The Program in Computing & Information Systems (CIS) offers students in the Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences the opportunity to study computer science within the context of the College's focus on liberal arts and sciences, as distinct from the engineering context offered by the Computer Science program in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Faculty and courses for the Program are drawn from the McCormick School's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). Courses and research in the Department address the underlying theories, enabling technologies, and applications of modern computer science. There is a strong focus on the design, implementation, and evaluation of software systems, including interactive, distributed multimedia, artificial intelligence, robotics, and database systems.

Research in the Department is highly interdisciplinary, including important links with Cognitive Science Program in the College of Arts and Sciences as well as Learning Sciences within the School of Education and Social Policy, and the Departments of Communication Studies and Radio/Television/Film in the School of Communication. Undergraduates are encouraged to join ongoing research projects within the Department. For more information on the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and its course offerings, see the McCormick School section of this catalog as well as the Department's web pages.

The major in Computing and Information Systems is highly flexible, emphasizing the interdisciplinary study and project work that are critical in a field as rapidly changing as computer science. The specific courses to be taken are largely determined by the goals and interests of the individual student. The major includes a two-quarter "capstone" project activity that helps integrate the skills and knowledge acquired in coursework.