Computer science at some smaller schools (including liberal arts colleges)

Here is a list common upper level undergraduate computer science offerings at smaller schools, based on catalog descriptions. However, please take into account the following, which can require you to do additional investigation of each school:

  • When noted in the catalog, frequency of offering is listed. When not listed in the catalog, determining frequency of offering may require inspection of schedules or asking the computer science department directly.
  • Courses available through cross registration are not included.
  • Courses offered or their frequency of offering may change in the future.
  • Rigor and depth of courses on the same general subject may vary between schools.
  • Some schools may list a given course as a sophomore level course or a graduate level course instead of a junior or senior level course.
  • Some schools may offer less common electives not listed here (e.g. parallel computing, data mining, game programming). These may be of interest to some students.
  • Some schools may have several undergraduate courses in a given subject area (e.g. multiple hardware courses or multiple security and cryptography courses). These typically indicate a specialization emphasis at the school, which may be valuable for students whose interests match that specialization.
  • Schools include popularly mentioned smaller universities and liberal arts colleges, schools that have been mentioned in recent "smaller schools for computer science" threads, and some schools with automatic full ride merit scholarships for students with high enough GPA and test scores.


AC TC OS CM DB NW SC SE AI GR HW
?  2  2  2  2  2     2  2               Allegheny
1  2  1  2     2  2     2  <            Amherst
E     1                 1               Bowdoin
?  ?        ?  ?     ?  ?  ?            Brandeis
1  1  1  1     2     1     1  1         Bucknell
+  +  1     ?  ?     +  ?               Carleton
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?         Case Western Reserve
                                        Clark
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?     ?            Colgate
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Denison
   1  1  1  1  2     1        1         Emory
   ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Furman
1  1  2  2  2  2     1  2               Grinnell
1     1  1  1        *  1     1         Hamilton
E  2  2  2  2  2     E  E  1  2         Harvey Mudd
2  2  2  2                 2            Holy Cross
?  ?  ?     ?     ?  ?  ?               Howard
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Illinois Inst Tech
1  2  2     2  2     1     ?            Lafayette
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Louisiana Tech
1  1  2     1  2     1  2               Macalester
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  *  ?  ?  ?         Marist
E  E  1  E  E  E  1  ?  1  1  E         Michigan Tech
1     <  ?  ?  ?  ?  <  ?  ?            Middlebury
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Minnesota - Morris
   ?                    ?               New College of Florida
1  ?  1  1  ?  1  ?  1     ?  1         New Mexico Tech
   ?  ?     ?        ?     ?  ?         North Carolina - Asheville
?     ?     ?  ?           ?  ?         North Carolina Central
E  1  1  1  1     1     1  1            Oberlin
E     E     ?        ?  ?               Pomona
?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?         Prairie View A&M
?  ?                       ?            Reed
E  1  1  ?  1  1     E  1  1  1         Rensselaer Polytechnic
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rice
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?               Rochester (University of)
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rose Hulman
1  2  2        2     1        1         St. Olaf
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Santa Clara
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         South Dakota Mines
                                        SUNY - Geneseo
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Swarthmore
?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?  ?            Trinity University
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Truman State
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Tufts
?  ?                 ?  ?  ?            Tulane
1  1  1  1  1  E  1  *  ?               Tulsa
1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1     1  1         Tuskegee
E  E  1  1     ?        1  ?  1         Vassar
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Villanova
1  1  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Washington and Lee
?     ?  ?     ?     *     ?  ?         Washington St. Louis
1  1  2  2     <     *  <  2  2         Williams

E = every semester
+ = 2 out of 3 quarters
1 = every year
2 = every other year
< = less frequently than every other year
? = frequency of offering not listed in catalog; check schedules
* = projects in other courses; not all may be obvious from catalogs

AC = algorithms and complexity
TC = theory of computation, languages, automata
OS = operating systems
CM = compilers
DB = databases
NW = networks
SC = security and cryptography
SE = software engineering
AI = artificial intelligence
GR = graphics
HW = hardware courses


Updated:

Here is a list common upper level undergraduate computer science offerings at smaller schools, based on catalog descriptions. However, please take into account the following, which can require you to do additional investigation of each school:

  • When noted in the catalog, frequency of offering is listed. When not listed in the catalog, determining frequency of offering may require inspection of schedules or asking the computer science department directly.
  • Courses available through cross registration are not included.
  • Courses offered or their frequency of offering may change in the future.
  • Rigor and depth of courses on the same general subject may vary between schools.
  • Some schools may list a given course as a sophomore level course or a graduate level course instead of a junior or senior level course.
  • Some schools may offer less common electives not listed here (e.g. parallel computing, data mining, game programming). These may be of interest to some students.
  • Some schools may have several undergraduate courses in a given subject area (e.g. multiple hardware courses or multiple security and cryptography courses). These typically indicate a specialization emphasis at the school, which may be valuable for students whose interests match that specialization.
  • Schools include popularly mentioned smaller universities and liberal arts colleges, schools that have been mentioned in recent "smaller schools for computer science" threads, and some schools with automatic full ride merit scholarships for students with high enough GPA and test scores.


