Computer Science
About Our Program
Housed within the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics, the computer science major is deeply rooted in the liberal arts experience. It will provide you with valuable technical skills in computer networking, software engineering, web programming, and artificial intelligence that can be applied across interdisciplinary topics and kickstart any career path.
Learning Experiences to Prepare for Your Career
Computer scientists solve problems that help people and companies in every industry. We prepare students so that they are eager to lead the teams that tackle them. Here are some of the ways you’ll collaborate with classmates and professors so you’re prepared for a team-oriented industry.Paid Summer Research
Gain experience conducting hands-on, intensive research with a faculty mentor in a topic area of your choice through the University Fellowship Program. Research can take place on campus, across the country, and around the world. You’ll make unexpected connections and be equipped to make unprecedented discoveries.
Conferences and Programming Contests
Attend regional conferences and put your collaborative skills to the test with your classmates as you compete against teams from other colleges and universities. A popular competition is the annual Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges Northeast Regional.
Senior Year Experience
As a capstone to your education, you will have opportunities to work closely with a faculty member as you conduct original research on a topic of your choice.
Festival of Science
St. Lawrence comes together each April to learn about and celebrate the research students conduct on campus everyday. Share your research during a community day focused on what you and your peers have accomplished.
Peterson Quantitative Resource Center
Encouraging and developing quantitative reasoning, skills, and applications, the QRC provides walk-in peer tutoring for students across all majors. You can gain help (or help others!) preparing for a quiz or exam, analyzing data, calculating and interpreting statistics, using quantitative software, designing an experiment, or anything else that would support your academic success.
Internships
In the past, our majors have explored career possibilities with startups, financial institutions, non-profit organizations, and government agencies during semester breaks and off-campus study, including:
- Dow Jones
- IT Solutions Consulting
- The Hotchkiss School
- Crossbeam data escrow service
- St. Lawrence Summer Research Fellowship
- Nature Up North
- Student Conservation Association
- Navajo National Monument - National Park Service
- Esri
Campus Jobs
Many of our students hold hands-on positions right on campus that enhance their classroom learning. In addition to faculty-mentored research, students also serve as:
- Peer tutors
- PQRC mentors
- Teaching assistants
- GIS lab technicians
- IT Helpdesk support
Global Perspectives
In addition to seven St. Lawrence-run programs found in places like France, Kenya, London, and Spain, you can choose from more than 30 affiliate programs in over 20 countries to challenge your perspective and expand your worldview. Popular destinations for computer science majors include Trinidad and Tobago, Australia, New York City, and the United Kingdom.
Q-Club
Short for Quantitative Club, this departmental student organization will give you the chance to share research, internship, and summer program experiences, listen to faculty give talks on related areas of interest, and even connect with alumni who study and work in quantitative fields. Pizza and drinks provided.
Among the 150+ other clubs and organizations at St. Lawrence, computer science majors have enjoyed opportunities to participate in activities to round out their collegiate experience, including:
- Esports (varsity and club teams)
- Sports Analytics Club
- Quantitative Club
- The Hub
- The Thelomathesian Society
- International House
- Ives Society
- Laurentian Singers
Why St. Lawrence for Computer Science?
Any student can get into and take introductory computer science classes as early as their first semester
of computer science majors completed at least one internship before they graduated
Enhanced Research Infrastructure
Our high-performance computer and microarray scanner is an IBM System x3850 that contains:
- 64 Intel Xeon 2.2GHz Processors
- one terabyte of RAM
- 1.2 terabytes of hard drive
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Problem of the Week
With a new problem posted every Friday during the academic year, you have the chance to solve it, earn points, win prizes, and be declared the ‘grand winner.’
computer science majors who complete an advanced degree within five years of graduation
In-Demand Careers
Data scientists, statisticians, university professors, information security analysts, and mathematicians are among the top-10 careers to pursue today (CareerCast, 2019).
More Program Information
Program Requirements & Courses
Explore computer science major requirements, as well as electives and combined study options.
Complementary and Related Programs
Many of our students use computer science as a lens to enhance their education in other fields. If you are interested in studying computer science, you may be interested in pairing it with another major.
Computer Science Faculty
Learn from our computer science faculty whose research interests include computer architecture, programming languages, software engineering, SystemC, multimedia, home networks, and human computer interaction.
Choong-Soo Lee
Dr. Ed Harcourt
Lisa Torrey
Dr. Kevin A. Angstadt
Our Tools and Facilities
Thanks to a recent National Science Foundation grant, you can have access to our high-performance computer and a microarray scanner. We also maintain three lab facilities with 55 desktop computers which are open to all students during the week, and students in computer science courses have after-hours key-card access.
Beyond the Classroom
Celebrate Pi Day at our annual Piathlon. Challenge yourself with the Problem of the Week. Eat pizza and listen to short talks at Q-Club. Apply to do summer research with a faculty member. We’re proud that our students enjoy their coursework and seek even more opportunities to collaborate with their professors and peers.
Featured Events
Q-Club Meeting
Speaker: Leif Harvey (Computer Science Major) will present on his experience this past summer as a Customer Technology Intern at L.L. Bean.
Get More Information
We’re excited to learn more about you, tell you more about our interdisciplinary academic programs, show you around our beautiful campus, and help you navigate your college search.
Apply to St. Lawrence
We’re looking for curious students who are eager to make a difference. We take a holistic approach to reviewing applications and consider all aspects of your application and what we learn about you.