Computer Science major
Computing software and systems are becoming increasingly integral to our lives, revolutionising the world in which we live, work and communicate. This major provides its students with the knowledge and skills required to participate in this revolution. Your studies develops your knowledge of theoretical, algorithmic, implementation and systems principles that underpin computer languages and networks. If you wish to play a role in developing new computing technologies or specialise in enterprise-level programming, systems, software engineering or research careers, then Computer Science is the major for you.
Outcomes
Students are able to (1) develop and implement systems level software in the procedural language C; (2) understand software engineering principles of problem decomposition, and design and implement solutions in the object oriented language Java; (3) understand the role played by databases for persistent storage in networked systems; (4) design appropriate schemas for storing information in databases, and access, sort and join data using query languages; (5) understand the mechanics of, and be able to implement, the primary data structures and associated algorithms that underly computer solutions; (6) understand the computational complexity and correctness of algorithms and operations on data structures, and use this knowledge to be able to choose algorithms and structures appropriate to the task; (7) understand how algorithms can be extended with heuristics to solve problems, the issues of algorithms interacting autonomously with the environment, and the complexity and correctness of those algorithms; (8) understand how those algorithms form the basis of search, problem solving, learning and decision-making in intelligent agents, and be able to implement examples of those agents; (9) understand the interconnected components that comprise computing systems and networks, the principles and standards through which they interact, and alternative algorithms and their trade-offs for controlling the interactions; (10) understand the technologies that allow humans and computers to interact through the medium of visual data, including graphics and animation that underpin the computer games and multimedia industries; (11) work in teams to carry out projects in a professional setting for an industry or third party client, including requirements analysis, design, implementation, testing and documentation; (12) appreciate the ethical responsibilities of professional practice in computing; (13) communicate effectively in various media, including writing and oral presentations; and (14) demonstrate basic research skills that can be applied in higher level studies.
Degree-specific major
Computer Science can be taken as a degree-specific major in the following degree courses:
BP004 Bachelor of Science
BH005 Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours)
Overview of unit sequence
Computer Science is a degree-specific single major comprising:
- two Level 1 units
- two Level 2 units
- four Level 3 units
- one Level 1 complementary unit
- one Level 2 complementary unit
- one Level 3 complementary unit
| Key to availability of units: |
|---|
| S1 = Semester 1; S2 = Semester 2; SS = summer teaching period |
Level 1
Take all units (12 points):
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1, S2 | CITS1001 | Software Engineering with Java |
|
| S2, SS | CITS1402 | Relational Database Management Systems |
|
Take complementary unit (6 points) — not required for students who have Mathematics Methods ATAR or WACE Mathematics: Specialist 3A/3B or equivalent or higher. Note students with Mathematics Applications ATAR will be required to complete an additional bridging maths unit, MATH1720 Mathematics Fundamentals, before enrolling in MATH1721:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1, S2 | MATH1721 | Mathematics Foundations: Methods |
|
Level 2
Take all units (12 points):
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | CITS2002 | Systems Programming |
|
| S1 | CITS2200 | Data Structures and Algorithms |
Take the following complementary unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | CITS2211 | Discrete Structures |
|
Level 3
Take all units (24 points):
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | CITS3001 | Algorithms, Agents and Artificial Intelligence |
|
| S1 | CITS3002 | Computer Networks |
|
| S1 | CITS3003 | Graphics and Animation |
|
| S2 | CITS3200 | Professional Computing |
Take the following complementary unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | CITS3004 | Cybersecurity |
|
Choosing your degree-specific major
You must satisfy the requirements of a degree-specific major before you complete your course. The flexible structure of an undergraduate course allows you to try out a number of different subjects to see what interests you before nominating your degree-specific major. You have the choice to either nominate your degree-specific major when you first enrol in the course or delay nominating it until your second year.
To plan the first year of your study without nominating a degree-specific major, you are advised to choose units that will pave the way to two or more degree-specific majors that are of interest to you. For examples of the choice of units available in first year, search the first-year study plans .
To fully understand the structure of an undergraduate course, read the course structure information and the Undergraduate Degree Course Rules.
The following example illustrates how the Computer Science degree-specific major can be included in the Bachelor of Science course.
There are more choices open to you. For more examples, search the study plans .
Choosing a second major
You also have the option to choose a second major from those available in the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Biomedical Science, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Design Only available to re-enrolling students. or Bachelor of Science course, giving you the opportunity to pursue your interests no matter how different they are.
The following example illustrates how the Computer Science degree-specific major can be combined with a second major in the Bachelor of Science course.
For more examples of combinations of majors, search the study plans .
Computer Science can also be taken as a second major.
Second major
Computer Science can be taken as a second major in the following degree courses:
- BP001 Bachelor of Arts
- BP006 Bachelor of Biomedical Science
- BP002 Bachelor of Commerce
- BP003 Bachelor of Design Only available to re-enrolling students.
- BP004 Bachelor of Science
- BH005 Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours)
Overview of unit sequence
The Computer Science second major is a single major comprising:
- two Level 1 units
- two Level 2 units
- four Level 3 units
- one Level 1 additional unit
| Key to availability of units: |
|---|
| S1 = Semester 1; S2 = Semester 2; SS = summer teaching period |
Level 1
Take all units (12 points):
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1, S2 | CITS1001 | Software Engineering with Java |
|
| S2, SS | CITS1402 | Relational Database Management Systems |
|
Take the additional unit (6 points) (not required for students who have Mathematics: Methods ATAR or equivalent or higher)
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1, S2 | MATH1721 | Mathematics Foundations: Methods |
|
Level 2
Take all units (12 points):
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | CITS2002 | Systems Programming |
|
| S1 | CITS2200 | Data Structures and Algorithms |
Level 3
Take all units (24 points):
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | CITS3001 | Algorithms, Agents and Artificial Intelligence |
|
| S1 | CITS3002 | Computer Networks |
|
| S1 | CITS3003 | Graphics and Animation |
|
| S2 | CITS3200 | Professional Computing |
Choosing a second major
The flexible structure of an undergraduate course allows you the option of including a second major. You have the choice to either nominate your second major when you first enrol in the course or delay it until your second year. For a major to be recorded on your academic record it must be nominated before the requirements of the course are completed.
To fully understand the structure of an undergraduate course, read the course structure information and the Undergraduate Degree Course Rules.
The following example illustrates how Computer Science can be included as a second major in an undergraduate degree course.
For more examples of combinations of majors, search the study plans .
Computer Science can also be taken as a degree-specific major.