Computer Science - Computer Games Major (B.Sc.) (65 credits)
Offered by: Computer Science (Faculty of Science)
Degree: Bachelor of Science
Program credit weight: 65
Program Description
This program is a specialization within Computer Science. It fulfils all the basic requirements of the Major Computer Science. The program focuses on topics that are important to understanding the technology behind computer games and to gaining experience in software development and design needed for computer game development.
Students may complete this program with a minimum of 62 credits or a maximum of 65 credits depending on whether they are exempt from taking COMP 202 Foundations of Programming..
Degree Requirements — B.Sc.
This program is offered as part of a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree.
To graduate, students must satisfy both their program requirements and their degree requirements.
- The program requirements (i.e., the specific courses that make up this program) are listed under the Course Tab (above).
- The degree requirements—including the mandatory Foundation program, appropriate degree structure, and any additional components—are outlined on the Degree Requirements page.
Students are responsible for ensuring that this program fits within the overall structure of their degree and that all degree requirements are met. Consult the Degree Planning Guide on the SOUSA website for additional guidance.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Required Courses (46-49 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| COMP 202 | Foundations of Programming. 1 | 3 |
Foundations of Programming. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Introduction to computer programming in a high level language: variables, expressions, primitive types, methods, conditionals, loops. Introduction to algorithms, data structures (arrays, strings), modular software design, libraries, file input/output, debugging, exception handling. Selected topics. | ||
| COMP 206 | Introduction to Software Systems. | 3 |
Introduction to Software Systems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Comprehensive overview of programming in C, use of system calls and libraries, debugging and testing of code; use of developmental tools like make, version control systems. | ||
| COMP 250 | Introduction to Computer Science. | 3 |
Introduction to Computer Science. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Mathematical tools (binary numbers, induction,recurrence relations, asymptotic complexity,establishing correctness of programs). Datastructures (arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists,trees, binary trees, binary search trees, heaps,hash tables). Recursive and non-recursivealgorithms (searching and sorting, tree andgraph traversal). Abstract data types. Objectoriented programming in Java (classes andobjects, interfaces, inheritance). Selected topics. | ||
| COMP 251 | Algorithms and Data Structures. | 3 |
Algorithms and Data Structures. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Data Structures: priority queues, balanced binary search trees, hash tables, graphs. Algorithms: topological sort, connected components, shortest paths, minimum spanning trees, bipartite matching, network flows. Algorithm design: greedy, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, randomization. Mathematicaltools: proofs of asymptotic complexity and program correctness, Master theorem. | ||
| COMP 273 | Introduction to Computer Systems. | 3 |
Introduction to Computer Systems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Number representations, combinational and sequential digital circuits, MIPS instructions and architecture datapath and control, caches, virtual memory, interrupts and exceptions, pipelining. | ||
| COMP 302 | Programming Languages and Paradigms. | 3 |
Programming Languages and Paradigms. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Programming language design issues and programming paradigms. Binding and scoping, parameter passing, lambda abstraction, data abstraction, type checking. Functional and logic programming. | ||
| COMP 303 | Software Design. | 3 |
Software Design. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Principles, mechanisms, techniques, and tools for object-oriented software design and its implementation, including encapsulation, design patterns, and unit testing. | ||
| COMP 310 | Operating Systems. | 3 |
Operating Systems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Control and scheduling of large information processing systems. Operating system software - resource allocation, dispatching, processors, access methods, job control languages, main storage management. Batch processing, multiprogramming, multiprocessing, time sharing. | ||
| COMP 322 | Introduction to C++. | 1 |
Introduction to C++. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Basics and advanced features of the C++ language. Syntax, memory management, class structure, method and operator overloading, multiple inheritance, access control, stream I/O, templates, exception handling. | ||
| COMP 330 | Theory of Computation. | 3 |
Theory of Computation. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Finite automata, regular languages, context-free languages, push-down automata, models of computation, computability theory, undecidability, reduction techniques. | ||
| COMP 361D1 | Software Engineering Project. | 3 |
Software Engineering Project. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Software development process in practice: requirement elicitation and analysis, software design, implementation, integration, test planning, and maintenance. Application of the core concepts and techniques through the realization of a large software system. | ||
| COMP 361D2 | Software Engineering Project. | 3 |
Software Engineering Project. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. See COMP 361D1 for course description. | ||
| COMP 557 | Fundamentals of Computer Graphics. | 4 |
Fundamentals of Computer Graphics. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Fundamental mathematical, algorithmic and representational issues in computer graphics: overview of graphics pipeline, homogeneous coordinates, projective transformations, line-drawing and rasterization, hidden surface removal, surface modelling (quadrics, bicubics, meshes), rendering (lighting, reflectance models, ray tracing, texture mapping), compositing colour perception, and other selected topics. | ||
| MATH 222 | Calculus 3. | 3 |
Calculus 3. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals. | ||
| MATH 223 | Linear Algebra. | 3 |
Linear Algebra. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications. | ||
| MATH 240 | Discrete Structures. | 3 |
Discrete Structures. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to discrete mathematics and applications. Logical reasoning and methods of proof. Elementary number theory and cryptography: prime numbers, modular equations, RSA encryption. Combinatorics: basic enumeration, combinatorial methods, recurrence equations. Graph theory: trees, cycles, planar graphs. | ||
| MATH 323 | Probability. | 3 |
Probability. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Sample space, events, conditional probability, independence of events, Bayes' Theorem. Basic combinatorial probability, random variables, discrete and continuous univariate and multivariate distributions. Independence of random variables. Inequalities, weak law of large numbers, central limit theorem. | ||
- 1
Students who have sufficient knowledge in a programming language do not need to take COMP 202 Foundations of Programming..
