A Report of the ACM Curriculum Committee on Computer Education for Management
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ACM Recommended Curricula for Computer Science and Information Processing Programs in Colleges and Universities, 1968-1981 Compiled by the Committees on Computer Curricula of the ACM Education Board Association for Computing Machinery acm Association for Computing Machinery 1133 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036 Price: ACM Members: $15.00 Non-members: $20.00 Copies may be ordered, prepaid, from: ACM Order Department P.O. Box 64145 Baltimore, MD 21264 Use order #201813 Copyright ©1981 by the Association for Computing Machinery ISBN: 0-89791-058-3 CONTENTS Page Curriculum 68: Recommendations for Academic Programs in Computer Science 1 Curriculum Recommendations for Graduate Professional Programs in Information Systems 49 A Computer Science Course Program for Small Colleges 85 Curriculum Recommendations for Undergraduate Programs in Information Systems 95 Curriculum 78: Recommendations for the Undergraduate Program in Computer Science 119 Recommendations for Master's Level Programs in Computer Science 139 Educational Programs in Information Systems 149 Recommendations and Guidelines for an Associate Level Degree Program in Computer Programming 159 PREFACE When we enter the twenty-first century, computers This volume includes all the curricula published as of will have influenced our lives more than any other tech- June 1981, plus the final version of the "Curriculum on nology known to civilization. The need for knowledge Computer Programming for Community and Junior Col- about computers, computer technology, and the theoretical leges" which appeared in draft version in the June 1977 aspects of computers has grown exponentially. Since its SIGCSE Bulletin. These curricula are printed in order of founding in 1947, the Association for Computing Machinery publication dates. We realize that some of the recent has attempted to address this need for computer knowledge. curricula included will soon be updated — nothing is The study of computers is an endeavor demanding absolute, nothing is final. ACM's efforts in the develop- careful, thorough, and organized development. Recognizing ment of curricula will not end, they will be ongoing. the need for a comprehensive model curriculum for the Two new curricula, A Model Curriculum for Doc- growing number of institutions offering computer science toral-Level Programs in Health Computing and Recom- courses, ACM, in the mid-sixties, established the Curricu- mendations and Guidelines for Vocation-Technical Career lum Committee on Computer Science to make recom- Programs for Computer Personnel in Operations were mendations and provide guidelines to institutions. Chaired published in July 1981 and are available from ACM sep- by Dr. William Atchison of the University of Maryland, this arately. dedicated group of forward-thinking people published ACM is aware that there are demands for education preliminary recommendations in September 1965. With about computers in areas other than formal, theoretical financial assistance from the National Science Foundation, programs. In the middle of 1981, when the computer's they published their final report, "Recommendations for impact on society is so clear, we realize computer study Academic Programs in Computer Science," in Communi- cannot be confined to the post-secondary area. Work is cations of the ACM in March 1968. This curriculum, known now in progress to develop viable programs for the secon- as "Curriculum '68," formed the basis of formal computer dary and elementary schools. science study in colleges and universities for the next ten No author of a preface should close without giving years. thanks. Over the past 15 years, each ACM administra- Circumstances in the world of computers change con- tion has supported curriculum activity; those administra- stantly. As soon as a new idea emerges, as soon as a new tions are to be thanked. Also, thanks should be given to the principle is stated, as soon as a new technology is devel- staffs of ACM Headquarters who helped publish each oped, it is outdated. Such is the case with curricula. As curricula, the authors of each curriculum published, as soon as "Curriculum '68" was published, many realized well as to the committees that supported them. I would that there were other avenues to take, and as a conse- like to list all those who have given their time and energy quence, other curricula were developed. to make these curricula a reality, but I fear if I mention Since many small colleges could not afford a computer one name, than I shall forget another. Therefore, a blanket science program similar to the one outlined in "Curri- thank you is given to each person who has contributed to culum '68," a small college curriculum was