Computer Science, BSE

Computer scientists and engineers have revolutionized society and created the computer and telecommunications industries that are so important to human life and the world's economy. As a result of this revolution, expertise in computer science is essential in many new areas, including computer and network service and consulting companies, financial institutions, health industries, natural science labs and medical research labs, and other contexts where intensive manipulation of information is important. As a result, opportunities for computer scientists and engineers have expanded greatly, both in specialized fields as well as in numerous dual-career opportunities in which computer expertise is combined with advanced degrees in business, communication, engineering, law, medicine, and science.

For more information: https://www.cis.upenn.edu/computer-science-bse/

The degree and major requirements displayed are intended as a guide for students entering in the Fall of 2026 and later. Students should consult with their academic program regarding final certifications and requirements for graduation.

Computer Science (CSCI) Major Requirements

Engineering
CIS 1100Introduction to Computer Programming1
Or CIS Elective 1
CIS 1200Programming Languages and Techniques I1
CIS 1210Programming Languages and Techniques II1
CIS 2400Introduction to Computer Systems1
CIS 2620Automata, Computability, and Complexity1
CIS 3200Introduction to Algorithms1
CIS 4480/5480Operating Systems Design and Implementation1
CIS 4710/5710Computer Organization and Design1
CIS Elective *,14
CIS 4000Senior Project1
or CIS 4100 CIS Senior Thesis
CIS 4010Senior Project1
or CIS 4110 CIS Senior Thesis
Math and Natural Science
MATH 1400Calculus, Part I1
MATH 1410Calculus, Part II1
or MATH 1610 Calculus for the Mathematical Sciences
CIS 1600Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science1
CIS 2610Discrete Probability, Stochastic Processes, and Statistical Inference1
or ESE 3010 Engineering Probability
or STAT 4300 Probability
ESE/ENM 2030Linear Algebra with Applications to Engineering and AI1
or ENM 2400 Differential Equations and Linear Algebra
MEAM 1100
& MEAM 1470		Introduction to Mechanics
and Introduction to Mechanics Lab		1.5
or PHYS 0150 Principles of Physics I: Mechanics and Wave Motion
or PHYS 0170 Honors Physics I: Mechanics and Wave Motion
PHYS 0151Principles of Physics II: Electromagnetism and Radiation1.5
or PHYS 0171 Honors Physics II: Electromagnetism and Radiation
or ESE 1120 Engineering Electromagnetics
SEAS Math (EUMA) or SEAS Natural Science (EUNS)1
Attribute EUMA
Attribute EUNS
Technical Electives *,2
Restricted or Unrestricted Technical Electives1
Unrestricted Technical Electives5
General Electives 3
EAS 2030Engineering Ethics1
or CIS 4230 Ethical Algorithm Design
or CIS 5230 Ethical Algorithm Design
or LAWM 5060 ML: Technology Law
Select 4 Social Science or Humanities courses4
Social Science (EUSS)
Humanities (EUHS)
Select 2 Social Science, Humanities or Technology in Business & Society courses2
Social Science (EUSS)
Humanities (EUHS)
Technology in Business and Society (EUTB)
Free Elective 4
Select 1 course unit of free electives1
Total Course Units37
*

CIS and Technical Electives must include a course from each of the following lists:

The same course can count towards multiple lists, e.g., NETS 2120 and CIS 2450 together satisfy all five lists.

1

A CIS Elective is a CIS or NETS engineering course at the 1000 level or above, (NOTE: not all CIS/NETS courses are engineering courses; please see the SEAS Undergraduate Handbook. At most, one CU of 1000-level coursework may be used as a CIS Elective.

2

All Technical Electives must be from the list of approved courses.

3

Must include a Writing Seminar from the list below:
WRIT 0020 (H), WRIT 0021 (SS), WRIT 0100 (H),WRIT 0110 (H), WRIT 0120 (H), WRIT 0130 (H), WRIT 0140 (H), WRIT 0150 (H), WRIT 0160 (SS), WRIT 0170 (SS), WRIT 0220 (TBS), WRIT 0230 (H), WRIT 0250 (H), WRIT 0260 (H), WRIT 0270 (H), WRIT 0280 (SS),WRIT 0300 (H), WRIT 0310 (TBS), WRIT 0320 (-), WRIT 0330 (H), WRIT 0340 (SS), WRIT 0370 (SS), WRIT 0380 (SS), WRIT 0390 (H), WRIT 0400 (TBS), WRIT 0410 (H), WRIT 0480 (SS), WRIT 0490 (H), WRIT 0500 (SS), WRIT 0550 (SS), WRIT 0570 (H), WRIT 0580 (H), WRIT 0590 (SS),WRIT 0650 (TBS), WRIT 0670 (H), WRIT 0680 (H), WRIT 0730 (H), WRIT 0740 (TBS)

4

Penn Engineering undergraduates may not use courses on this list toward their degree:

Concentrations

Students may select one of seven concentrations.

