Science and Engineering

All candidates for a B.S. in the Kenneth C. Griffin School of Computer Science must complete a minimum of 36 units offered by the Mellon College of Science and/or the College of Engineering (CIT). This includes at least four courses in science and engineering, 9 units or more for each course, where at least one course must have a laboratory component and at least two courses must be from the same department. Consult with your SCS undergraduate adviser for possible use of any mini course for this requirement, which needs to be reviewed by your adviser and the SCS associate dean for Undergraduate Programs.

Note: Computational biology majors should consult the Computational biology program page for specific science and engineering requirements.

If you experience any issues viewing this data, let us know via our website feedback form.

Science/Engineering Non-Lab Courses

Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to apply the foundational principles and systems-based thinking of a core scientific or engineering discipline outside computation and pure mathematics to model and evaluate the behavior of natural or engineered systems, including sustained study in at least one discipline over the equivalent of a full academic year and one course involving laboratory work. See sample course syllabi. (CMU login required.)

Courses for this requirement come from these College of Engineering and Mellon College of Science departments at CMU:

• Biology [03-xxx]
• Biomedical Engineering [42-xxx]
• Chemical Engineering [06-xxx]
• Chemistry [09-xxx]
• Civil and Environmental Engineering [12-xxx]
• Electrical and Computer Engineering [18-xxx]
• Materials Science and Engineering [27-xxx]
• Mechanical Engineering [24-xxx]
• Physics [33-xxx]

The following additional courses have been approved for Science and Engineering:

Lab Courses

Learning Outcomes: Students will be able to use the scientific method to design and conduct experiments that validate a theoretical model against physical evidence, including the analysis of data and communication of results with sufficient precision and detail for replication by other scientists or engineers. See sample course syllabi. (CMU login required.)

Courses meeting the laboratory requirement for Science and Engineering are listed below.

Non-Qualifying Courses

The following courses cannot be used to satisfy the Science and Engineering requirement. Also note that no Electrical and Computer Engineering graduate courses [18-6xx, 18-7xx, 18-8xx, 18-9xx] can be used for this requirement. Students interested in Engineering & Public Policy (19-xxx) courses that are not excluded below, including special topics courses, must consult with their SCS undergraduate adviser and the SCS associate dean for Undergraduate Programs to determine suitability for this requirement. 

In general, any MCS or CIT courses that are cross-listed with SCS courses or have significant mathematical or computational content cannot be used for this requirement. Students must consult with an SCS undergraduate adviser about any course to be used for the Science and Engineering requirement before registration.