AC TC OS CM DB NW SC SE AI GR HW
?  2  2  2  2  2     2  2               Allegheny
1  2  1  2     2  2     2  <            Amherst
E     1                 1               Bowdoin
?  ?        ?  ?     ?  ?  ?            Brandeis
1  1  1  1     2     1     1  1         Bucknell
+  +  1     ?  ?     +  ?               Carleton
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?         Case Western Reserve
                                        Clark
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?     ?            Colgate
?     ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Colorado School of Mines
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Denison
   1  1  1  1  2     1        1         Emory
   ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Furman
1  1  1     1     1     1  1  1         Georgetown
1  1  2  2  2  2     1  2               Grinnell
1  1  1  1  1        *  1     1         Hamilton
E  2  2  2  2  2     E  E  1  2         Harvey Mudd
2  2  2  2                 2            Holy Cross
?  ?  ?     ?     ?  ?  ?               Howard
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Illinois Inst Tech
1  2  2     2  2     1     ?            Lafayette
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Louisiana Tech
1  1  2     1  2     1  2               Macalester
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  *  ?  ?  ?         Marist
E  E  1  E  E  E  1  ?  1  1  E         Michigan Tech
1     <  ?  ?  ?  ?  <  ?  ?            Middlebury
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Minnesota - Morris
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Missouri S&T
   ?                    ?               New College of Florida
1  ?  1  1  ?  1  ?  1     ?  1         New Mexico Tech
   ?  ?     ?        ?     ?  ?         North Carolina - Asheville
?     ?     ?  ?           ?  ?         North Carolina Central
E  1  1  1  1     1     1  1            Oberlin
%  %  %     %  %     %  %     ?         Olin Engineering
E     E     ?        ?  ?               Pomona
?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?         Prairie View A&M
?  ?                       ?            Reed
E  1  1  ?  1  1     E  1  1  1         Rensselaer Polytechnic
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rice
1  2  2  2  2  2  2  E  2     2         Richmond
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?               Rochester (University of)
E  E  1     E  1  E  *  E  E  1         Rochester Inst Tech
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rose Hulman
1  2  2        2     1        1         St. Olaf
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Santa Clara
E  E  E  ?  E  ?  ?  E  ?  ?  ?         Sonoma State
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         South Dakota Mines
                                        SUNY - Geneseo
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Swarthmore
?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?  ?            Trinity University
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Truman State
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Tufts
?  ?                 ?  ?  ?            Tulane
1  1  1  1  1  E  1  *  ?               Tulsa
1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1     1  1         Tuskegee
E  E  1  1     ?        1  ?  1         Vassar
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Villanova
1  1  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Washington and Lee
?     ?  ?     ?     *     ?  ?         Washington St. Louis
1  1  2  2     <     *  <  2  2         Williams

E = every semester
+ = 2 out of 3 quarters
1 = every year
2 = every other year
< = less frequently than every other year
? = frequency of offering not listed in catalog; check schedules
* = projects in other courses; not all may be obvious from catalogs
% = some of the content is found in courses covering multiple topics

AC = algorithms and complexity
TC = theory of computation, languages, automata
OS = operating systems
CM = compilers
DB = databases
NW = networks
SC = security and cryptography
SE = software engineering
AI = artificial intelligence
GR = graphics
HW = hardware courses


Just wanted to add that richmond offers graphics too. It’s not on the two-year course rotation for some reason that’s posted, but it was offered last semester, so maybe it’s offered less than every other year. It is a regular department course (not a special topics).

Case Western also offers a computer security course and offers cryptography (cryptology) through the math department.

Thanks for this post! This is of high interest to me, in that my son is looking for exactly this – CS within a small school environment (particularly a LAC). We just visited Trinity University this last weekend, in fact, and were very impressed with their program. I wanted to put it out there that another school on his list, but not on yours, is U. of Puget Sound, which seems to have quite a strong CS department. Using your rubric above, their upper level offerings would look like this:

AC TC OS CM DB NW SC SE AI GR HW
1 < 2 2 1 1 0 < 2 1 <

I don’t know how to make the formatting work, so I put in a zero for the one blank on the list, SC…

Also, fwiw, Trinity U. does offer a security course.

Updated:

Here is a list common upper level undergraduate computer science offerings at smaller schools, based on catalog descriptions. However, please take into account the following, which can require you to do additional investigation of each school:

  • When noted in the catalog, frequency of offering is listed. When not listed in the catalog, determining frequency of offering may require inspection of schedules or asking the computer science department directly.
  • Courses available through cross registration are not included.
  • Courses offered or their frequency of offering may change in the future.
  • Rigor and depth of courses on the same general subject may vary between schools.
  • Some schools may list a given course as a sophomore level course or a graduate level course instead of a junior or senior level course.
  • Some schools may offer less common electives not listed here (e.g. parallel computing, data mining, game programming). These may be of interest to some students.
  • Some schools may have several undergraduate courses in a given subject area (e.g. multiple hardware courses or multiple security and cryptography courses). These typically indicate a specialization emphasis at the school, which may be valuable for students whose interests match that specialization.
  • Schools include popularly mentioned smaller universities and liberal arts colleges, schools that have been mentioned in recent "smaller schools for computer science" threads, and some schools with automatic full ride merit scholarships for students with high enough GPA and test scores.


AC TC OS CM DB NW SC SE AI GR HW
?  2  2  2  2  2     2  2               Allegheny
1  2  1  2     2  2     2  <            Amherst
E     1                 1               Bowdoin
?  ?        ?  ?     ?  ?  ?            Brandeis
1  1  1  1     2     1     1  1         Bucknell
+  +  1     ?  ?     +  ?               Carleton
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Case Western Reserve
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         CUNY CCNY
%  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         CUNY Hunter
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         CUNY York
                                        Clark
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?     ?            Colgate
?     ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Colorado School of Mines
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Denison
   1  1  1  1  2     1        1         Emory
   ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Furman
1  1  1     1     1     1  1  1         Georgetown
1  1  2  2  2  2     1  2               Grinnell
1  1  1  1  1        *  1     1         Hamilton
E  2  2  2  2  2     E  E  1  2         Harvey Mudd
2  2  2  2                 2            Holy Cross
?  ?  ?     ?     ?  ?  ?               Howard
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Illinois Inst Tech
1  2  2     2  2     1     ?            Lafayette
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Louisiana Tech
1  1  2     1  2     1  2               Macalester
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  *  ?  ?  ?         Marist
E  E  1  E  E  E  1  ?  1  1  E         Michigan Tech
1     <  ?  ?  ?  ?  <  ?  ?            Middlebury
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Minnesota - Morris
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Missouri S&T
   ?                    ?               New College of Florida
1  ?  1  1  ?  1  ?  1     ?  1         New Mexico Tech
   ?  ?     ?        ?     ?  ?         North Carolina - Asheville
?     ?     ?  ?           ?  ?         North Carolina Central
E  1  1  1  1     1     1  1            Oberlin
%  %  %     %  %     %  %     ?         Olin Engineering
E     E     ?        ?  ?               Pomona
?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?         Prairie View A&M
1  <  2  2  1  1     <  2  1  <         Puget Sound
?  ?                       ?            Reed
E  1  1  ?  1  1     E  1  1  1         Rensselaer Polytechnic
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rice
1  2  2  2  2  2  2  E  2  <  2         Richmond
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?               Rochester (University of)
E  E  1     E  1  E  *  E  E  1         Rochester Inst Tech
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rose Hulman
1  2  2        2     1        1         St. Olaf
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Santa Clara
E  E  E  ?  E  ?  ?  E  ?  ?  ?         Sonoma State
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         South Dakota Mines
                                        SUNY - Geneseo
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Swarthmore
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Trinity University
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Truman State
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Tufts
?  ?                 ?  ?  ?            Tulane
1  1  1  1  1  E  1  *  ?               Tulsa
1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1     1  1         Tuskegee
E  E  1  1     ?        1  ?  1         Vassar
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Villanova
1  1  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Washington and Lee
?     ?  ?     ?     *     ?  ?         Washington St. Louis
1  1  2  2     <     *  <  2  2         Williams

