THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO COMPUTER SCIENCE @ HARVARD VERSION 8 U D E . D R A V R A H S. .C W WW DESIGNED BY CS50 Haven’t taken CS50 yet? Visit cs50.net for FAQs. S 2 UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO CS @ HARVARD Photograph by Eliza Grinnell What is CS? How can I get a secondary in CS? Take any four courses numbered 50 or higher. See page We like to say that CS teaches you how to think 9 for popular study cards. See Computer Science under more methodically and how to solve problems more Secondary Fields in the Handbook for Students. effectively. As such, its lessons are applicable well beyond the boundaries of CS itself. How do I concentrate in CS? Take at least two of CS50, CS51, and CS61; take CS121 But CS is also, more generally, the study of information. and another “theory” course; take four technical electives; How do you represent it? With what methods (aka and take Math 21a and Math 21b. Plus take any of algorithms) can you process it? Math 1a, Math 1b, and CS20 as needed. See page 8 for popular study cards. See Computer Science under Fields Perhaps the most liberal answer, though, is that CS “has of Concentration in the Handbook for Students. no exclusive domain of its own, and that its importance comes from the problems to which it is applied.” And Can I change my concentration to CS? therein lies the excitement. CS empowers you with Yes, so long as you still have time to satisfy the requirements. tools and ideas that can be applied to practically any Even David J. Malan ’99, who now teaches CS50, didn’t domain of interest to you, both in college and beyond. take his first CS course until his sophomore year, when he switched from Government to CS. What is CS not? Does CS require a thesis? No, not for non-Honors or Honors, but for High Honors and Contrary to popular belief, CS is not really about Highest Honors, it’s expected. See Computer Science under programming, even though you do learn how to Fields of Concentration in the Handbook for Students. program. Programming languages are tools that Computer Scientists use or create in order to solve Is a thesis just a big program? problems of interest to them. No, a thesis is a research paper. You might end up writing programs in order to evaluate your ideas, but those programs are ordinarily means to an end, not an end in themselves. Visit cs.harvard.edu/thesis for examples. UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO CS @ HARVARD 3 How do I graduate with Honors in CS? Should I activate Advanced Standing and Take six technical electives instead of four and have a get a fourth-year master’s degree in CS? concentration GPA in the top half of your class. See Maybe! If you are eligible for Advanced Standing and Computer Science under Fields of Concentration in think you could handle eight (mostly) 200-level CS the Handbook for Students. courses, it’s a great opportunity. Your bachelor’s degree doesn’t even need to be in CS, so long as you can still How do I graduate with High Honors in CS? satisfy the prerequisites for the 200-level courses. See High Honors are decided by faculty vote. You must Other Academic Opportunities in the Handbook for ordinarily write an “excellent thesis” to be considered. Students. See Computer Science under Fields of Concentration in the Handbook for Students. Can I do a joint concentration between CS and another field? How do I graduate with Highest Honors in CS? Yes, but you probably shouldn’t. Joint concentrations Highest Honors are decided by faculty vote. You must are really for students who want to write a thesis on ordinarily write an “outstanding thesis” to be considered. some research problem in the intersection of two fields. See Computer Science under Fields of Concentration If you simply want to study both fields, it’s generally in the Handbook for Students. best to get a secondary or simply take courses in CS or Do any CS courses count for Gen Ed? the other field. Yes! To satisfy Empirical & Mathematical Reasoning, Is CS part of Mind, Brain, and Behavior? take CS1, CS20, CS50, or CS171. (Note that CS1 Yes! See Computer Science under Fields of does not count toward a concentration or secondary Concentration in the Handbook for Students. in CS.) To satisfy Culture & Belief, take CS105. Does a grade of SAT in CS50 count toward Should I study CS even if I don’t want to be concentration or secondary credit? a programmer? If you intend to concentrate in or do a secondary in Yes! CS concentrators head off in all sorts of directions CS, you should take CS50 for a letter grade. But should after graduation. SeeFigure 1 for titles that alumni you decide to concentrate in or do a secondary in CS since 1984 now hold. See Figure 2 for fields in which only after taking CS50, a SAT in CS50 would count for alumni since 1984 can now be found. concentration or secondary credit. Figure 1: Titles