Undergraduate Certificate Program in
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of Computing
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Director: Szymon Rusinkiewicz
- 406 Computer Science Building, 35 Olden Street
- telephone: 258-7479; email smr+pac at cs
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Program Coordinator: Colleen Kenny-McGinley
- 210 Computer Science Building, 35 Olden Street
- telephone: 258-1746; email ckenny at cs
Introduction
The Program in Applications of Computing is an interdisciplinary program designed for Princeton undergraduates who want to combine the study of computing and computers beyond an introductory level with another academic concentration, but who are not majoring in Computer Science. The program welcomes students in all disciplines, including both areas traditionally making heavy use of computation (such as engineering, the physical sciences, economics, and mathematics) and emerging application areas (such as biology, cognitive science, graphic arts, music, history, philosophy, politics, sociology, literature, and so on). Many students have found this program an effective way to apply computer science to their own specialties, and to understand how computing concepts and technology are changing our world.
Admission to the Program
The program is open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are majoring in a department other than Computer Science. The prerequisite for admission is successful completion of COS 126 or ISC 231-234, 5 on the AP Computer Science AB exam (the Computer Science A exam is, unfortunately, not accepted), or instructor's permission to take COS 217 or 226.
To apply to join PAC, please fill out the online worksheet or email the program director (smr+pac at cs) if you have any questions.
Course of Study
A certificate candidate's courses and thesis must form a coherent plan of study that fulfills both the program requirements and the requirements of the candidate's major department. This planning is done in consultation with the program advisor and the student's academic advisor in the major department. The following are the requirements:
- COS 126 or equivalent.
- Two courses from among the following three: COS 217, COS 226, and/or COS 323.
- One COS departmental at the 300- or 400-level, not including 39x or 49x.
- One additional 300- or 400-level course with substantial computing
content. This may be either a second COS departmental, or an outside course
including but not limited to:
CBE 442, 448;
ELE 375, 381, 463, 464, 475, 481, 482;
MAT 305;
MAE 345, 412;
MOL 457;
ORF 301, 307, 311, 417, 467;
PSY 322. -
A senior thesis on a topic that makes significant use of some aspect of
computer science. The intent is that this thesis satisfy the requirements
of both the program and the student's major department and is thus
necessarily interdisciplinary. A wide range of thesis topics is possible.
In the last few years of the program, students have earned certificates
with a variety of majors, including anthropology, chemistry, classics,
economics, electrical engineering, history, philosophy, and psychology.
The thesis work is coordinated through the student's thesis advisor in the major department and an assigned program advisor (who may be, in routine cases, the program director). When this is not possible, the student may instead undertake a one-semester independent project with a strong computer-related component, separate from, but related to, the student's area of concentration. This option must be arranged in consultation with the program advisor, and approved by the Program Committee.
P/D/F policy: Limit is one P/D/F from among the courses used to satisfy the program requirements.
Majors in departments with computer-related concentrations: Non-Computer-Science majors whose departmental concentration is in an area related to computing (such as Electrical Engineering) can participate in the program if the two 300/400-level courses used to satisfy the PAC requirements are disjoint from those used for their departmental concentration, and are in a different area of computer science. In particular, ELE 306 / COS 206 is not accepted for the program for ELE majors. For ORFE majors, ORF 307 is accepted for PAC.
Certificate of Proficiency
Students who fulfill the program requirements receive a certificate upon graduation.
Sample Interdisciplinary Tracks for Non-Engineering Majors
As mentioned above, we want to extend a warm welcome to students in disciplines in which extensive computer application is either relatively new or nontraditional. To be more concrete, here are examples of course choices that might be appropriate for a few such areas:
Artificial Intelligence / Cognitive Science
How can computers be made to behave intelligently? How can the brain be modeled from a computational perspective? These two questions are emerging as central challenges in this century. A student following an artificial intelligence / cognitive science track might take COS 402 (Artificial Intelligence), plus one of the following courses:
- COS 429 Computer Vision;
- ELE 481 Machine Vision;
- MAE 345 Robotics and Intelligent Systems;
- MOL 437 Computational Neurobiology and Computing Networks;
- PSY 330 Introduction to Connectionist Models: Bridging between Brain and Mind.
