Computer Science Department

The Computer Science (CS) program at Siena College is based on the curricular guidelines of the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery). Siena’s CS program features excellent facilities, a large full-time dedicated faculty and a wide variety of educational and career opportunities. The program is oriented towards “hands-on” computing in a small class environment. Laboratory experiences are an essential component of many courses, enabling students to work closely with our faculty. Beginning with the first course, students develop their abilities to solve problems, analyze, synthesize, think critically, and communicate. Many courses require group projects and intensive teamwork. Students can select from among eight concentration areas within computer science, allowing them to align their upper-level coursework requirements with their interests and career goals. In addition, students have the opportunity to work closely with faculty on research projects in fields such as information retrieval, artificial intelligence, user experience (UX) design, robotics, parallel computing, algorithm visualization, and computer science education.

Facilities: The CS Department has a networked computing facility for laboratory work using Linux and FreeBSD servers, Macs, Windows PCs and a variety of other hardware and software. There are 4 instructional labs and one open lab, with over 100 workstations. The department also has specialized equipment for robotics, parallel processing, and computer architecture. Students also access Siena’s campus-wide academic computing network. (See the “Information Technology Services” section of the catalog for a complete description of the Academic Computing facilities).

In addition to the College’s standard software, students have access to software development tools that support programming in languages including Python, R, Java, JavaScript, C, C++, PHP, Perl, Haskell, Kotlin, and Swift. Additional software available for use in courses and on student projects includes Git for version control, Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, ArangoDB, React and Unreal Engine..

The CS Department offers a Computer Science and an Information Systems minor, which greatly complement almost any major.

The CS Program bridges the academic and professional worlds by combining the teaching of CS concepts, computational thinking, and teamwork with hands-on experiences using tools and methodologies having immediate industrial applications. This comprehensive approach imparts an education that empowers students to navigate and thrive in the ever-evolving technological world.

Programs

Bachelor of Science

Certificate

Computer Science Certificate

Minor

Courses

Computer Science