E = every semester
+ = 2 out of 3 quarters
1 = every year
2 = every other year
< = less frequently than every other year
? = frequency of offering not listed in catalog; check schedules
* = projects in other courses; not all may be obvious from catalogs
% = some of the content is found in courses covering multiple topics

AC = algorithms and complexity
TC = theory of computation, languages, automata
OS = operating systems
CM = compilers
DB = databases
NW = networks
SC = security and cryptography
SE = software engineering
AI = artificial intelligence
GR = graphics
HW = hardware courses


Updated:

Here is a list common upper level undergraduate computer science offerings at smaller schools, based on catalog descriptions. However, please take into account the following, which can require you to do additional investigation of each school:

  • When noted in the catalog, frequency of offering is listed. When not listed in the catalog, determining frequency of offering may require inspection of schedules or asking the computer science department directly.
  • Courses available through cross registration are not included.
  • Courses offered or their frequency of offering may change in the future.
  • Rigor and depth of courses on the same general subject may vary between schools.
  • Some schools may list a given course as a sophomore level course or a graduate level course instead of a junior or senior level course.
  • Some schools may offer less common electives not listed here (e.g. parallel computing, data mining, game programming). These may be of interest to some students.
  • Some schools may have several undergraduate courses in a given subject area (e.g. multiple hardware courses or multiple security and cryptography courses). These typically indicate a specialization emphasis at the school, which may be valuable for students whose interests match that specialization.
  • Schools include popularly mentioned smaller universities and liberal arts colleges, schools that have been mentioned in recent "smaller schools for computer science" threads, and some schools with automatic full ride merit scholarships for students with high enough GPA and test scores.


AC TC OS CM DB NW SC SE AI GR HW
?  2  2  2  2  2     2  2               Allegheny
1  2  1  2     2  2     2  <            Amherst
   <              ?                     Bates
E     1                 1               Bowdoin
?  ?        ?  ?     ?  ?  ?            Brandeis
?     ?  ?              ?  ?            Bryn Mawr
1  1  1  1     2     1     1  1         Bucknell
+  +  1     ?  ?     +  ?               Carleton
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Case Western Reserve
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         CUNY CCNY
%  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         CUNY Hunter
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         CUNY York
                                        Clark
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?     ?            Colgate
?  ?  ?     ?  ?        ?  ?            Colorado College
?     ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Colorado School of Mines
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Connecticut College
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Denison
   1  1  1  1  2     1        1         Emory
?  ?  2        2        ?               Franklin and Marshall
   ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Furman
1  1  1     1     1     1  1  1         Georgetown
1  1  2  2  2  2     1  2               Grinnell
1  1  1  1  1        *  1     1         Hamilton
E  2  2  2  2  2     E  E  1  2         Harvey Mudd
?  ?     ?              ?  ?            Haverford
2  2  2  2                 2            Holy Cross
?  ?  ?     ?     ?  ?  ?               Howard
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Illinois Inst Tech
1  2  2     2  2     1     ?            Lafayette
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Louisiana Tech
1  1  2     1  2     1  2               Macalester
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  *  ?  ?  ?         Marist
E  E  1  E  E  E  1  ?  1  1  E         Michigan Tech
1     <  ?  ?  ?  ?  <  ?  ?            Middlebury
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Minnesota - Morris
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Missouri S&T
1  1  1              1  2  1            Mount Holyoke
   ?                    ?               New College of Florida
1  ?  1  1  ?  1  ?  1     ?  1         New Mexico Tech
   ?  ?     ?        ?     ?  ?         North Carolina - Asheville
?     ?     ?  ?           ?  ?         North Carolina Central
E  1  1  1  1     1     1  1            Oberlin
%                                       Occidental
%  %  %     %  %     %  %     ?         Olin Engineering
E     E     ?        ?  ?               Pomona
?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?         Prairie View A&M
1  <  2  2  1  1     <  2  1  <         Puget Sound
?  ?                       ?            Reed
E  1  1  ?  1  1     E  1  1  1         Rensselaer Polytechnic
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rice
1  2  2  2  2  2  2  E  2  <  2         Richmond
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?               Rochester (University of)
E  E  1     E  1  E  *  E  E  1         Rochester Inst Tech
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rose Hulman
1  2  2        2     1        1         St. Olaf
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Santa Clara
E  E  E  ?  E  ?  ?  E  ?  ?  ?         Sonoma State
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         South Dakota Mines
                                        SUNY - Geneseo
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Swarthmore
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Trinity University
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Truman State
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Tufts
?  ?                 ?  ?  ?            Tulane
1  1  1  1  1  E  1  *  ?               Tulsa
1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1     1  1         Tuskegee
E  E  1  1     ?        1  ?  1         Vassar
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Villanova
1  1  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Washington and Lee
?     ?  ?     ?     *     ?  ?         Washington St. Louis
1  1  2  2     <     *  <  2  2         Williams

E = every semester
+ = 2 out of 3 quarters
1 = every year
2 = every other year
< = less frequently than every other year
? = frequency of offering not listed in catalog; check schedules
* = projects in other courses; not all may be obvious from catalogs
% = some of the content is found in courses covering multiple topics

AC = algorithms and complexity
TC = theory of computation, languages, automata
OS = operating systems
CM = compilers
DB = databases
NW = networks
SC = security and cryptography
SE = software engineering
AI = artificial intelligence
GR = graphics
HW = hardware courses


ucbalumnus

Williams has a Cryptography course offered alternate years,
listed under Physics & Math: “Protecting Information: Applications of Abstract Algebra and Quantum Physics”

It’s typically co-taught with Prof Wooters in Physics, an amazing guy. Loepp is excellent, too, one of quite a few Math profs at Williams honored with AMS teaching awards. They co-authored text. Link below has link for more about her.