Artificial Intelligence

CIS 2210Introduction to Artificial Intelligence1
or CIS 5210 Artificial Intelligence
CIS 4190/5190Applied Machine Learning1
or CIS 5200 Machine Learning
Electives (Two from the following)2
ESE 2000
Artificial Intelligence Lab: Data, Systems, and Decisions
CIS 5220
Deep Learning for Data Science
CIS 4300/5300
Natural Language Processing
CIS 5800
Machine Perception
CIS 4810/5810
Computer Vision & Computational Photography
MEAM 5100
Design of Mechatronic Systems
MEAM 5200
Introduction to Robotics
NETS 2130
Crowdsourcing and Human Computation
Total Course Units4

Cognitive Science

COGS 1001/CIS 1400Introduction to Cognitive Science1
LING 0500Introduction to Formal Linguistics1
or LING 2300 Sound Structure of Language
or LING 2500 Introduction to Syntax
or LING 2700 Language Acquisition
CIS 2210Introduction to Artificial Intelligence1
or CIS 5210 Artificial Intelligence
or CIS 5200 Machine Learning
or CIS 4300/5300 Natural Language Processing
PSYC 1210Introduction to Brain and Behavior1
or PSYC 1340 Perception
or PSYC 1230 Cognitive Neuroscience
or PSYC 1310 Language and Thought
or PSYC 2377 Cognitive Development
or PSYC 2737 Judgment and Decisions
PHIL 1710Introduction to Logic1
or PHIL 2640 Introduction to Philosophy of Mind
or PHIL 4721 Logic and Computability 1
or PHIL 4840 Philosophy of Psychology
Total Course Units5

Computational Biology

BIOL 1101Introduction to Biology A1.5
or BIOL 1121 Introduction to Biology - The Molecular Biology of Life
BIOL 2210Molecular Biology and Genetics1
ESE 4020Statistics for Data Science1
or STAT 4310 Statistical Inference
or BIOL 2510 Statistics for Biologists
CIS 5450Big Data Analytics1
or ESE 3050 Foundations of Data Science
or CIS 4190/5190 Applied Machine Learning
or CIS 5200 Machine Learning
or ESE 5450 Data Mining: Learning from Massive Datasets
or STAT 4710 Modern Data Mining
BIOL 4231Genome Science and Genomic Medicine1
or BE 5690 Principles and Engineering of Cell Signaling
or BE 4800 Introduction to Biomedical Imaging
or BE 3060 Cellular Engineering
BIOL 4536/CIS 4360Introduction to Computational Biology & Biological Modeling1
or BIOL 5536/GCB 5360 Fundamentals of Computational Biology
or BIOL 5571 Topics in Computational Biology
Total Course Units6.5

Computer Vision

CIS 5800Machine Perception1
CIS 5810Computer Vision & Computational Photography1
CIS 6800Advanced Topics in Machine Perception1
CIS 5200Machine Learning1
Total Course Units4

Data Science

CIS 4190/5190Applied Machine Learning1
or CIS 5200 Machine Learning
or ESE 5450 Data Mining: Learning from Massive Datasets
or STAT 4710 Modern Data Mining
CIS 2450/5450Big Data Analytics1
or ESE 3050 Foundations of Data Science
ESE 4020Statistics for Data Science1
or STAT 4310 Statistical Inference
Elective (One from the following)1
CIS 2210
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
CIS 4500/5500
Database and Information Systems
CIS 4550/5550
Internet and Web Systems
CIS 5220
Deep Learning for Data Science
CIS 5210
Artificial Intelligence
CIS 5800
Machine Perception
STAT 4350
Forecasting Methods for Management
STAT 4760
Applied Probability Models in Marketing
STAT 5200
Applied Econometrics I
Total Course Units4

Software Foundations

CIS 4521/5521Compilers and Interpreters1
CIS 5000Software Foundations1
Elective (Two from the following)2
CIS 3500
Software Design/Engineering
CIS 5400
Principles of Embedded Computation
CIS 5470
Software Analysis
CIS 5520
Advanced Programming
CIS 6730
Computer-Aided Verification
CIS 6820
Friendly Logics
Total Course Units4

Systems

Select 5 CU from the following5
CIS 4510/5510
Computer and Network Security
CIS 4410/5410
Embedded Software for Life-Critical Applications
CIS 4500/5500
Database and Information Systems
CIS 4550/5550
Internet and Web Systems
CIS 5050
Software Systems
CIS 5530
Networked Systems
NETS 2120
Scalable and Cloud Computing
Total Course Units5
Plan of Study Grid
First Year
FallCourse Units
CIS 1100 Introduction to Computer Programming 1
General Elective (e.g., WRIT course) 1
MATH 1400 Calculus, Part I 1
PHYS 0150 Principles of Physics I: Mechanics and Wave Motion 1.5
 Course Units4.50
Spring
CIS 1200 Programming Languages and Techniques I 1
CIS 1600 Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science 1
MATH 1410 Calculus, Part II 1
PHYS 0151 Principles of Physics II: Electromagnetism and Radiation 1.5
 Course Units4.50
Second Year
Fall
CIS 1210 Programming Languages and Techniques II 1
CIS 2620 Automata, Computability, and Complexity 1
ESE 2030 Linear Algebra with Applications to Engineering and AI 1
Math or Natural Science Elective 1
General Elective 1
 Course Units5.00
Spring
CIS 2400 Introduction to Computer Systems 1
STAT 4300 Probability 1
CIS Elective 1
Technical Elective 1
General Elective 1
 Course Units5.00
Third Year
Fall
CIS 4480 Operating Systems Design and Implementation 1
CIS 3200 Introduction to Algorithms 1
CIS Elective 1
Technical Elective 1
 Course Units4.00
Spring
CIS 4710 Computer Organization and Design 1
CIS Elective 1
Technical Elective 1
General Elective 1
Engineering Ethics 1
 Course Units5.00
Fourth Year
Fall
CIS 4000 Senior Project 1
CIS Elective 1
Technical Elective 1
General Elective 2
 Course Units5.00
Spring
CIS 4010 Senior Project 1
Technical Elective 2
Free Elective 1
 Course Units4.00
 Total Course Units37.00