Dec 22, 2024

2019-2020 Undergraduate Academic Calendar

2019-2020 Undergraduate Academic Calendar [ARCHIVED CALENDAR]

Computer Science – Data Science specialization

General information

The amount of data generated by, and available to, companies, governments, and individuals, is exploding. There is an urgent need for individuals who can grapple with massive amounts of data and extract key information. People with these skills (often called data scientists) are highly sought after in a variety of industries, including health care, finance, and business. The Data Science specialization within the Computer Science program helps students develop the knowledge, skills, and tools, and sets them up for success in this desirable job market. Students develop critical problem-solving, analytical, and computational skills that enable them to turn vast quantities of data into insight.

In addition to the regular program, a co-op program is also available. Students in Data Science interested in the co-op program , should contact the Faculty of Science Co-op Coordinator as early as the fall of their second year.

Admission requirements

Admission is competitive. The specific average or standing required for admission varies from year to year. Students are selected by taking into consideration a wide range of criteria including school marks, distribution of subjects taken, and performance in subjects relevant to the academic program. Possession of the minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance. Preference will be given to applicants with the best qualifications.

Current Ontario secondary school students must complete the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) with six 4U or 4M credits including English (ENG4U), Advanced Functions (MHF4U), and one of Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U), Computer Science (ICS4U) or Physics (SPH4U). In addition, a combined minimum 70 per cent average in prerequisite computer science, math and science courses is required. It is recommended that all three MCV4U, ICS4U and SPH4U be taken. All other applicants should refer to Admissions for the requirements for their specific category of admission.

Program details and degree requirements

Although reasonable efforts will be made to adhere to the following program map, course requirements and term offerings may change.

Year 1

Semester 1 (15 credit hours)

Elective*
CSCI 1030U – Introduction to Computer Science
CSCI 1060U – Programming Workshop I
One of:
MATH 1000U – Introductory Calculus ⁺ or
MATH 1010U – Calculus I ⁺
One of:
PHY 1010U – Physics I ⁺ or
PHY 1030U – Introductory Physics ⁺
⁺ All students who have completed Grade 12 Advanced Functions (MHF4U) and Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U) should take MATH 1010U and PHY 1010U . Students without one of these high school courses or equivalent are directed to take MATH 1000U and PHY 1030U .

Semester 2 (15 credit hours)

Year 2

Semester 1 (15 credit hours)

Semester 2 (15 credit hours)

Year 3 and 4 (60 credit hours)

Seven electives*
CSCI 3070U – Analysis and Design of Algorithms
CSCI 4030U – Big Data Analytics
CSCI 4040U – Ethics, Law and the Social Impacts of Computing
CSCI 4050U – Machine Learning, Theory and Application
CSCI 4210U – Information Visualization
One of:
CSCI 3010U – Simulation and Modelling or
CSCI 4220U – Computer Vision or
CSCI 4610U – Artificial Intelligence
One of:
CSCI 3010U – Simulation and Modelling or
CSCI 3030U – Database Systems and Concepts or
CSCI 4610U – Artificial Intelligence
One of:
CSCI 3090U – Computer Graphics and Visualization or
CSCI 4110U – Advanced Computer Graphics or
CSCI 4220U – Computer Vision
One of:
CSCI 3230U – Web Application Development or
CSCI 4100U – Mobile Devices or
CSCI 4160U – Interactive Media or
CSCI 4620U – Human-Computer Interaction
One of:
CSCI 3055U – Programming Languages or
CSCI 3060U – Software Quality Assurance or
CSCI 4020U – Compilers or
CSCI 4060U – Massively Parallel Programming
One of:
CSCI 3020U – Operating Systems or
CSCI 3150U – Computer Networks or
CSCI 3310U – Systems Programming or
CSCI 4310U – Advanced Operating Systems Project or
CSCI 4630U – High Performance Computing or
CSCI 4640U – Distributed Computing
One of:
CSCI 4410U – Computer Science Thesis Project I ** or
Senior Computer Science elective
One of:
CSCI 4420U – Computer Science Thesis Project II ** or
Senior Computer science elective

Note:

No more than 42 credit hours may be taken at the first-year level. Students are required to complete at least 12 credit hours in Computer Science courses at the 4000 level.

*Electives and breadth requirements

Students must complete a total of 30 credit hours such that the following requirements are satisfied:

18 credit hours must be in courses offered by the Faculty of Science, with no more than 6 credit hours being in Computer Science.
12 credit hours must be in courses from outside the Faculty of Science, among which at least 3 credit hours must be in business electives++, and at least 3 credit hours in communications electives+++.

++Business electives:

+++Communication electives:

**Thesis Project or Senior Computer Science electives

Students in clear academic standing who have completed 90 credit hours of their program and six third-year required courses may optionally apply to take a two-course sequence consisting of CSCI 4410U – Computer Science Thesis Project I and CSCI 4420U – Computer Science Thesis Project II. Students not accepted to take the thesis courses must complete two additional Senior Computer Science electives instead. A Senior Computer Science Elective is defined as a 3000- or 4000-level Computer Science course. A student meeting the above requirements who does not take CSCI 4410U and CSCI 4420U may optionally apply to take CSCI 4430U – Directed Studies in Computer Science as one of the required computer science electives. Opportunities for the Thesis Project and Directed Studies courses are limited; students must apply through Science Advising by March 30 following completion of the first three years of the program.