Mathematics in Computer Science at Loras College

Steve Mosiman

Brief History

• Calc I and Calc II required when CS started• Discrete Math added to requirements• Calc II replaced by Statistics

– Stat course was College Algebra Level– Math Stat course had Calc III prerequisite

• Math program dropped Math Stat course and replaced it by Probability & Statistics

• CS changed math requirement to new course– Resulting Requirements: Calc I, Discrete Math, Prob

& Stat– CS revision integrated math courses into CS

Prerequisite StructureDigital Logic Software Basics Calculus I

Web Technologies

Data Structures and Algorithms

Discrete Math

Probability & Statistics

Computer Architecture & Organization

Software Engineering

Foundations of Programming Languages

Algorithm Design & Analysis

Operating Systems Capstone Project

PrerequisiteCo-requisite

Calculus

• Partly used as a prerequisite to obtain “mathematical maturity”

• Some feeling that someone at a liberal arts school in the sciences should have it

• Some calculus topics could be used in Algorithm Design & Analysis (e.g. big-O)

• Necessary prerequisite to Probability & Statistics

Probability & Statistics

• Also required for mathematics majors

• Some use in Algorithm Design & Analysis (e.g. average case behavior of algorithms)

• Better to require for operating systems except– No queuing theory– Program timing sometimes does not allow

Discrete Math

• Required for Math majors (“bridge course”)• In Algorithms – counting, recurrence

relations, induction• In Software Engineering – graphs, proofs

for program correctness• In Foundations of Programming

Languages – set theory, induction and recurrence relations for context free grammars and regular expressions

Questions?