Computer Science

Information and Departmental Plan of Study

With computation and computer science now permeating all corners of society and the economy, a computer science education has become a good launching pad for almost any career. Core concepts and skills emphasized in the computer science curriculum include theoretical and quantitative analysis of computation; design/engineering principles of advanced computer systems; and foundations and methods of AI and machine learning. The curriculum provides additional flexibility to explore subdisciplines of computer science (programming languages, formal methods, software engineering, computer graphics, information security), or to branch out into exciting cross-disciplinary investigations (neuroscience and cognitive science, computational biology, information policy, robotics, data science, etc.). Most computer science majors enjoy programming. Quite a few start with zero or minimal background and are able to enhance their skills while progressing through the curriculum.

The plan below applies to the Class of 2025 and beyond; the requirements for the Class of 2024 and earlier are available from the Computer Science Department website(link is external) and archived version of the Undergraduate Announcement.

Information for First-Year Students. Students with a general interest in the sciences or engineering are encouraged to take COS 126(link is external) in the first year or in the first semester of the second year. This provides useful background for applications work in any science or engineering major and preserves the option of later electing a computer science major.

Prerequisites 

The prerequisites(link is external) are MAT 103, 104, any one of MAT 202 or 204 or 217 or EGR 154; COS 126; COS 217 and 226. Students should plan to take both COS 217 and COS 226 before their junior year since at least one of them is a prerequisite for all computer science departmentals. 

Departmental Requirements

Course Requirements: Majors must take at least eight departmental courses on a graded basis. These fall into three categories: foundations, core courses, and electives. 

Foundations

Students must take COS 240 (Reasoning and Computation), to be completed before the end of junior year.

Core Courses

Students must take a total of four courses, one from each of the four categories listed below:

1. Computer Systems: COS 316 (Principles of Computer System Design) or COS 375 (Computer Architecture and Organization)

Alternatives: COS 318 (Operating Systems) COS 418 (Distributed Systems) COS 461 (Computer Networks)

2. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning: COS 324 (Introduction to Machine Learning)

Alternatives: COS 424 (Fundamentals of Machine Learning), COS 429 (Computer Vision), COS 484 (Natural Language Processing)

3. Theoretical Computer Science: COS 423 (Theory of Algorithms), COS 433 (Cryptography), COS 445 (Networks, Economics, and Computing), COS 487 (Theory of Computation)

4. Breadth:  This category contains courses that either explore another subdiscipline beyond Systems/Theory/AIML or provide experience with real-world applications. Students must complete at least one.  

• COS 326 (Functional Programming)
• COS 333 (Advanced Programming Techniques)
• COS 343 (Algorithms for Computational Biology)
• COS 426 (Computer Graphics)
• COS 432 (Information Security)
• COS 436 (Human-Computer Interface Technology)
• COS 448 (Innovating across Technology, Business, and Markets)

Electives 

Students must take three COS courses numbered 300 or higher (including approved graduate courses numbered 500 or higher). Alternatively, up to two of the electives may be chosen from a list of approved courses from other departments (see the department website(link is external) for an up-to-date list).   

Students should consult with a computer science academic adviser on their course selections once they decide to become computer science concentrators. Academic advisers(link is external) are listed on the Department of Computer Science webpage.

1. Transcript. An official transcript must be sent by a school counselor or school official.

2. School Report (SR). The SR form is available from the Common Application website. Please ask your school counselor or other school official to complete and submit the SR form. 
    
3. Counselor Recommendation. If you are using the Common Application online, please note that the SR and the Counselor Recommendation are separate items. Be sure to “invite” your school counselor or academic adviser to complete both items.
    
4. Two (2) Teacher Recommendations. Please ask two of your teachers who have taught you in higher level courses (e.g., AP, IB Higher/Standard Level, A-Levels, etc.) in different academic areas of study to complete and send the teacher recommendation forms, available on the Common Application website. The subjects should be in core academic areas, such as English, language, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences or math.
    
5. Midyear School Report. Please ask your school counselor or other school official to complete and submit this form when your midyear grades are available. 

1. A Completed Application. You must submit your application online through the Common Application. Princeton's CEEB Code: 2672

2. Princeton's Supplement. In addition to the application provided by the Common Application, all applicants must submit the Princeton Supplement. You should submit the Princeton Supplement online through the Common Application website. 

3. Application Fee or Fee Waiver. You may submit a fee waiver one of two ways: 1) Select the fee waiver option on the Common Application. Your school counselor must approve your fee waiver request online or submit your fee waiver form by mail or fax. 2) Select one of the following fee waiver options on the Princeton Supplement: Princeton-specific, ACT, College Board or NACAC. All low-income students are eligible for the Princeton-specific fee waiver. In addition, all applicants who are serving or have served in the U.S. military are eligible for the Princeton-specific fee waiver. If you use the Princeton-specific fee waiver, you do not need to get approval from your college counselor or academic adviser.

4. Graded Written Paper. A graded written paper is required, preferably in the subjects of English or history.