DEPARTMENT OF SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING

Undergraduate Department of Scientific Computing

COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES

Chair: Beerli; Professors: Beerli, Erlebacher, Lemmon, Meyer-Baese, Plewa, Shanbhag, Speer, Wang; Associate Professors: Huang, Quaife; Assistant Professors: Chipilski, Dexter, Zavala Romero; Professor Emeritus: Gunzburger, Navon, Peterson; Courtesy Faculty: Algee-Hewitt, Barbu, Chi, Crock, Duke, Ke, Linn, Mascagni, Mashayekhi, Moore, Petersen, Pinker-Domenig, Ridley, Tahmassebi, Ye

Program Overview

Over the last few decades, computation has joined theory and experimentation to form the three pillars of scientific discovery and technological design. Moreover, many of the critical problems facing society can only be solved by teams of individuals from a variety of disciplines. Integral to these teams are computational scientists, who provide the simulation, optimization, and visualization algorithms used to solve problems on computers. The main activity of scientific computing is the development of computational tools that have applicability over a range of scientific disciplines.

The Department of Scientific Computing consists of faculty interested in the invention, analysis, implementation, and application of computational algorithms to problems arising in traditional disciplines. Examples include biology and ecology, chemical engineering, chemistry, computer science, geology and geophysics, material science, mathematics, mechanical engineering, physics, and astrophysics. An increasing number of algorithms involve machine learning and data science. Faculty and graduate students are supported in their research by several federal, state, laboratory, and commercial organizations. Further breadth and depth are added to the research and educational missions of the department through faculty from other departments at Florida State University and individuals from several national laboratories who interact closely with our faculty. These faculty members ensure that the department is ideally positioned to offer innovative degree programs that synergize the mathematical and application-driven aspects of scientific computing, thus providing the student with extensive interdisciplinary training.

Students are trained in a truly interdisciplinary environment. The undergraduate program offered by the Department of Scientific Computing is designed to provide broad training in the core methods of computational science across disciplines, followed by in-depth specialization in areas of particular interest to students. Even within specializations, the focus remains on interdisciplinary approaches to solving science and engineering problems. All students are also exposed to research-type experiences as part of the undergraduate degree program.

The Department of Scientific Computing offers a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree program in Computational Science. It also offers a minor in computational science. Please refer to the Department of Scientific Computing website at https://www.sc.fsu.edu for the current status of the minor and certificate programs.

Computational Resources

The Department of Scientific Computing oversees a diverse computing infrastructure supporting research and education. Computing resources include clusters and computational servers. To best accommodate research, education, and application development, the department maintains a heterogeneous desktop and workstation environment, as well as a state-of-the-art computer classroom. The department also maintains the Computational Intelligence Laboratory which provides high-powered visualization resources to the FSU community for research, analysis of large data collections, and research in machine learning and education.

Departmental Programs

The Department of Scientific Computing offers a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree program in Computational Science and a minor in computational science.

State of Florida Common Program Prerequisites for Scientific Computing

The Florida Virtual Campus (FLVC) houses the statewide, internet-based catalog of distance learning courses, degree programs, and resources offered by Florida's public colleges and universities, and they have developed operational procedures and technical guidelines for the catalog that all institutions must follow. The statute governing this policy can be reviewed by visiting https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2021/1006.73.

FLVC has identified common program prerequisites for the degree program in Scientific Computing. To obtain the most up-to-date, state-approved prerequisites for this degree, visit: https://cpm.flvc.org/programs/89/208.

Specific prerequisites are required for admission into the upper-division program and must be completed by the student at either a community college or a state university prior to being admitted to this program. Students may be admitted into the University without completing the prerequisites but may not be admitted into the program.

Digital Literacy Requirement

Students must complete at least one course designated as meeting the Digital Literacy Requirement with a grade of “C–” or higher. Courses fulfilling the Digital Literacy Requirement must accomplish at least three of the following outcomes:

Evaluate and interpret the accuracy, credibility, and relevance of digital information
Evaluate and interpret digital data and their implications
Discuss the ways in which society and/or culture interact with digital technology
Discuss digital technology trends and their professional implications
Demonstrate the ability to use digital technology effectively
Demonstrate the knowledge to use digital technology safely and ethically

Each academic major has determined the courses that fulfill the Digital Literacy requirement for that major. Students should contact their major department(s) to determine which courses will fulfill their Digital Literacy requirement. Undergraduate majors in computational science fulfill this requirement by earning a grade of “C–” or higher in ISC 3313 or COP 3014.

Academic Performance

A grade of “C–” or better is required in all courses taken for the BS Degree in Computational Science.

All State Common Program Prerequisites listed as Term 1–4 Milestones must be completed with a “C” range (C–, C, or C+) grade or better. Students earning less than the necessary grade in any of these courses will be required to retake those courses until the standard is met. Note: retaking a course may delay graduation and incur increased fee liability (i.e., repeat course surcharge and excess credit surcharge).

A student who has received more than three unsatisfactory grades (U, F, D–, D, D+) in courses required for the major, excluding the Term 1–4 State Common Prerequisite milestone courses, taken after enrolling at FSU, will not be permitted to graduate with a degree in computational science.

Requirements for the Baccalaureate Degree in Computational Science

Note: Please review all college-wide degree requirements summarized on the Undergraduate Review page of the College of Arts & Sciences chapter.

Students should refer to the Department of Scientific Computing Website at https://www.sc.fsu.edu or obtain, from the department office, revisions to the degree guidelines implemented since this printing.

Students should complete the State of Florida Common Program Prerequisites during their first two college years. To obtain final graduation clearance from the Department of Scientific Computing, all computational science majors are strongly encouraged to complete an exit survey.

Requirements for the BS Degree in Computational Science are provided as follows:

ISC 3222 Symbolic and Numerical Computations (3)
ISC 4220C Continuous Algorithms for Science Applications (4)
ISC 4221C Discrete Algorithms for Science Applications (4)
ISC 4223C Computational Methods for Discrete Problems (4)
ISC 4232C Computational Methods for Continuous Problems (4)
ISC 4304C Programming for Science Applications (4)
ISC 4931r Junior Seminar in Scientific Computing (1–2)
ISC 4932r Senior Seminar in Scientific Computing (1–2)
ISC 4943r Practicum in Scientific Computing (3)
MAS 3105 Applied Linear Algebra I (4)
Approved statistics course designed for statistics majors: STA 3XXX (3) or STA 4XXX (3)
Approved Department of Scientific Computing electives (9)
Approved STEM electives from the Department of Scientific Computing Advisor or Undergraduate Faculty Advisor or other departments (9)

Requirements for a Minor in Computational Science

A minor in computational science requires a minimum of 14 hours of coursework, including ISC 3222 and ISC 4304C. The student must take at least one Computational Science Algorithms course (ISC 4220C or ISC 4221C) and a Computational Science course from the approved list. Students must also satisfy stated prerequisites, in particular, the computer programming requirement (ISC3313 or COP3014), before enrolling in each course accepted for minor credit. Grades below “C–” will not be accepted for minor credit.