The science departments -- Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Computer Science, Mathematical Sciences, and Physics & Engineering Physics -- are proud of their commitment to providing exciting, top-quality programs for undergraduates at Stevens. The quality of our programs derives from the quality of our world-class faculty. Undergraduate students are a welcomed part of our community. They are afforded ready access to faculty and to ongoing research activities on campus and off campus, and, as they pursue their studies, undergraduates are encouraged to participate in research and Technogenesis activities.

The science curricula at Stevens emphasize project-based learning, encourage and reward independent study and scientific initiative, offer expanded research opportunities for undergraduates, and promote the undergraduate thesis as a capstone for a students course of study. These elements of the curriculum are intended to enhance the undergraduate experience of the student with a serious interest in studying the natural sciences or computer science.

The undergraduate programs are separated into two categories of curricula. The programs in Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Mathematical Sciences, and Physics follow a unified curriculum, the Bachelor of Science in the natural sciences. The Department of Computer Science has developed distinct curricula for each of four undergraduate programs: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity, Bachelor of Science in Information Systems, and Bachelor of Science in Service Oriented Computing.

Bachelor of Science (Natural Sciences)

The science program at Stevens offers a remarkable opportunity for a career in today's scientific world. It prepares you to work at the frontiers of knowledge making significant contributions to science and the well-being of mankind. Careers in biology, chemistry, medicine, physics, nanotechnology, mathematics, and statistics, are accessible through the science program.

The concepts, techniques and attitudes that are common to all sciences form the core courses of the Science program. You develop an awareness of the interactions among the various scientific disciplines and their individual contributions to the advancement of knowledge - the total picture of science. Additional courses in a chosen concentration prepare you exceptionally well with both the tools and knowledge to enter a profession immediately upon graduation, or to embark on advanced study leading to a graduate degree.

Studies during your freshman year include courses in biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physics, and a sequence of courses in humanities. Studies in the humanities continue throughout the four-year program. In the next three years you may choose a concentration in the area of chemistry, chemical biology, mathematics, computational science, applied physics, or engineering physics. Upon successful completion of your studies, you are awarded the Bachelor of Science degree.

The minimal formal requirements for the science program are listed in the semester-by-semester schedule, including the Notes. Courses may be taken in a different order than listed. Consult the individual department schedule for more specific details.

Bachelor of Science (Computer Science)

The computer science major is fundamentally focused on the hardware-software interface. In any computer science major, operating systems is the most important course for that major. It teaches fundamental concepts such as interrupt-driven execution, virtual memory management, I/O devices and protection in multiprogramming. The computer science major covers additional topics including:

• Concurrent programming
• Database management systems
• Computer architecture
• Cybersecurity fundamentals

Bachelor of Science (Cybersecurity)

As the need for data security increases in all industries, including medicine, banking, and homeland security, the demand for professionals with knowledge in the areas of information assurance and computer security continues to grow. In 2003, as part of the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, the White House identified as a top priority the necessity of maintaining a pool of well-trained and certified IT security specialists through providing comprehensive training and education.

The cybersecurity major builds on a basic computer science education to also develop the deep technical skills required of a modern security professional. These skills include a deep knowledge and understanding of crytography, as well as the ability to diagnose threats and defences for software systems. Therefore the pivot course for this major is a course in secure systems that includes a cybersecurity lab as a co-requisite. The cybersecurity major includes courses in:

• Operating systems
• Concurrent programming
• Database management systems
• Cybersecurity fundamentals
• Privacy
• Cryptography
• Secure systems

Bachelor of Science (Information Systems)

Information Systems (IS) is designed for those seeking the background needed to apply information technology to support the major functions of a business or public institution. Information systems manage the collection, manipulation, storage, distribution and utilization of an organization's information. The Stevens IS major distinguishes itself by its technical rigor, and by providing high-level skills in software development and systems analysis. A solid background in business skills is combined with an information technology background whose technical core is shared with other majors in the computer science department. Both strong technical ability and a firm grounding in business skills are essential for the modern high-end IS professional.

Both the two-year skills spine and the senior-year capstone project course are shared between Information Systems and Computer Science majors. This ensures that IS majors obtain the rigorous grounding in IS skills that the high-end IS professional is expected to have. While the Computer Science program is designed to allow majors to drill down to specific technical areas, the Information Systems program offers a focus on business and management functions, including basic business skills such as accounting, marketing and organizational behavior. The IS program also provides a specific focus on systems analysis and information management: how an organization (be it business, government or any other kind of organization) can structure its IS function, and how the IS manager relates to the rest of the managerial structure.

In recognition of the modern IS environment, the IS program has an additional emphasis on networked information. Courses in systems programming, Web programming and databases demonstrate how to realize the opportunities offered by IS in managing information. Courses in cybersecurity and privacy address the technical, managerial and legal hazards that must be addressed in the modern networked world. Indeed, much of the IS core is shared with the other majors in the computer science department. While these majors drill down to technical aspects of computer systems, IS focuses on organizational aspects of information management. The IS major includes courses in:

• database management systems
• cybersecurity fundamentals
• privacy
• business skills:
• economics
• accounting
• marketing
• planning
• requirements acquisition and human computer interaction
• web programming and service oriented architecture (SOA)

Bachelor of Science (Service Oriented Computing)

Technologies such as Web services are facilitating a view of software as services, more fine-grain than the normal view of software libraries, that may be used for heavyweight inter-enterprise application integration, but may also be used for very flexible lightweight rapid development of new applications. This leads to a growing demand for front-end applications, that leverage the provision of existing software services, but where the emphasis of the software development is providing client front-ends. The tasks that such developers pursue range all the way from designing and implementing web pages, to developing distributed collaborative applications with sophisticated database backends.

The Bachelor of Science in Service Oriented Computing (BS/SOC) is a response to this trend in the marketplace for IT skills. At a first approximation, it may be viewed as occupying an intermediate point along the continuum between computer science and information systems. The BS/SOC provides less coverage of the hardware/software interface and focuses instead on front-end and distributed application development skills, with an emphasis on the basic mathematical and problem-solving skills required of the modern software developer. Indeed, software development skills that are considered optional in many computer science curricula, such as concurrent programming, building reliabile distributed systems, and operational semantics for interpreters, are core components of the BS/SOC program. The BS/SOC provides courses in:

• concurrent programming
• databases
• cybersecurity fundamentals
• requirements acquisition and human computer interaction
• web programming and service oriented architecture (SOA)
• distributed systems