This interdisciplinary program is designed for students 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. We welcome students in all disciplines, including, of course, the traditional areas of computer application, such as engineering, the physical sciences, economics, and mathematics. But we also want to encourage students who are interested in what have been in the past less traditional 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 understand how computing concepts and technology are changing our world, and to apply computer science to their own specialties.

Requirements for Admission

The program is open to juniors and seniors who have successfully completed Computer Science 126 (General Computer Science) or an equivalent prerequisite to Computer Science 217 (Introduction to Programming Systems), 226 (Algorithms and Data Structures), and 323 (Computing for the Physical and Social Sciences), and who have fulfilled the requirements for admission as a concentrator in a department other than Computer Science. Students interested in the program should contact the program director by email.

Course of Study

The course requirements are simply stated: First, COS 126 or its equivalent. Then, two courses from among the three: COS 217, COS 226, and COS 323. Finally, two more courses at the 300 or 400 level that involve a substantial computing component, at least one of which is a computer science departmental. Here are examples of courses outside the Computer Science department in the last category (this list is illustrative and certainly not exhaustive):

CHE 442, 448;

ELE 375, 382, 463, 464, 475, 481, 482;

MAT 305;

MAE 345, 412;

MOL 457;

ORF 301, 307, 311, 417, 467;

PSY 322.

Note that some of these courses have prerequisites beyond COS 217, 226, and 323.

In addition, students are required to complete 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 isn't 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.

Overall, 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. Certificate candidates who want to design custom programs focused on specific aspects of computing applications should feel free to consult with the appropriate committee members, who are listed below.

Some 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.

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 341 Discrete Mathematics;

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.

Students interested in this kind of track for the certificate should see Professor Thomas Funkhouser or Professor Olga Troyanskaya.

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. Those interested should see Professor Perry Cook.

....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.

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.

Certificate of Proficiency

Students who fulfill the program requirements receive a certificate upon graduation.

Interdepartmental Committee

Perry Cook, Computer Science, prc@cs.princeton.edu
Joel Cooper, Psychology, jcoops@princeton.EDU
Bradley W. Dickinson, Electrical Engineering, bradley@princeton.edu
Paul J. DiMaggio, Sociology, dimaggio@princeton.edu
David P. Dobkin, Computer Science, ddobkin@princeton.edu
Henry S. Farber, Economics, farber@princeton.edu
Adam Finkelstein, Computer Science, af@cs.princeton.edu
Thomas A. Funkhouser, Computer Science, funk@cs.princeton.edu
James L. Gould, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, gould@princeton.edu
Gilbert H. Harman, Philosophy, harman@princeton.edu
William L. Howarth, English, howarth@princeton.edu
Alain L. Kornhauser, Operations Research and Financial Engineering, alaink@princeton.edu
Paul Lansky, Music, paul@princeton.edu
Andrea S. LaPaugh,Computer Science, aslp@cs.princeton.edu
Michael S. Mahoney, History, mike@princeton.edu
Sharad Malik, Electrical Engineering, sharad@princeton.edu
Luigi Martinelli, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, gigi@phantom2.princeton.edu
Robert Schapire, Computer Science, schapire@cs
James L. Seawright, Visual Arts, jims@princeton.edu
Jaswinder Pal Singh,Computer Science, jps@cs.princeton.edu
Paul E. Starr, Sociology, starr@princeton.edu
Kenneth Steiglitz, Computer Science, ken@cs.princeton.edu, Director
Robert F. Stengel, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, stengel@princeton.edu
Olga Troyanskaya, Computer Science and Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, ogt@cs.princeton.edu
J. Douglas Welsh, Molecular Biology, dwelsh@princeton.edu

Not-so-Fine Print

PDF Policy: Limit is one PDF from among the courses used to satisfy the program requirements.

Majors in departments with computer-related concentrations: A non-Computer-Science major 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.

Content last changed Thu Dec 14 14:21:34 EST 2006

Undergraduate Certificate Program in A p p l i c a t i o n s of Computing

Director