Here’s link for description http://catalog.williams.edu/catalog.php?strm=1153&subj=PHYS&cn=316&sctn=%20&crsid=011668

Updated:

Here is a list common upper level undergraduate computer science offerings at smaller schools, based on catalog descriptions. However, please take into account the following, which can require you to do additional investigation of each school:

  • When noted in the catalog, frequency of offering is listed. When not listed in the catalog, determining frequency of offering may require inspection of schedules or asking the computer science department directly.
  • Courses available through cross registration are not included.
  • Courses offered or their frequency of offering may change in the future.
  • Rigor and depth of courses on the same general subject may vary between schools.
  • Some schools may list a given course as a sophomore level course or a graduate level course instead of a junior or senior level course.
  • Some schools may offer less common electives not listed here (e.g. parallel computing, data mining, game programming). These may be of interest to some students.
  • Some schools may have several undergraduate courses in a given subject area (e.g. multiple hardware courses or multiple security and cryptography courses). These typically indicate a specialization emphasis at the school, which may be valuable for students whose interests match that specialization.
  • Schools include popularly mentioned smaller universities and liberal arts colleges, schools that have been mentioned in recent "smaller schools for computer science" threads, and some schools with automatic full ride merit scholarships for students with high enough GPA and test scores.


AC TC OS CM DB NW SC SE AI GR HW
?  2  2  2  2  2     2  2               Allegheny
1  2  1  2     2  2     2  <            Amherst
   <              ?                     Bates
E     1                 1               Bowdoin
?  ?        ?  ?     ?  ?  ?            Brandeis
?     ?  ?              ?  ?            Bryn Mawr
1  1  1  1     2     1     1  1         Bucknell
+  +  1     ?  ?     +  ?               Carleton
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Case Western Reserve
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         CUNY CCNY
%  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         CUNY Hunter
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         CUNY York
                                        Clark
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?     ?            Colgate
?  ?  ?     ?  ?        ?  ?            Colorado College
?     ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Colorado School of Mines
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Connecticut College
+  1  1  2  2  1  1  +  1  1  1         Dartmouth
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Denison
   1  1  1  1  2     1        1         Emory
?  ?  2        2        ?               Franklin and Marshall
   ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Furman
1  1  1     1     1     1  1  1         Georgetown
1  1  2  2  2  2     1  2               Grinnell
1  1  1  1  1        *  1     1         Hamilton
E  2  2  2  2  2     E  E  1  2         Harvey Mudd
?  ?     ?              ?  ?            Haverford
2  2  2  2                 2            Holy Cross
?  ?  ?     ?     ?  ?  ?               Howard
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Illinois Inst Tech
1  2  2     2  2     1     ?            Lafayette
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Louisiana Tech
1  1  2     1  2     1  2               Macalester
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  *  ?  ?  ?         Marist
E  E  1  E  E  E  1  ?  1  1  E         Michigan Tech
1     <  ?  ?  ?  ?  <  ?  ?            Middlebury
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Minnesota - Morris
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Missouri S&T
1  1  1              1  2  1            Mount Holyoke
   ?                    ?               New College of Florida
1  ?  1  1  ?  1  ?  1     ?  1         New Mexico Tech
   ?  ?     ?        ?     ?  ?         North Carolina - Asheville
?     ?     ?  ?           ?  ?         North Carolina Central
E  1  1  1  1     1     1  1            Oberlin
%                                       Occidental
%  %  %     %  %     %  %     ?         Olin Engineering
E     E     ?        ?  ?               Pomona
?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?         Prairie View A&M
1  <  2  2  1  1     <  2  1  <         Puget Sound
?  ?                       ?            Reed
E  1  1  ?  1  1     E  1  1  1         Rensselaer Polytechnic
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rice
1  2  2  2  2  2  2  E  2  <  2         Richmond
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?               Rochester (University of)
E  E  1     E  1  E  *  E  E  1         Rochester Inst Tech
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rose Hulman
1  2  2        2     1        1         St. Olaf
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Santa Clara
E  E  E  ?  E  ?  ?  E  ?  ?  ?         Sonoma State
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         South Dakota Mines
                                        SUNY - Geneseo
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Swarthmore
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Trinity University
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Truman State
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Tufts
?  ?                 ?  ?  ?            Tulane
1  1  1  1  1  E  1  *  ?               Tulsa
1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1     1  1         Tuskegee
E  E  1  1     ?        1  ?  1         Vassar
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Villanova
1  1  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Washington and Lee
?     ?  ?     ?     *     ?  ?         Washington St. Louis
1  1  2  2     <  2  *  <  2  2         Williams

E = every semester
+ = 2 out of 3 quarters
1 = every year
2 = every other year
< = less frequently than every other year
? = frequency of offering not listed in catalog; check schedules
* = projects in other courses; not all may be obvious from catalogs
% = some of the content is found in courses covering multiple topics

AC = algorithms and complexity
TC = theory of computation, languages, automata
OS = operating systems
CM = compilers
DB = databases
NW = networks
SC = security and cryptography
SE = software engineering
AI = artificial intelligence
GR = graphics
HW = hardware courses


A lot of work must have gone into this.
Keeping it up-to-date would be worthwhile (but tedious).

These are described as “upper level” undergraduate computer science offerings.
In many programs, an algorithms course would be among the earliest courses taken. Algorithms often would be covered in a “intro to computer science” course (or 2-course sequence), too. Apparently this would not count toward the entry in column 1 … even though a year-long “intro” course conceivably would cover much of the same content typically taught in a single 200-level “algorithms” course. (200-level does count as “upper level”, right?)

