Computer Science Concentration, A.A.

The Computer Science Concentration (CS) degree mission is two-fold. CS prepares its students for well-paying, entry-level careers as computer scientists and programmers through the Associate in Arts (A.A.), and prepares students to transfer to four-year college Computer Science (CS) Programs. The Department’s goals are in concert with the College’s goals. The department is continually updating and fine-tuning its programs of study. Graduates of this concentration may qualify to transfer using benefits of MassTransfer to a University of Massachusetts campus. For current information on eligible programs, see Transfer Options below.

* Milestone Courses should be taken in the order shown. This will help you stay on track and graduate on time.

Semester 1

CSC-120 Intro to Comp Sci & Object Oriented Prog Credits: 4 *
ENG-111 College Writing I Credits: 3
MAT-281 Calculus I Credits: 4 *
MAT-197 is waived for students placing higher on Accuplacer test; student should take MAT-281 . If MAT-197 is waived students can replace with one of the math electives CSC-237 , CSC-243 , CSC-287 , or MAT-281 or MAT-291 .
GenEd -CCC Community & Cultural Contexts Credits: 3

Total Credits: 14

Semester 1 Advising Note

General Education Requirements Quantitative Problem Solving and Scientific Reasoning satisfied by Program.
Students enrolling in this degree program can earn World Studies Emphasis certification simultaneously.
New degree-seeking students enrolled in 9 credits or more must take a Learning Community Seminar or a Learning Community Cluster within their first year.

Semester 2

CSC-239 JAVA Programming Credits: 4 *
ENG-112 College Writing II Credits: 3
MAT-282 Calculus II Credits: 4
CSC-237 C++ Programming Credits: 4 *

Total Credits: 15

Semester 2 Advising Note

Meet with an advisor to begin career planning activities.
Begin exploring transfer options: attend a transfer workshop and the College transfer fair.

Semester 3

GenEd -CW Creative Work Credits: 3
CSC-285 Advanced Java Programming Credits: 3 *
PHY-251 Physics I/Lab Credits: 4 *
GenEd -E General Education Elective Credits: 3

Choose one course from the Community & Cultural Contexts Menu.

Elective- Concentration Elective Credits: 3-4

Concentration Elective Options:

CSC-244 Android Development With Kotlin , CSC-236 SQL Programming , CSC-284 Advanced C++/OOP , CSC-287 Survey New Popular OOPL for Programmers , CSC-299 Computer Science Internship , HON-200 Honors Seminar , INT-299CSC Learn & Earn Computer Science Intern , MAT-283 Calculus III , MAT-285 Ordinary Differential Equations , MAT-291 Linear Algebra

Total Credits: 16-17

Semester 3 Advising Note

Continue preparations for transfer: write essays for transfer institution, collect letters of recommendation, apply for transfer.
Complete a pre-graduation check with an advisor in LifeMap
Students planning to transfer to UMASS Boston’s Computer Science program, should plan to take CSC-240 (Programming in C) at UMB, and transfer it back to BHCC as an elective.

Semester 4

PHY-252 Physics II/Lab Credits: 4 *
CSC-242 Data Structures Credits: 3 *
Elective- Concentration Elective Credits: 3-4

Concentration Elective Options:

Elective- Concentration Elective Credits: 3-4

Concentration Elective Options:

Elective - Humanities Elective Credits: 3

Total Credits: 16-18

Semester 4 Advising Note

Apply for graduation

Upon Completion of This Concentration Graduates Will Be Able To:

Computer Science Concepts -

Demonstrate a clear understanding of the concepts, terminology, and term definitions associated with Computer Science, including basic computer architecture and organization.

Computer Science Software -

Demonstrate a clear understanding of the discipline’s specific Integrated Development Environments, software utilities, and computer platforms which can be used in the development of software.

Computer Software Development -

Design, plan, develop, and produce complete computer software from start to finish with all stages of the development process clearly identified.
Create software in Object Oriented Languages

Computer Science Teams -

Participate in multi-cultural teams and team projects as a contributing member with the requirement to be an active and supportive team member.

Computer Software Quality and Assurance -

Analyze Worst and Best case for algorithm performance
Design and implement software test plans, including Unit and Integration testing
Reporting and Presenting Software

Solutions -

Write formal report of software solutions
Present software solutions using diverse modalities (PowerPoint, Video, etc.)
Provide and receive constructive and critical feedback
Create software Requirements and Design Documents
Create software program documentation

Career Outlook

Graduates of this concentration are prepared for well-paying, entry level careers as computer scientists and programmers, and can transfer to bachelor’s programs at four-year college Computer Science programs.

Explore Career Options

Transfer Options

MassTransfer A2B Link

Bridgewater State University
Framingham State University
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Westfield State University
Worcester State University
University of Massachusetts Amherst