Complementary Courses (16 credits)
3 credits selected from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| COMP 350 | Numerical Computing. | 3 |
Numerical Computing. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Computer representation of numbers, IEEE Standard for Floating Point Representation, computer arithmetic and rounding errors. Numerical stability. Matrix computations and software systems. Polynomial interpolation. Least-squares approximation. Iterative methods for solving a nonlinear equation. Discretization methods for integration and differential equations. | ||
| COMP 360 | Algorithm Design. | 3 |
Algorithm Design. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced algorithm design and analysis. Linear programming, complexity and NP-completeness, advanced algorithmic techniques. | ||
At least 7 credits selected from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| COMP 308 | Computer Systems Lab. | 1 |
Computer Systems Lab. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Digital circuitry and programming interface of peripheral circuit boards (cards), e.g., graphics cards; introduction to tools and libraries that interact with the card; performance issues. | ||
| COMP 424 | Artificial Intelligence. | 3 |
Artificial Intelligence. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to search methods. Knowledge representation using logic and probability. Planning and decision making under uncertainty. Introduction to machine learning. | ||
| COMP 521 | Modern Computer Games. | 4 |
Modern Computer Games. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Genre and history of games, basic game design, storytelling and narrative analysis, game engines, design of virtual worlds, real-time 2D graphics, game physics and physical simulation, pathfinding and game AI, content generation, 3D game concerns, multiplayer and distributed games, social issues. | ||
| COMP 529 | Software Architecture. | 4 |
Software Architecture. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Development, analysis, and maintenance of software architectures, with special focus on modular decomposition and reverse engineering. | ||
| COMP 533 | Model-Driven Software Development. | 3 |
Model-Driven Software Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Model-driven software development; requirements engineering based on use cases and scenarios; object-oriented modelling using UML and OCL to establish complete and precise analysis and design documents; mapping to Java. Introduction to meta-modelling and model transformations, use of modelling tools. | ||
| COMP 551 | Applied Machine Learning. | 4 |
Applied Machine Learning. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Selected topics in machine learning and data mining, including clustering, neural networks, support vector machines, decision trees. Methods include feature selection and dimensionality reduction, error estimation and empirical validation, algorithm design and parallelization, and handling of large data sets. Emphasis on good methods and practices for deployment of real systems. | ||
| COMP 559 | Fundamentals of Computer Animation. | 4 |
Fundamentals of Computer Animation. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Fundamental mathematical and computational issues in computer animation with a focus on physics based simulation: overview of numerical integration methods, accuracy and absolute stability, stiff systems and constraints, rigid body motion, collision detection and response, friction, deformation, stable fluid simulation, use of motion capture, and other selected topics. | ||
At least 6 credits selected from:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| COMP 409 | Concurrent Programming. | 3 |
Concurrent Programming. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Characteristics and utility of concurrent programs; formal methods for specification, verification and development of concurrent programs; communications, synchronization, resource allocation and management, coherency and integrity. | ||
| COMP 421 | Database Systems. | 3 |
Database Systems. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Database Design: conceptual design of databases (e.g., entity-relationship model), relational data model, functional dependencies. Database Manipulation: relational algebra, SQL, database application programming, triggers, access control. Database Implementation: transactions, concurrency control, recovery, query execution and query optimization. | ||
| COMP 535 | Computer Networks 1. | 4 |
Computer Networks 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Fundamental design principles, elements, and protocols of computer networks, focusing on the current Internet. Topics include: layered architecture, direct link networks, switching and forwarding, bridge routing, congestion control, end-to-end protocols application of DNS, HTTP, P2P, fair queuing, performance modeling and analysis. | ||