At Allegheny, for example, a 2-course “Introduction to Computer Science” sequence covers algorithms, data structures, and other topics. Then there is also a 200-level “Analysis of Algorithms” course. I take it Allegheny would get a “1” in column 1 only if this 200-level course (or at least one other 200-or-above algorithms course) were offered exactly once every year.

At Williams, there is a 200-level course on algorithm design and analysis and a 300-level “advanced algorithms” class. The 200-level algorithm design and analysis course does seem to be offered every Spring. The 300-level course seems to be offered every few years in the Fall or Spring. The “1” in Williams’ column 1 must refer to that one 200-level course offered every Spring.

Vassar apparently gets an “E” in column 1 since it offers a 200-level “Analysis of Algorithms” course every Fall and Spring. However, that “E” does not necessarily represent more coverage of “algorithms” than Allegheny’s “?”
It does not necessarily represent as much content-coverage of algorithms/complexity as a Williams College student could get from taking both the 200-level course and 300-level algorithms courses there. But at least Vassar’s program makes it relatively convenient for a CS major to schedule at least one course dedicated solely to algorithms/complexity.

Mudd, Richmond, Grinnell, and Allegheny seem to have much more robust CS programs than, say, Bowdoin. So a table like this is a useful complement to the limited information you’d get from an overall college ranking.

While introductory courses like Allegheny 111 and 112, Vassar 101 and 102, Williams 134 and 136, and those at other schools do include some algorithms content, the focus is on whether more in-depth courses on algorithms (like Allegheny 250, Vassar 241, and Williams 236) and other topics are offered.

Some colleges do offer more than one course in a given topic, reflecting a greater level of faculty (and presumably student) interest in that particular topic.

Updated:

Here is a list common upper level undergraduate computer science offerings at smaller schools, based on catalog descriptions. However, please take into account the following, which can require you to do additional investigation of each school:

  • When noted in the catalog, frequency of offering is listed. When not listed in the catalog, determining frequency of offering may require inspection of schedules or asking the computer science department directly.
  • Courses available through cross registration are not included.
  • Courses offered or their frequency of offering may change in the future.
  • Rigor and depth of courses on the same general subject may vary between schools.
  • Some schools may list a given course as a sophomore level course or a graduate level course instead of a junior or senior level course.
  • Some schools may offer less common electives not listed here (e.g. parallel computing, data mining, game programming). These may be of interest to some students.
  • Some schools may have several undergraduate courses in a given subject area (e.g. multiple hardware courses or multiple security and cryptography courses). These typically indicate a specialization emphasis at the school, which may be valuable for students whose interests match that specialization.
  • Schools include popularly mentioned smaller universities and liberal arts colleges, schools that have been mentioned in recent "smaller schools for computer science" threads, and some schools with automatic full ride merit scholarships for students with high enough GPA and test scores.


AC TC OS CM DB NW SC SE AI GR HW
?  2  2  2  2  2     2  2               Allegheny
1  2  1  2     2  2     2  <            Amherst
E  E  E  E  E  E  1  1  1  1  ?         Barnard (joint with Columbia)
   <              ?                     Bates
2  2  2     2  2     2        2         Beloit
E     1                 1               Bowdoin
?  ?        ?  ?     ?  ?  ?            Brandeis
?     ?  ?              ?  ?            Bryn Mawr
1  1  1  1     2     1     1  1         Bucknell
+  +  1     ?  ?     +  ?               Carleton
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Case Western Reserve
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         CUNY CCNY
%  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         CUNY Hunter
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         CUNY York
                                        Clark
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?     ?            Colgate
?  ?  ?     ?  ?        ?  ?            Colorado College
?     ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Colorado School of Mines
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Connecticut College
+  1  1  2  2  1  1  +  1  1  1         Dartmouth
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Denison
   1  1  1  1  2     1        1         Emory
?  ?  2        2        ?               Franklin and Marshall
   ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Furman
1  1  1     1     1     1  1  1         Georgetown
1  1  2  2  2  2     1  2               Grinnell
1  1  1  1  1        *  1     1         Hamilton
E  2  2  2  2  2     E  E  1  2         Harvey Mudd
?  ?     ?              ?  ?            Haverford
2  2  2  2                 2            Holy Cross
?  ?  ?     ?     ?  ?  ?               Howard
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Illinois Inst Tech
1  2  2     2  2     1     ?            Lafayette
1  2  2        2     2  2  1            Lewis and Clark
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Louisiana Tech
1  1  2     1  2     1  2               Macalester
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  *  ?  ?  ?         Marist
E  E  1  E  E  E  1  ?  1  1  E         Michigan Tech
1     <  ?  ?  ?  ?  <  ?  ?            Middlebury
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Minnesota - Morris
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Missouri S&T
1  1  1              1  2  1            Mount Holyoke
   ?                    ?               New College of Florida
1  ?  1  1  ?  1  ?  1     ?  1         New Mexico Tech
   ?  ?     ?        ?     ?  ?         North Carolina - Asheville
?     ?     ?  ?           ?  ?         North Carolina Central
E  1  1  1  1     1     1  1            Oberlin
%                                       Occidental
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     *  ?     ?         Ohio Wesleyan
%  %  %     %  %     %  %     ?         Olin Engineering
E     E     ?        ?  ?               Pomona
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Portland
?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?         Prairie View A&M
1  <  2  2  1  1     <  2  1  <         Puget Sound
?  ?                       ?            Reed
E  1  1  ?  1  1     E  1  1  1         Rensselaer Polytechnic
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rice
1  2  2  2  2  2  2  E  2  <  2         Richmond
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?               Rochester (University of)
E  E  1     E  1  E  *  E  E  1         Rochester Inst Tech
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rose Hulman
1  2  2        2     1        1         St. Olaf
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Santa Clara
E  E  E  ?  E  ?  ?  E  ?  ?  ?         Sonoma State
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         South Dakota Mines
                                        SUNY - Geneseo
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Swarthmore
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Trinity University
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Truman State
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Tufts
?  ?                 ?  ?  ?            Tulane
1  1  1  1  1  E  1  *  ?               Tulsa
1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1     1  1         Tuskegee
E  E  1  1     ?        1  ?  1         Vassar
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Villanova
1  1  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Washington and Lee
?     ?  ?     ?     *     ?  ?         Washington St. Louis
1     1                 2  2  1         Willamette
1  1  2  2     <  2  *  <  2  2         Williams