developed. The the development of these curricula. need for information systems curricula, quite different from computer science curricula, was recognized; those curricula were published in 1972, 1973, and 1981. In William B. Gruener, Chairman addition, specialized curricula for Associate Degree pro- ACM Curriculum Committee grams in Community and Junior Colleges and Doctoral on Computer Education level programs in Health Computing were developed, November 1981 and "Curriculum '68" was updated by "Curriculum '78". CURRICULUM 68 Recommendations for Academic Programs in Computer Science A REPORT OF THE ACM CURRICULUM COMMITTEE ON COMPUTER SCIENCE Dedicated to the Memory of Silvio 0. Navarro This report contains recommendations on academic programs in computer science which were developed by the ACM Curriculum Committee on Computer Science. A classification of the subject areas contained in computer science is presented and twenty-two courses in these areas are described. Prerequisites, catolog descriptions, detailed outlines, and annotated bibliographies for these courses are included. Spe- cific recommendations which have evolved from the Committee's 1965 Preliminary Recommendations are given for undergraduate programs. Graduate programs in computer science are discussed, and some recommendations are presented for the development of master's degree programs. Ways of developing guidelines for doctoral programs are discussed, but no specific recommendations are made. The importance of service courses, minors, and continuing education in computer science is empha- sized. Attention is given to the organization, staff requirements, computer resources, and other facilities needed to implement computer science educational programs. KEY WORDS AND PHRASES: computer science courses, computer science curriculum, computer science education, computer science academic programs, computer science graduate programs, computer science undergraduate programs, computer science course bibliographies CR CATEGORIES: 1.52 Preface The Curriculum Committee on Computer Science (C3S) was initially formed in 1962 as a subcommittee of the Education Committee of the As- sociation for Computing Machinery. In the first few years of its existence this subcommittee functioned rather informally by sponsoring a number of panel discussions and other sessions at various national computer meetings. The Curriculum Committee became an independent committee of the ACM in 1964 and began an active effort to formulate detailed recommendations for curricula in computer science. Its first report, "An Undergraduate Pro- gram in Computer Science—Preliminary Recommendations" [1], was pub- lished in the September 1965 issue of Communications of the ACM. The work of the Committee during the last two years has been devoted to revising these recommendations on undergraduate programs and develop- ing recommendations for graduate programs as contained in this report. The primary support for this work has been from the National Science Founda- tion under Grant Number GY-305, received in July 1965. The Committee membership during the preparation of this report was: William F. Atchison, University of Maryland (Chairman) Samuel D. Conte, Purdue University John W. Hamblen, SREB and Georgia Institute of Technology Thomas E. Hull, University of Toronto Thomas A. Keenan, EDUCOM and the University of Rochester William B. Kehl, University of California at Los Angeles Edward J. McCluskey, Stanford University Silvio O. Navarro,* University of Kentucky Werner C. Rheinboldt, University of Maryland Earl J. Schweppe, University of Maryland (Secretary) William Viavant, University of Utah David M. Young, Jr., University of Texas * Dr. Navarro was killed in an airplane crash on April 3, 1967. In addition to these members many others have made valuable contribu- tions to the work of the Committee. Their names and affiliations are listed at the end of this report. Robert Ashenhurst and Peter Wegner have given especial assistance in the preparation of this report. CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Subject Classification 3. Description of Courses 4. Undergraduate Programs 5. Master's Degree Programs 6. Doctoral Programs 7. Service Courses, Minors, and Continuing Education 8. Implementation References Acknowledgments Appendix. Course Outlines and Bibliographies 2 1. Introduction Following the appearance of its Preliminary Recom- liographies in the Appendix—on a total of twenty-two mendations [1], the Curriculum Committee on Com- courses. puter Science received many valuable comments, Another important issue which concerned the Cur- criticisms, and suggestions on computer science edu- riculum Committee is the extent to which undergrad- cation. From these, the advice of numerous consul- uate programs as opposed to graduate programs in tants, and the ideas of many