Informatics is an interdisciplinary concentration (major) that is housed in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts in cooperation with the College of Engineering and the School of Information. The concentration requires four prerequisite courses and 44 credit hours of core, track, and elective courses. Informatics does not accept grades lower than a C-. It is important to note that there are courses that require prerequisites with grades higher than a C- and other LSA grade requirements.
Prerequisites
Prerequisite courses serve as an introduction to academic concepts in the concentration Core. All students declaring a concentration in Informatics must complete the prerequisite courses, but it is not necessary to complete all prerequisites prior to declaring or enrolling in concentration courses.
The course presents the concepts of calculus from four points of view: geometric (graphs), numeric (tables), symbolic (formulas), and verbal descriptions. Students will develop their reading, writing and questioning skills, as well as their ability to work cooperatively. Topics include functions and graphs, derivatives and their applications to real-life problems in various fields, and an introduction to integration. The classroom atmosphere is interactive and cooperative. Both individual and team homework is assigned.
Advisory prerequisite: Four years of high school math.
4 credits. Offered F, W, Sp, Su
Fundamental programming skills in the context of end-user software applications using a high-level language, such as Ruby or Python. Rapid design of a variety of information-oriented applications to gather, analyze, transform, manipulate, and publish data. Applications drawn from statistics, pattern matching, social computing and computer games.
No prerequisites and no prior programming experience necessary.
NOTE: Students who are interested in the Computational Informatics track in Informatics or a concentration in Computer Science may wish to enroll in EECS 183 instead of or in addition to EECS/SI 182. EECS 183 teaches C++ and may offer better preparation for advanced C++ courses in the Computational Informatics.
4 credits. Offered F, W
A one term course in applied statistical methodology from an analysis-of-data viewpoint. Frequency distributions; measures of location; mean, median, mode; measures of dispersion; variance; graphic presentation; elementary probability; populations and samples; sampling distributions; one sample univariate inference problems, and two sample problems; categorical data; regression and correlation; and analysis of variance. Use of computers in data analysis.
No prerequisites. No credit granted to those who have completed or are enrolled in ECON 404, ECON 405, IOE 265, STATS 400, STATS 412, or ENVIRON/NRE 438.
NOTE: Students who are also considering a concentration in Computer Science may wish to enroll in STATS 412 or IOE 265 instead of STATS 250. STATS 412 or IOE 265 will satisfy a core requirement in Computer Science, but STATS 250 will not.
4 credits. Offered F, W, Sp, Su.
This course provides foundational knowledge necessary to begin addressing the key issues associated with the Information Revolution. Issues will range from the theoretical (what is information and how do humans construct it?), to the cultural (is life on the screen a qualitatively different phenomenon from experiences with earlier distance-shrinking and knowledge-building technologies such as telephones?), to the practical (what are the basic architectures of computing and networks?). Successful completion of this course will give you, the student, the conceptual tools necessary to understand the politics, economics, and culture of the Information Age.
No prerequisites.
4 credits. Offered F, W
Core (16 credits)
Four core courses are required for all students who concentrate (major) in Informatics. Together, the four core courses establish a foundation in discrete mathematics, computer programs and models, research methods in applied statistics, and ethical issues posed by new and emerging technologies. Each course contributes to the preparation necessary for advanced study of Informatics issues in the four concentration Tracks.
Introduction to the mathematical foundations of computer science. Topics covered include: prepositional and predicate logic, set theory, function and relations, growth of functions and asymptotic notation, introduction to algorithms, elementary combinatorics, and graph theory, and discrete probability theory.
Enforced prerequisites: MATH 115 or 116 or 119 or 120 or 121 or 156 or 176 or 185 or 186 or 295 or 296 or 215 or 255 or 285 with a C or better.
4 credits. Offered F, W
Techniques for algorithm development and programming. Learning a programming language, such as Java, which is suitable for designing enterprise-scale information systems; data structures including stacks, queues, trees and dictionaries; recursion; program complexity; object-oriented design; handling exceptions, debugging, and testing; introduction to database design with JDBC and SQL.
Advisory prerequisites: EECS 182 or EECS 183 or ENGR 101 and MATH 115.
4 credits. Offered W
This course introduces methods for planning, executing, and evaluating research studies based on experiments, surveys, and observational datasets. In addition to learning a toolset of methods, students will read and report on recent research papers to learn how study design and data analysis are handled in different fields.
Advisory prerequisites: MATH 115; and one of STATS 265, 250, 400, 405, 412; or permission of instructor.
4 credits. Offered F
This course explores the ethical dilemmas that exist where human beings, information objects, and information systems interact. The course introduces students to a variety of ethical models from historical and cross-cultural perspectives and then explores the relevance of these models to a variety of new and emerging technologies that are inherently social in their construction and use. Initial examples of issues that the course covers include interpersonal engagement through online games and virtual environments, maintaining the integrity of digital content in a networked world, and balancing trade offs between secrecy (security) and openness of code, data, and information systems. Students explore the technological underpinnings of associated technology systems, experiment with individual and group interaction with technologies, and examine the mechanics of ethical and unethical behaviors.
No prerequisites, but junior or senior standing is recommended.
4 credits. Offered F
Tracks (11-16 credits)
Based on personal academic interests, students are required to choose from one of four tracks of study within the Informatics concentration (major). Courses in each track provide foundational skills, in-depth study, and intellectual perspectives specific to the associated track.
Computational Informatics Track
Data Mining & Information Analysis Track
Life Science Informatics Track
Social Computing Track
In addition to core and track requirements, students round out their Informatics studies with carefully selected elective courses. The number and breadth of available electives allows you to add intellectual depth to their selected track of study or broaden your perspective on other aspects of the informatics field. All electives must be selected in consultation with a concentration advisor.
Electives (12-17 credits)
In addition to core and track requirements, students round out their Informatics studies with carefully selected elective courses. The number and breadth of available electives allows you to add intellectual depth to their selected track of study or broaden your perspective on other aspects of the informatics field. All electives must be selected in consultation with a concentration advisor.
See the list of approved concentration electives.