E = every semester
+ = 2 out of 3 quarters
1 = every year
2 = every other year
< = less frequently than every other year
? = frequency of offering not listed in catalog; check schedules
* = projects in other courses; not all may be obvious from catalogs
% = some of the content is found in courses covering multiple topics

AC = algorithms and complexity
TC = theory of computation, languages, automata
OS = operating systems
CM = compilers
DB = databases
NW = networks
SC = security and cryptography
SE = software engineering
AI = artificial intelligence
GR = graphics
HW = hardware courses


Updated:

Here is a list common upper level undergraduate computer science offerings at smaller schools, based on catalog descriptions. However, please take into account the following, which can require you to do additional investigation of each school:

  • When noted in the catalog, frequency of offering is listed. When not listed in the catalog, determining frequency of offering may require inspection of schedules or asking the computer science department directly.
  • Courses available through cross registration are not included.
  • Courses offered or their frequency of offering may change in the future.
  • Rigor and depth of courses on the same general subject may vary between schools.
  • Some schools may list a given course as a sophomore level course or a graduate level course instead of a junior or senior level course.
  • Some schools may offer less common electives not listed here (e.g. parallel computing, data mining, game programming). These may be of interest to some students.
  • Some schools may have several undergraduate courses in a given subject area (e.g. multiple hardware courses or multiple security and cryptography courses). These typically indicate a specialization emphasis at the school, which may be valuable for students whose interests match that specialization.
  • Schools include popularly mentioned smaller universities and liberal arts colleges, schools that have been mentioned in recent "smaller schools for computer science" threads, and some schools with automatic full ride merit scholarships for students with high enough GPA and test scores.


AC TC OS CM DB NW SC SE AI GR HW
?  2  2  2  2  2     2  2               Allegheny
1  2  1  2     2  2     2  <            Amherst
E  E  E  E  E  E  1  1  1  1  ?         Barnard (joint with Columbia)
   <              ?                     Bates
2  2  2     2  2     2        2         Beloit
E     1                 1               Bowdoin
?  ?        ?  ?     ?  ?  ?            Brandeis
?     ?  ?              ?  ?            Bryn Mawr
1  1  1  1     2     1     1  1         Bucknell
+  +  1     ?  ?     +  ?               Carleton
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Case Western Reserve
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         CUNY CCNY
%  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         CUNY Hunter
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         CUNY York
                                        Clark
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?     ?            Colgate
?  ?  ?     ?  ?        ?  ?            Colorado College
?     ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Colorado School of Mines
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Connecticut College
+  1  1  2  2  1  1  +  1  1  1         Dartmouth
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Denison
   1  1  1  1  2     1        1         Emory
?  ?  2        2        ?               Franklin and Marshall
   ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Furman
1  1  1     1     1     1  1  1         Georgetown
1  1  2  2  2  2     1  2               Grinnell
1  1  1  1  1        *  1     1         Hamilton
E  2  2  2  2  2     E  E  1  2         Harvey Mudd
?  ?     ?              ?  ?            Haverford
2  2  2  2                 2            Holy Cross
?  ?  ?     ?     ?  ?  ?               Howard
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Illinois Inst Tech
?  ?  ?           ?           ?         Kalamazoo
%  2  1  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  E         Kettering
1  2  2     2  2     1     ?            Lafayette
1  2  2        2     2  2  1            Lewis and Clark
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Louisiana Tech
1  1  2     1  2     1  2               Macalester
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  *  ?  ?  ?         Marist
E  E  1  E  E  E  1  ?  1  1  E         Michigan Tech
1     <  ?  ?  ?  ?  <  ?  ?            Middlebury
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Minnesota - Morris
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Missouri S&T
1  1  1              1  2  1            Mount Holyoke
   ?                    ?               New College of Florida
1  ?  1  1  ?  1  ?  1     ?  1         New Mexico Tech
   ?  ?     ?        ?     ?  ?         North Carolina - Asheville
?     ?     ?  ?           ?  ?         North Carolina Central
E  1  1  1  1     1     1  1            Oberlin
%                                       Occidental
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     *  ?     ?         Ohio Wesleyan
%  %  %     %  %     %  %     ?         Olin Engineering
E     E     ?        ?  ?               Pomona
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Portland
?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?         Prairie View A&M
1  <  2  2  1  1     <  2  1  <         Puget Sound
?  ?                       ?            Reed
E  1  1  ?  1  1     E  1  1  1         Rensselaer Polytechnic
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rice
1  2  2  2  2  2  2  E  2  <  2         Richmond
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?               Rochester (University of)
E  E  1     E  1  E  *  E  E  1         Rochester Inst Tech
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rose Hulman
1  2  2        2     1        1         St. Olaf
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Santa Clara
E  E  E  ?  E  ?  ?  E  ?  ?  ?         Sonoma State
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         South Dakota Mines
                                        SUNY - Geneseo
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Swarthmore
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Trinity University
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Truman State
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Tufts
?  ?                 ?  ?  ?            Tulane
1  1  1  1  1  E  1  *  ?               Tulsa
1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1     1  1         Tuskegee
E  E  1  1     ?        1  ?  1         Vassar
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Villanova
1  1  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Washington and Lee
?     ?  ?     ?     *     ?  ?         Washington St. Louis
1     1                 2  2  1         Willamette
1  1  2  2     <  2  *  <  2  2         Williams
1  1  1  2  1  1  1  1  1  1  2         Worchester Polytechnic

E = every semester
+ = 2 out of 3 quarters
1 = every year
2 = every other year
< = less frequently than every other year
? = frequency of offering not listed in catalog; check schedules
* = projects in other courses; not all may be obvious from catalogs
% = some of the content is found in courses covering multiple topics

AC = algorithms and complexity
TC = theory of computation, languages, automata
OS = operating systems
CM = compilers
DB = databases
NW = networks
SC = security and cryptography
SE = software engineering
AI = artificial intelligence
GR = graphics
HW = hardware courses


What’s the reason for constantly posting this? Is anything changing?

“Is anything changing?” #13

The answer is self-evident. The last update, at a minimum, added Kalamazoo and Kettering.

