Students from around the world come to study computer science at Virginia Tech because of our extensive course offerings, career development opportunities, experietial learning, and cutting-edge research opportunities.
Our Bachelor of Science degree program is accredited by theComputing Accreditation Commissionof theAccreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.Learn more about thedepartment's accreditation, mission, and educational objectives.
Fromstudent organizations, such as theAssociation for Women in Computing,CS-Squaredand theCyber Security Clubtoresearch projectsusing the latest technology, there are always opportunities and challenges to help today's students become the technology leaders and innovators of tomorrow.
Bachelor of Science in computer science
The Department of Computer Science awards a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science to hundreds of graduates each year. Students can choose among three majors:
- computer science
- secure computing
- data-centric computing
The computer science major provides a comprehensive foundation preparing students for a wide variety of computing careers. The list of courses required for the major and a suggested timetable are provided in the major checksheet:
- Checksheet: CS Majors entering under UG Catalog 2023-2024
- Checksheet: CS Majors entering under UG Catalog 2022-2023
- Checksheet: CS Majors entering under UG Catalog 2021-2022
- Checksheet: CS Majors graduating in 2022 and students entering under UG Catalog 2020-2021
- Checksheet: CS Majors graduating in 2021
The secure computing major provides a more specialized path for those who are especially interested in secure computing and cybersecurity topics. The list of courses required for the major and a suggested timetable are provided in the major checksheet:
- Checksheet: Secure Computing Majors entering under UG Catalog 2023-2024
- Checksheet: Secure Computing Majors entering under UG Catalog 2022-2023
- Checksheet: Secure Computing Majors entering under UG Catalog 2021-2022
- Checksheet: Secure Computing Majors graduating in 2022 and students entering under UG Catalog 2020-2021
- Checksheet: Secure Computing Majors graduating in 2021
The data-centric computing major provides a more specialized path for those who are especially interested in data science, analytics, and computational problems involving large volumes of data. The list of courses required for the major and a suggested timetable are provided in the major checksheet:
- Checksheet: Data Centric Computing Majors entering under UG Catalog 2023-2024
- Checksheet: Data-Centric Computing Majors entering under UG Catalog 2022-2023
- Checksheet: Data-Centric Computing Majors entering under UG Catalog 2021-2022
- Checksheet: Data-Centric Computing Majors graduating in 2022 and students entering under UG Catalog 2020-2021
- Checksheet: Data-Centric Computing Majors graduating in 2021
Minor in computer science
The Department of Computer Science also provides a minor in computer science for students who are pursuing other majors but wish to add a supplemental focus on computer science. The minor consists of 21 credits spread over seven courses:
- Checksheet: CS Minors entering under the UG Catalog 2023-2024
- Checksheet: CS Minors entering under UG Catalog 2022-2023
- Checksheet: CS Minors entering under UG Catalog 2021-2022
- Checksheet: CS Minors graduating in 2022 and students entering under UG Catalog 2020-2021
- Checksheet: CS Minors graduating in 2021
Minor in human-computer interaction
The Department of Computer Science also offers a minor in human-computer interaction. This minor is intended for both current computer science majors and for students who are pursuing other majors but wish to add a supplemental focus on HCI. The minor consists of 18 credits spread over six courses:
- Checksheet: HCI Minors entering under UG Catalog 2023-2024
- Checksheet: HCI Minors entering under UG Catalog 2022-2023
- Checksheet: HCI Minors entering under UG Catalog 2021-2022
- Checksheet: HCI Minors graduating in 2022 and students entering under UG Catalog 2020-2021
- Checksheet: HCI Minors graduating in 2021
Minor in cybersecurity
Virginia Tech's College of Engineering offers an undergraduate minor in cybersecurity that includes courses from the Department of Computer Science and the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Cybersecurity broadly covers the fields of information security, network security, and computer system security. As bad actors seek to steal information, protecting that information, the systems that process and store it, and the networks that carry it becomes increasingly important.
This minor seeks to provide a core technical basis for careers in secure system design and operation. Students graduating with a degree in computer science or computer engineering with a minor in cybersecurity could expect careers in software engineering, embedded systems engineering, or information systems management, with an emphasis on designing, developing, operating, or analyzing security features or subsystems.
Minors for CS majors
The following minors are popular choices for CS majors:
Interested in another minor? See the complete list of minors offered at Virginia Tech.
Optional Tracks of Study
Computer science is an incredibly diverse and dynamic field and there are many career paths that computer science graduates pursue. Even as students, computer science majors may choose from a wide range of junior and senior-level electives. In order to advise students as they navigate all these choices, the computer science department offers advisory tracks. Each track identifies a set of elective courses organized around a particular theme or sub-topic in computer science. Completing a track is not a requirement for graduation, but it allows a student to focus their undergraduate studies in an area of particular interest or prepares them for a particular career or graduate school option. Our current tracks provide broad coverage of computer science topics and reflect the particular strengths and interests of Virginia Tech's computer science faculty.
- Human-computer interaction track
- Knowledge, information and data track
- Media/creative computing track
- Scientific computing track
- Systems and networking track
