Department: Computer Science

Douglas Szajda, Chair
Professors Charlesworth
Assistant Professors Bhakta, Jiang, Park, Ware

Honors Program

Requirements for Admission to the Program:

1. 19 or more units of completed work.

2. A cumulative GPA of at least 3.3.

3. 3.5 or more units of computer science courses at the level of 221 or higher. (Some may be in-progress, but all should be completed by the end of the semester in which application to the program is made. Acceptance is contingent upon successful completion of the courses and meeting the GPA requirements in 2, 4.)

4. An average of at least 3.3 in the computer science courses at the level of 221 or higher.

5. A letter of recommendation from a member of the tenured or tenure-track computer science faculty.

A student who does not meet one of the qualifications 1-4 may be admitted to the program with the special recommendation of the Computer Science Program Coordinator/Chair.

In order to be admitted to the Honors program in Computer Science, a student must submit the appropriate Honors Application form, an advising copy of their transcript, a letter from the applicant explaining why they seek admission to the Honors program, and a letter from their supervising faculty member to the Computer Science Honors Coordinator, Dr. Yucong Jiang at yjiang3@richmond.edu.

Achievement of honors in computer science requires significant work beyond that necessary for a major in computer science. The program is intended for strong, self-motivated students seeking additional challenges. Faculty are pleased to discuss the program with interested students.

Requirements for Honors in Computer Science

1. Two 300-level courses taken with honors credit and with work appropriate for the honors designation. At least one of the courses must have a 300-level prerequisite.

2. A year (2 semesters) of directed independent study (2 units). The student will work with one or more faculty members on a special project. This project will be evaluated by the faculty advisor and the Computer Science Honors Coordinator after the first semester. If the supervisor is the Computer Science Honors Coordinator, another member of the Computer Science faculty will be designated for this evaluation. This independent study will result in an Honors Paper presentation to the Computer Science Program and open to the public. Even when the work results in a significant software component, a formal paper and presentation is required. The final requirement for honors in computer science is that this paper be accepted by the supervisor and a designated second reader. If the paper is not accepted then credit may still be given for the independent study even though the student has not earned the Honors designation.

For further remarks about requirements visit https://cs.richmond.edu/major-minor/honors.html