Updated:

Here is a list common upper level undergraduate computer science offerings at smaller schools, based on catalog descriptions. However, please take into account the following, which can require you to do additional investigation of each school:

  • When noted in the catalog, frequency of offering is listed. When not listed in the catalog, determining frequency of offering may require inspection of schedules or asking the computer science department directly.
  • Courses available through cross registration are not included.
  • Courses offered or their frequency of offering may change in the future.
  • Rigor and depth of courses on the same general subject may vary between schools.
  • Some schools may list a given course as a sophomore level course or a graduate level course instead of a junior or senior level course.
  • Some schools may offer less common electives not listed here (e.g. parallel computing, data mining, game programming). These may be of interest to some students.
  • Some schools may have several undergraduate courses in a given subject area (e.g. multiple hardware courses or multiple security and cryptography courses). These typically indicate a specialization emphasis at the school, which may be valuable for students whose interests match that specialization.
  • Schools include popularly mentioned smaller universities and liberal arts colleges, schools that have been mentioned in recent "smaller schools for computer science" threads, and some schools with automatic full ride merit scholarships for students with high enough GPA and test scores.


AC TC OS CM DB NW SC SE AI GR HW
?  2  2  2  2  2     2  2               Allegheny
1  2  1  2     2  2     2  <            Amherst
E  E  E  E  E  E  1  1  1  1  ?         Barnard (joint with Columbia)
   <              ?                     Bates
2  2  2     2  2     2        2         Beloit
E     1                 1               Bowdoin
?  ?        ?  ?     ?  ?  ?            Brandeis
?     ?  ?              ?  ?            Bryn Mawr
1  1  1  1     2     1     1  1         Bucknell
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            CSU Channel Islands
E  1  1  1     1     1  E  1            CSU Chico
?     ?     ?  ?     ?        ?         CSU Monterey Bay
+  +  1     ?  ?     +  ?               Carleton
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Case Western Reserve
?     ?  ?  1  1  ?  2  ?  ?  1         Chapman
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         CUNY CCNY
%  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         CUNY Hunter
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         CUNY York
                                        Clark
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?     ?            Colgate
?  ?  ?     ?  ?        ?  ?            Colorado College
?     ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Colorado School of Mines
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Connecticut College
+  1  1  2  2  1  1  +  1  1  1         Dartmouth
2  2                    ?  ?            Davidson
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Denison
   1  1  1  1  2     1        1         Emory
?  ?  2        2        ?               Franklin and Marshall
   ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Furman
1  1  1     1     1     1  1  1         Georgetown
1  1  2  2  2  2     1  2               Grinnell
1  1  1  1  1        *  1     1         Hamilton
E  2  2  2  2  2     E  E  1  2         Harvey Mudd
?  ?     ?              ?  ?            Haverford
2  2  2  2                 2            Holy Cross
?  ?  ?     ?     ?  ?  ?               Howard
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?                  Humboldt State
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Illinois Inst Tech
?  ?  ?           ?           ?         Kalamazoo
%  2  1  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  E         Kettering
1  2  2     2  2     1     ?            Lafayette
1  2  2        2     2  2  1            Lewis and Clark
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Louisiana Tech
1  1  2     1  2     1  2               Macalester
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  *  ?  ?  ?         Marist
E  E  1  E  E  E  1  ?  1  1  E         Michigan Tech
1     <  ?  ?  ?  ?  <  ?  ?            Middlebury
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Minnesota - Morris
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Missouri S&T
1  1  1              1  2  1            Mount Holyoke
   ?                    ?               New College of Florida
1  ?  1  1  ?  1  ?  1     ?  1         New Mexico Tech
   ?  ?     ?        ?     ?  ?         North Carolina - Asheville
?     ?     ?  ?           ?  ?         North Carolina Central
E  1  1  1  1     1     1  1            Oberlin
%                                       Occidental
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     *  ?     ?         Ohio Wesleyan
%  %  %     %  %     %  %     ?         Olin Engineering
E     E     ?        ?  ?               Pomona
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Portland
?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?         Prairie View A&M
1  <  2  2  1  1     <  2  1  <         Puget Sound
   E  E     ?        1  ?               Redlands
?  ?                       ?            Reed
E  1  1  ?  1  1     E  1  1  1         Rensselaer Polytechnic
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rice
1  2  2  2  2  2  2  E  2  <  2         Richmond
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?               Rochester (University of)
E  E  1     E  1  E  *  E  E  1         Rochester Inst Tech
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rose Hulman
1  2  2        2     1        1         St. Olaf
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Santa Clara
E  E  E  ?  E  ?  ?  E  ?  ?  ?         Sonoma State
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         South Dakota Mines
                                        SUNY - Geneseo
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Swarthmore
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Trinity University
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Truman State
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Tufts
?  ?                 ?  ?  ?            Tulane
1  1  1  1  1  E  1  *  ?               Tulsa
1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1     1  1         Tuskegee
E  E  1  1     ?        1  ?  1         Vassar
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Villanova
1  1  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Washington and Lee
?     ?  ?     ?     *     ?  ?         Washington St. Louis
                                        Whittier
1     1  %              2  2  %         Willamette
1  1  2  2     <  2  *  <  2  2         Williams
1  1  1  2  1  1  1  1  1  1  2         Worchester Polytechnic

E = every semester
+ = 2 out of 3 quarters
1 = every year
2 = every other year
< = less frequently than every other year
? = frequency of offering not listed in catalog; check schedules
* = projects in other courses; not all may be obvious from catalogs
% = some of the content is found in courses covering multiple topics

AC = algorithms and complexity
TC = theory of computation, languages, automata
OS = operating systems
CM = compilers
DB = databases
NW = networks
SC = security and cryptography
SE = software engineering
AI = artificial intelligence
GR = graphics
HW = hardware courses


http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/profile/ucbalumnus

Great resource you’re creating… thought of Union College; a physics prof is Williams alum.

http://www.union.edu/academic/majors-minors/computer-science/

Believe engineering is another poss major

This is such a good resource, thank you.

