Dec 07, 2025  
2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog

Computer Science (BS)

Location(s): Manhattan Campus


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The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in computer science at Kansas State University is accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org under the General Criteria and the Computer Science and similarly named Computing Programs Criteria.

The curriculum includes pre-professional and professional programs. All new students will be initially admitted to the pre-professional program. 

Admission to the Pre-Professional Program
New students, including transfer students, should submit the standard application form directly to the Office of Admissions. The admission criteria are the same as those for the university and the College of Engineering. 

Any student who has completed more than 15 credit hours at Kansas State University in any major outside the College of Engineering may change majors into the pre-professional program provided that the student meets the admission requirements for the College of Engineering. A resident cumulative GPA of 2.3 or better is required for a change of major from any Engineering program to the pre-professional program Computer Science. 

Course Requirements (24 total credits)
The course requirements and semester-by-semester curriculum for a BS in Computer Science remain in effect. However, certain courses from the first three semesters of the curriculum must be completed with a C or better for advancement beyond the pre-professional program. These courses are:

Admission to the Professional Program 

Students must complete the pre-professional program and be accepted to the professional program prior to taking any of the following courses, which we will refer to as professional program courses:

The only other students who will be allowed to enroll in any of the above courses are non-CS majors who need these specific courses to satisfy the degree requirements of their majors. Non-CS majors wishing to use any of these courses to satisfy elective requirements for their majors will also be considered on a case-by-case basis. 

In order to be considered for admission to the professional program, a student must have: 

  1. Passed all pre-professional program courses with a C or better.
  2. ​Achieved at least a 2.3 GPA on all pre-professional courses (including transfer courses). 

Additionally, an application to the professional program must be submitted to the Department of Computer Science by March 31st for subsequesnt Fall semester admission or October 31 for subsequent Spring semester admission. This submission will be immediately prior to the student’s pre-enrollment into any of the professional program courses. 

All courses in the pre-professional program must be completed and all grade criteria must be met by the end of the semester that the application is submitted. An exception to this rule is the student who expects to complete these criteria during the summer term. Those students should also make application in the Spring semester prior to pre-enrollment. All eligible applicants will be allowed to pre-enroll into professional program courses with the understanding that they will be dropped if they are not accepted for admission to the professional program prior to the beginning of the subsequent semester. 

Applications will be reviewed by the Academic Standards Committee of the Department and accepted or rejected as soon as possible after semester grades are issued. The number of students admitted in any given semester will be limited by the number of seats available. If the number of applicants who meet the grade requirements listed above exceeds the number of seats available, then in addition to the minimum grade requirements listed above, the admission will be determined a holistic evaluation of the following factors: 

  • Grades in college-level courses, particularly computing courses;
  • Communication skills; 
  • Activities and service; 
  • Socioeconomic disadvantage; 
  • Status as first-generation college student; and 
  • ​History of overcoming personal hardship. 

Students who have completed the pre-professional program with the required grades, but are denied admission, may re-apply in a later semester. 

Academic Standards 

After admission to the professional program, students are expected to attain “C” or better grades in each of the professional program courses taken. Specifically, students will be subject to the following academic standards that are more stringent than those for the University. 

  1. Warning of unsatisfactory progress
    Regardless of the overall GPA, a student with any “D” or “F” grade in any professional program course will receive a “Warning of Unsatisfactory Progress. This warning will remain in effect for the remainder of their stay in the professional program.
  2. Dismissal from the Program
    If a student has received a warning of unsatisfactory progress, then subsequently receives a “D” or “F” grade in any professional program course, that student may be dismissed from the professional program, and will be ineligible to enroll in any professional program courses (though students who transfer to either Computer Engineering or Biomedical Engineering will be allowed to enroll in certain courses, as outlined above).    

  3. Readmission
    A student who has been dismissed from the professional program may petition to be readmitted to the program, provided at least one year has elapsed from the conclusion of the last semester that the student was in the program to the beginning of the semester for which the student is seeking admission. The petition must include a justification of the student’s preparedness to complete the program. This petition must be submitted to the Computer Science Department by the eighth week of the Fall or Spring semester preceding the semester for which the student seeks readmission. The student will be interviewed by the Acadmic Standards Committee, who will then make a decision in time for the student to pre-enroll. All readmitted students will remain on warning of unsatisfactory progress for the remainder of their stay in the professional program. 

**The warning and dismissal actions referenced above are departmental actions that are separate and distinct from Academic Warning and Academic Dismissal as defined by the University Catalog. Grades earned during an intersession will not be considered by the Department in the determination of unsatisfactory academic progress by the department.

Bachelor’s degree requirements

Kansas State University Core: 34-36 Credit Hours


K-State Core  is the foundation for an impactful life and career after time at K-State.

The K-State Core framework covers six disciplinary areas: English, Communications, Mathematics & Statistics, Natural & Physical Sciences, Social & Behavioral Sciences, and Arts and Humanities. In addition, a seventh area is reserved for institutionally designated use, which K-State is keeping as free electives. In total, the framework takes up 34-35 credit hours of 100 and 200-level coursework. Students who complete their general education elsewhere cannot be required to take additional general education coursework in the disciplinary areas of the framework without permission from KBOR to continue requiring courses in the K-State Core.

General Education: K-State Core  

Program


The curriculum for this major assumes students enter college prepared to take Calculus.

Restricted Electives: 35 credit hours


Unrestricted Electives: 6 credit hours


Entrepreneurship Option



 

Restricted Electives: 28 credit hours


Notes


  • To graduate with a B.S. in Computer Science, students must have at least a 2.3 GPA in all classes at the 400 level or above taken for undergraduate credit from the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering at Kansas State University.  Course grades that have been removed by the K-State Retake policy will not apply to this GPA calculation.
  • Math and Natural Science electives must have departmental approval.
  • Upper division electives may be any courses at the 300 level or above.
  • Students who satisfy all or part of K-State Core Electives with courses that satisfy other degree requirements may use additional unrestricted electives to meet the degree requirement of 120 credit hours.

Communications overlay


All students must complete at least two courses, which may be used as unrestricted electives or, where applicable, K-State Core requirements, from the following list:

Restricted electives must be comprised of the following:


  • Either CIS 520-Operating Systems I, CIS 525-Introduction to Network Programming, or CIS 625-Concurrent Software Systems.
  • ​A capstone experience consisting of either CIS 598-Computer Science Project, CIS 599 Cybersecurity Project, or the two-semester course consisting of CIS 642-Software Engineering Project I and CIS 643-Software Engineering Project II.
  • Additional 500-level or higher CIS courses or other approved computing-related courses to bring the total number of technical elective credits to 12.

Total Hours Required for Graduation: 120


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