Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Undergraduate Programs in the OSU Computer Science and Engineering Department

A Note On Names

Early in 2004 the name of the department was changed from Computer and Information Science (CIS) to Computer Science and Engineering (CSE). The names of the undergraduate programs offered by the department have not changed. This seems to have led to some confusion. This note tries to clarify the points.

Here are the main points to keep in mind:

  1. The name of the department is now the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

  2. The name of the undergraduate program that the department offers via the College of Engineering is Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering (BS CSE). This is not new; this has been the name of this program since about the mid-nineties.

  3. The department offers two undergraduate programs via the College of Arts and Sciences. One is named the Bachelor of Science in Computer and Information Science (BS CIS); the other is named Bachelor of Arts in Computer and Information Science (BA CIS). Again, these have been the names of these two programs for many years.

  4. The courses offered by the department may appear in some older documents as "CIS xyz" or "CPTR/INF xyz". Effective Au '04, the courses should be listed as "CSE xyz" or "CS&E xyz". Note that this is only a change in the names of the courses, not in their content. Thus, for example, CSE 221 is the exact same course as the one that was listed as CIS 221 until Au '04.

  5. In these pages, the terms "CIS" and "Information" should appear only in the names of the BS-CIS and BA-CIS programs offered via the College of Arts and Sciences. If you notice reference to a "CIS course" or the "CIS Dept." in these pages, or if you are confused by any of this name change-related stuff, please let Peg Steele (peg@cse) in the Advising Office know about it.
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