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Computer Science Major

School of Arts and Sciences

Capstone Course

In your senior year, you will have the opportunity to apply what you’ve learned in your culminating course. You can choose between a faculty-approved software development project or an internship as a part of your degree requirements.

Students and mentor working around a computer

Software Project

Working with a team of your peers, you will have the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge that you have learned through your coursework in a practical software development project.

Internship

Take advantage of the many tech companies that are headquartered in Irvine and nearby with an internship during your senior year. Your professors will work with you to find an opportunity that matches your interests in computer science.

Materials Needed

For computer science courses, students should have a laptop computer that is running the latest version of either Apple macOS, Microsoft Windows, or a Unix-like operating system. For engineering courses, students will often need to work in a Windows environment (non-Windows users may need additional resources, such as Parallels). We recommend a mid-range to upper-end computer system. Our courses are rigorous and we want to avoid the frustrations that come with bargain computers.

Our students report that it is a big benefit to have an external mouse and reasonably-sized display monitor in their dorm rooms, but this is not a requirement.

Most Chromebooks, iPads, and other tablets will not work because they do not allow you to install the proper development tools or only provide limited functionality. A few highly skilled students have managed to get by with a combination of a high-end Chromebook and the desktop computers that are available 24/7 in our computer science and engineering labs; however, this setup is discouraged.

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