Updated:

Here is a list common upper level undergraduate computer science offerings at smaller schools, based on catalog descriptions. However, please take into account the following, which can require you to do additional investigation of each school:

  • When noted in the catalog, frequency of offering is listed. When not listed in the catalog, determining frequency of offering may require inspection of schedules or asking the computer science department directly.
  • Courses available through cross registration are not included.
  • Courses offered or their frequency of offering may change in the future.
  • Rigor and depth of courses on the same general subject may vary between schools.
  • Some schools may list a given course as a sophomore level course or a graduate level course instead of a junior or senior level course.
  • Some schools may offer less common electives not listed here (e.g. parallel computing, data mining, game programming). These may be of interest to some students.
  • Some courses not listed maybe offered occasionally in "special topics" courses.
  • Some schools may have several undergraduate courses in a given subject area (e.g. multiple hardware courses or multiple security and cryptography courses). These typically indicate a specialization emphasis at the school, which may be valuable for students whose interests match that specialization.
  • Schools include popularly mentioned smaller universities and liberal arts colleges, schools that have been mentioned in recent "smaller schools for computer science" threads, and some schools with automatic full ride merit scholarships for students with high enough GPA and test scores.


AC TC OS CM DB NW SC SE AI GR HW
?  2  2  2  2  2     2  2               Allegheny
1  2  1  2     2  2     2  <            Amherst
E  E  E  E  E  E  1  1  1  1  ?         Barnard (joint with Columbia)
   <              ?                     Bates
2  2  2     2  2     2        2         Beloit
E     1                 1               Bowdoin
?  ?        ?  ?     ?  ?  ?            Brandeis
?     ?  ?              ?  ?            Bryn Mawr
1  1  1  1     2     1     1  1         Bucknell
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            CSU Channel Islands
E  1  1  1     1     1  E  1            CSU Chico
?     ?     ?  ?     ?        ?         CSU Monterey Bay
+  +  1     ?  ?     +  ?               Carleton
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Case Western Reserve
?     ?  ?  1  1  ?  2  ?  ?  1         Chapman
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         CUNY CCNY
%  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         CUNY Hunter
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         CUNY York
                                        Clark
2  2           2                        Colby
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?     ?            Colgate
?  ?  ?     ?  ?        ?  ?            Colorado College
?     ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Colorado School of Mines
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Connecticut College
+  1  1  2  2  1  1  +  1  1  1         Dartmouth
2  2                    ?  ?            Davidson
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Denison
   1  1  1  1  2     1        1         Emory
?  ?  2        2        ?               Franklin and Marshall
   ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Furman
1  1  1     1     1     1  1  1         Georgetown
1  1  2  2  2  2     1  2               Grinnell
1  1  1  1  1     2  *  1     1         Hamilton
E  2  2  2  2  2     E  E  1  2         Harvey Mudd
?  ?     ?              ?  ?            Haverford
2  2  2  2                 2            Holy Cross
?  ?  ?     ?     ?  ?  ?               Howard
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?                  Humboldt State
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Illinois Inst Tech
?  ?  ?           ?           ?         Kalamazoo
%  2  1  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  E         Kettering
1  2  2     2  2     1     ?            Lafayette
1  2  2        2     2  2  1            Lewis and Clark
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Louisiana Tech
1  1  2     1  2     1  2               Macalester
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  *  ?  ?  ?         Marist
E  E  1  E  E  E  1  ?  1  1  E         Michigan Tech
1     <  ?  ?  ?  ?  <  ?  ?            Middlebury
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Minnesota - Morris
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Missouri S&T
1  1  1              1  2  1            Mount Holyoke
   ?                    ?               New College of Florida
1  ?  1  1  ?  1  ?  1     ?  1         New Mexico Tech
   ?  ?     ?        ?     ?  ?         North Carolina - Asheville
?     ?     ?  ?           ?  ?         North Carolina Central
E  1  1  1  1     1     1  1            Oberlin
%                                       Occidental
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     *  ?     ?         Ohio Wesleyan
%  %  %     %  %     %  %     ?         Olin Engineering
E     E     ?        ?  ?               Pomona
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Portland
?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?         Prairie View A&M
1  <  2  2  1  1     <  2  1  <         Puget Sound
   E  E     ?        1  ?               Redlands
?  ?                       ?            Reed
E  1  1  ?  1  1     E  1  1  1         Rensselaer Polytechnic
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rice
1  2  2  2  2  2  2  E  2  <  2         Richmond
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?               Rochester (University of)
E  E  1     E  1  E  *  E  E  1         Rochester Inst Tech
2  2  1     2  2     2                  Ronoake
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Rose Hulman
1  2  2        2     1        1         St. Olaf
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Santa Clara
E  E  E  ?  E  ?  ?  E  ?  ?  ?         Sonoma State
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         South Dakota Mines
?  ?                       ?            SUNY - Geneseo
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?     ?         Swarthmore
?  ?  ?     ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Trinity University
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Truman State
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?         Tufts
?  ?                 ?  ?  ?            Tulane
1  1  1  1  1  E  1  *  ?               Tulsa
1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1     1  1         Tuskegee
?  ?  ?     ?        ?  ?  ?  ?         Union College
E  E  1  1     ?        1  ?  1         Vassar
?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?  ?            Villanova
1  1  ?  ?  ?  ?     ?  ?               Washington and Lee
?     ?  ?     ?     *     ?  ?         Washington St. Louis
                                        Whittier
1     1  %              2  2  %         Willamette
1  1  2  2     <  2  *  <  2  2         Williams
1  2  2     2  2     2  2  2            Wooster (College of)
1  1  1  2  1  1  1  1  1  1  2         Worchester Polytechnic

E = every semester
+ = 2 out of 3 quarters
1 = every year
2 = every other year
< = less frequently than every other year
? = frequency of offering not listed in catalog; check schedules
* = projects in other courses; not all may be obvious from catalogs
% = some of the content is found in courses covering multiple topics

AC = algorithms and complexity
TC = theory of computation, languages, automata
OS = operating systems
CM = compilers
DB = databases
NW = networks
SC = security and cryptography
SE = software engineering
AI = artificial intelligence
GR = graphics
HW = hardware courses


AC 1 TC 1 OS ? CM 2 DB ? NW 0 SC ? SE ? AI 2 GR * HW ? Wesleyan