- ELE 481 Machine Vision;
Students interested in this track for the certificate should see Professor Rob Schapire.
Bioinformatics
With increasing amounts of data being generated in a variety of genome-wide biological studies, modern molecular biology is rapidly becoming an information-based science. Now biology can be studied at the level of systems, be it systems of interacting proteins in the cell, intercellular signaling, organ-level interactions, or whole organisms. This modern biology requires a new generation of scientists who are proficient in computer science, statistics, and mathematics, as well as biology. We thus recommend the core sequence COS 226 and COS 323 (for the two-out-of-three), plus two of the following courses:
- COS 340 Reasoning about Computation;
- COS 551/MOL 557 Introduction to Computational Molecular Biology;
- COS 557 Analysis and Visualization of Large-Scale Genomic Data Sets;
- ORF 309/MAT 309 Probability and Stochastic Systems.
- COS 551/MOL 557 Introduction to Computational Molecular Biology;
Students interested in this kind of track for the certificate should see Professor Thomas Funkhouser or Professor Olga Troyanskaya.
Computational Social Science
With the proliferation of large data sets and high-speed computing, social scientists have increasingly come to rely on computational tools for analysis. The track in computational social science addresses such applications as (a) computational modeling and simulation (the use of "intelligent agents" equipped with particular capacities, preferences, and behavioral routines to model large-scale social systems); (b) computer-based natural language and text processing; and (c) statistical computing (with particular reference to the refinement of econometric, sociometric, and psychometric algorithms). Prerequisites for a certificate would typically include COS 126 (Introduction to Computer Science); COS 226 (Algorithms and Data Structures); COS 323 (Computing for the Physical and Social Sciences); and appropriate courses in Sociology, Economics, or Politics. Students interested in this track for the certificate should see Professor Paul DiMaggio.
Digital Media
Digital media, including both graphics and sound, have become central both to our culture and our science. There are (at least) three general areas that might serve as a focus for certificate students interested in these computer applications:
....Graphics
Courses for a graphics media track might include COS 426 (Computer Graphics) or COS 429 (Computer Vision), plus COS 436 (Human Computer Interface Technology) or COS 479 (Pervasive Information Systems). The choices are wide and will vary with the student. Those interested in a graphics track for the applications certificate should see Prof. Adam Finkelstein.
....Music
The collaboration between Music and Computer Science at Princeton has a long and rich history. Specific cross-listed COS/MUS courses include MUS/COS 314 (Introduction to Computer Music) and COS 325/MUS 315 (Transforming Reality by Computer). A music track for the certificate might include one of these two, plus COS 436 (Human Computer Interface Technology) or COS 479 (Pervasive Information Systems). Again, a wide range of choices is possible.
....Policy and Intellectual Property
The legal and political aspects of digital media are becoming increasingly important in our society. A track for the certificate that focused in this area might typically include COS 491 (Information Technology and The Law), plus any one of many other possible courses, depending on the student's particular interests. Those interested should see Professor Edward Felten.
Interdepartmental Committee
- Joel Cooper,
Psychology
- Bradley W. Dickinson, Electrical Engineering
- Paul J. DiMaggio, Sociology
- David P. Dobkin, Computer Science
- Henry S. Farber, Economics
- Adam Finkelstein, Computer Science
- Thomas A. Funkhouser, Computer Science
- James L. Gould, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
- Gilbert H. Harman, Philosophy
- Alain L. Kornhauser, Operations Research and Financial Engineering
- Paul Lansky, Music
- Andrea S. LaPaugh, Computer Science
- Sharad Malik, Electrical Engineering
- Luigi Martinelli, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- Robert Schapire, Computer Science
- James L. Seawright, Visual Arts
- Jaswinder Pal Singh, Computer Science
- Kenneth Steiglitz, Computer Science
- Robert F. Stengel, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- Olga Troyanskaya, Computer Science and Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics
- Bradley W. Dickinson, Electrical Engineering
Content last changed Wed Mar 9 15:14:32 EST 2011