that alumni since 1984 now hold. 4 UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO CS @ HARVARD Figure 2: Fields in which alumni since 1984 can now be found. found:Venture Partners · Big Tent Design · Bingham Should I concentrate or minor in CS even if McCutchen · Blackhorse Asset Management · I don’t want to work in tech? Bloomberg, LP · Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina · BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd · Booz Yes! CS empowers you to solve problems in all sorts Allen Hamilton · Boston Consulting Group · Boston of domains. Here’s where alumni since 1984 can be Harbor Ship Yard and Marina #F3 · Boston University · Briar Rose LLC · Bridgewater Associates · Bronto 033 Asset Management · 2Wire Inc. · AAA Northern Software, Inc · Building Educated Leaders for Life · California, Nevada, Utah · Ab Initio Software CA, Inc. · California State University - Hayward · Corporation · Acccenture · Accel Partners · Accenture · Caltech · Cambridge Semantics · Cardozo School of Access Global Partners · Action Verb LLC · Active Law · Carnegie Mellon University · Children's Hospital Endpoints, Inc. · Acumen Fund · AdNectar · Adobe · Ciplex.com · Citigroup · ClearNow, Inc. · Clever Systems · Aegon · Agile Communications, Inc · Agilex Machine · Cliff Island Software · CNA Insurance · CoBu Technologies · AIG · Akamai Technologies · Alliance Technology · Code Red · Cognex Corp · Colorado Growth Equities · Alverno College · Amazon.com · Technical University - Kansas City · Columbia Amdocs · American Express · Andera, Inc. · Angelo, Presbyterian Hospital · Columbia University/Harlem Gordon · Apple, Inc. · AQR Capital Management · Hospital Center · CommonMind LLC · Computational Aravo Solutions · AristoDigital · Asprova Corporation · Models Inc · Computer Partners Inc · Congregation AT Kearney Inc · Athenahealth, Inc. · Authoria, Inc. · B'nai Torah · Contra Costa Community College Autodesk Inc · Autonomy · Bain Capital · Bainwood District · Council on Spiritual Practices · Credit Suisse · Huang & Associates · Barclays Capital · BBN Credit Suisse First Boston · CrossTech Group · CTB/ Technologies · Beaver Lakefront Resort, Inc. · Bee McGraw-Hill · Cuil · D. E. Shaw & Co. · Daiwa Securities North, LLC · Bellevue Hospital Center · Bessemer America · Dangermarc Studios · Daniel's Jewelers · UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO CS @ HARVARD 5 Danoo, Inc. · Dartmouth Medical School · Data Hua Securities Limited · Gartner, Inc · Genentech, Inc. · Deletives · Davis Polk & Wardwell · DE Shaw & Co. · Goldman Sachs · Google · Goose Networks, Inc. · Deloitte & Touche · Department of Justice · DeSales Greater Greater Washington · GreenRoad Technologies University · Deutsche Bank · Diamond Management & Inc · Greenwich Capital · Guardian Technologies Technology Consultants · Dimagi Inc. · Dixie State International, Inc. · Guidewire Software ·Harvard College · DOE/National Nuclear Security Administration Business School · Harvard College · Harvard University · DoubleClick Inc. · DoubleDyno, Inc. · Dowling & · Hasbro, Inc. · Highland Financial Holdings Group · Partners Securities, LLC · Draper Fisher Jurvetson · HLCSoft · Holland & Davis LLC · Horizon Asset Eastport Analytics Inc · Eastwan Kodak Co · Effici LLC International Limited · Howard Rice Nemerovski · Electroactive Inc · Ellington Management Group · Canady Falk & Rabkin · Hyperion Solutions · Idiom EMC Corporation · EMC*2 Corp. · Endeca Technologies Technologies · IL2000 · iLike · Imagen Incorporated · · Entelos, Inc. · etrials Worldwide, Inc · Evans Griffiths IMakeNews, Inc. · Immunity, Inc. · Index Ventures · & Hart, Inc · Facebook · FAS Computer Services · Feith Industry Aspect LLC · Information Builders Inc · Systems & Software, Inc. · Feldman Gale, P.A. · Fidelity Ingeeni Studios, Inc. · Integrative Bodywork · Intel Investments · First Potomac Realty Trust · Fish & Corporation · Intel Semiconductor Ltd · Interactive Richardson P. C. · Five Oaks Technologies, Inc. · Flixster, Factory · InterfaceThis · International Air Transport Inc. · Fluidnet · Flybridge Capital Partners · Fore Association · International Business Machines · Intuit · Research and Management · Forest View Elementary ISI · iSkoot, Inc. · JP Morgan · J2 Interactive LLC · School · Franklin W Olin College of Engineering · Fred Jamison Group · Janus Capital Group · Jefferies Hutchinson Cancer Research Center · frog design · Gao International Limited · Jones Day · Joy Health & Photograph by Dan Armendariz 6 UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO CS @ HARVARD Wellness, LLC · Juniper Networks · KANTOR Corporation · Reach Network · Rembrandt IP Management Consultants · Katzenbach Partners LLC · Management, LLC · Renaissance Technologies · Keane, Inc · Khosla Ventures · Kiva Microfunds · Reservoir Labs · Resource Capital Group · Richland Knesset of Israel · Knobbe Martens