, control structures (if-else loops, switch statements), introduction to array and string data structures, algorithms, debugging and testing techniques, and social implications of computing. The course emphasizes good software engineering principles and practices, breaking the programming process into analysis, design, implementation, and testing, with primary focus on implementation and development of fundamental programming skills.

Introduction to concepts of object-oriented programming with review of control structures and data types and array processing. Introduction to the object-oriented programming paradigm, focusing on the definition and use of classes along with the fundamentals of object-oriented design. Overview of programming principles, simple analysis of algorithms, searching and sorting techniques, and an introduction to software engineering issues.

Advanced programming concepts and languages appropriate to computer science and computer information systems. Topics include dynamic memory management, garbage collection, advanced object-oriented concepts, generic programming, exception handling, recursion, overloading.

Advanced topics in object-oriented programming with an emphasis on advanced data structures, algorithms, and software development.

Basics of logic circuit design, modern processor architecture, and assembly language. Overview of principle issues of internal system architecture, including memory, buses, and peripherals.

Fundamentals of data communications: data transmission, data encoding, digital data communication techniques, data link control, and multiplexing. The Web as a client-server system, building Web applications, network management and security, compression and decompression. Multimedia data technologies, wireless and mobile computing, and event-driven programming.

Introduction to the knowledge acquisition and discovery process. Cleaning and analyzing data, building machine learning models, model validation and testing, and visualization. A number of machine learning algorithms are introduced such as regression, naive Bayes, decision trees, association rules, and clustering. Feature selection and transformation. Introduction to Distributed Databases and Big Data. Programming languages, such as R and Python are covered at an accelerated pace, as the course assumes as prerequisites two semesters of programming. Emphasis is on the use of such languages for data analysis and modeling.

Relational database design, including entity relationship modeling and normalization. Structured query language (SQL) for creating and querying databases. Other topics include the theory of relational databases, including relational algebra, various loading and reporting utilities, and the implementation of database management systems, e.g. how query optimization works.

Software life cycle and its phases, analysis, process models, design, human-computer interaction and graphic user interface development, testing, verification, validation, tools and applications, and evolution of software systems.

Pattern recognition, search strategies, game playing, knowledge representation; logic programming, uncertainty, vision, natural language processing, robotics, programming in LISP and PROLOG. Advanced topics in artificial intelligence. Cross-listed with CS 561.

Machine learning and intelligent systems. Covers the major approaches to ML and IS building, including the logical (logic programming and fuzzy logic, covering ML algorithms), the biological (neural networks and deep learning, genetic algorithms), and the statistical (regression, Bayesian and belief networks, Markov models, decision trees and clustering) approaches. Students use ML to discover the knowledge base and then build complete, integrated, hybrid intelligent systems for solving problems in a variety of applications. Cross listed with CS 562.

Introduction to the social and professional issues and practices that arise in the context of computing.

Special projects under staff supervision on professional practicum in computer science, with near-term economic benefit. Repeatable to a maximum of 3 credit hours.

Applies the concepts and skills learned by undergraduate computer science majors at Bradley University. Students are required to work on a team on a significant software project.

Topics of special interest in computer science area which may vary each time course is offered. Repeatable under a different topic for a maximum of six semester hours.

Individual study or research/development project under supervision of a CS&IS faculty member. May be repeated under a different topic once. Repeatable to a maximum of six semester hours.

Introduces the fundamental concepts of programming from an object-oriented perspective with emphasis on advanced programming skills and good software development principles in a closed laboratory setting. Covers topics including object-oriented paradigm, design and programming, fundamental data structures and computing algorithms, and software development principles. If needed, course should be taken during first regular semester at Bradley. Credit for this course does not count towards graduation requirements in any graduate program within the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems.

Overview of programming language translation with emphasis on modern compiler construction. Lexical analysis, parsing, syntax and semantic analysis, code generation, garbage collection, and optimization.

Fundamental computer sub-systems: central processing unit; memory systems; control and input/output units. General purpose computing systems design. Examples from existing typical computers.

Pattern recognition, search strategies, game playing, knowledge representation; logic programming, uncertainty, vision, natural language processing, robotics, programming in LISP and PROLOG. Advanced topics in artificial intelligence. Cross-listed with CS 461. For cross-listed undergraduate/graduate courses, the graduate-level course will have additional academic requirements beyond those of the undergraduate course.

Machine learning and intelligent systems. Covers the major approaches to ML and IS building, including the logical (logic programming and fuzzy logic, covering ML algorithms), the biological (neural networks and deep learning, genetic algorithms), and the statistical (regression, Bayesian and belief networks, Markov models, decision trees and clustering) approaches. Students use ML to discover the knowledge base and then build complete, integrated, hybrid intelligent systems for solving problems in a variety of applications. Cross listed with CS 462. For cross-listed undergraduate/graduate courses, the graduate-level course will have additional academic requirements beyond those of the undergraduate course.

Methods of PMBOK-based management of software systems design and development projects, including systems view, main project management process groups and knowledge areas, management plans, project metrics and estimates, tools for project management, project reports and documentation. Cross listed with CIS 491 and CIS 591 courses. For cross listed undergraduate/graduate courses, the graduate level course will have additional academic requirements beyond those of the undergraduate course.

Special projects under Smith Career Center supervision on student's professional practicum in corporate/business environment in computer science, with near-term economic benefit. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory. Minimum of 5-10 hours per week required.

Special projects under staff supervision on advanced problems in numerical or non-numerical branches of computer science. May be taken more than once under different topics for a maximum of 6 semester hours.

Individual study in an area of computer science relevant to the student's professional goals and not covered in a formal course offered by the department. May be repeated twice for a maximum of 6 credit hours.

Computer science research and thesis preparation. Required of candidates choosing the thesis option. Total of 6 semester hrs. to be taken in one or two semesters.