Undergraduate Programs

Bachelor of Science in Informatics (B.S.)

Note: The requirements posted here are considered informational, not official. Official graduation requirements are contained within the Informatics Undergraduate Bulletin. The following requirements are effective as of fall 2008.

Undergraduate students wishing to major in informatics must be admitted to Indiana University and first enter the University Division at IUB.

General Requirements

Students must successfully complete a minimum of 122 credit hours for the Bachelor of Science degree. No more than 60 credit hours may be transferred toward a Bachelor of Science degree. In addition, students must complete the specific degree requirements below:

Students must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours in courses at the 300-400 (junior-senior) level.
Students must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 (C). Any course taken to satisfy the major core requirements must be completed with a minimum grade of C- unless otherwise specified, and the grade point average of all courses taken in the major must be at lest 2.0. The major requirements for infomatics include core courses, informatics electives, and cognate courses.
Students are expected to complete the requirements for their undergraduate degree within eight years of admission to the School of Informatics. Students are allowed to continue beyond this time period only at the discretion of the dean. If a student has not taken classes for three years or more, that student must satisfy program requirements of the School of Informatics in effect at the time of reactivation. Requests for deviation from these requirements must be approved in writing by the dean, whose decision is final.
Courses that fulfill the requirements for a cognate area also may meet the general-education distributional requirements.
Cognate area courses cannot count as informatics core courses or informatics elective courses.
If cognate area courses are equivalent to informatics core courses, students should substitute additional informatics elective courses in place of informatics core courses to meet the 35 credit hour requirement.
Courses that fulfill the requirements for a bachelor’s degree in informatics also may apply to a minor outside of the School of Informatics. Students may obtain a maximum of three minors.

Learn more about:

Required Informatics Core Courses (35 cr.)

Equivalent honors versions of regular informatics courses may substitute throughout the major.

INFO I101 Introduction to Informatics (4 cr.)
INFO I201 Mathematical Foundations of Informatics (4 cr.)
INFO I202 Social Informatics (3 cr.)
INFO I210 Information Infrastructure I (4 cr.)
INFO I211 Information Infrastructure II (4 cr.)
INFO I300 Human Computer Interaction (3 cr.)
INFO I308 Information Representation (3 cr.)
INFO Y395 Career Development for Informatics Majors (1 cr.)

Select two of the following:

INFO I303 Organization Informatics (3 cr.)
INFO I310 Multimedia Arts and Technology (3 cr.)
INFO I320 Distributed Systems and Collaborative Computing (3 cr.)
INFO I330 Legal and Social Informatics of Security (3 cr.)
INFO I356 Globalization, Where We Fit In (3 cr.)
INFO I399 Current Topics in Informatics (3 cr.)
INFO I400 Topics in Informatics (3 cr.)
INFO I421 Applications of Data Mining (3 cr.)
INFO I427 Search Informatics (3 cr.)
INFO I430 Security For Networked Systems (3 cr.)
INFO I433 Protocal Design and Analysis (3 cr.)
INFO I441 Human Computer Interaction Design I (3 cr.)
INFO I453 Computer and Information Ethics (3 cr.)
INFO I485 Bioinspired Computing (3 cr.)
INFO I486 Artificial Life (3 cr.)

Informatics Electives (3 cr.)

All courses listed below are subject to the successful completion of prerequisites or approval of the instructor.

Students may also count other courses with informatics content at a 300-level upon approval of Dennis Groth, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies.

One additional course may be selected from the following:

Informatics

Note that informatics elective courses cannot count as informatics core courses.

INFO I303 Organizational Informatics (3 cr.)
INFO I310 Multimedia Arts and Technology (3 cr.)
INFO I320 Distributed Systems and Collaborative Computing (3 cr.)
INFO I330 Legal and Social Informatics of Security (3 cr.)
INFO I356 Globalization, Where We Fit In (3 cr.)
INFO I399 Current Topics in Informatics (1-3 cr.)
INFO I400 Topics in Informatics (3 cr.)
INFO I421 Applications of Data Mining (3 cr.)
INFO I427 Search Informatics (3 cr.)
INFO I430 Security for Networked Systems (3 cr.)
INFO I433 Protocol Design and Analysis (3 cr.)
INFO I441 Human Computer Interaction Design I (3 cr.)
INFO I453 Computer and Information Ethics (3 cr.)
INFO I485 Bioinspired Computing (3 cr.)
INFO I486 Artifical Life (3 cr.)

Business

BUS S305 Business Telecommunications (3 cr.)
BUS S307 Data Management (3 cr.)
BUS S308 Business Application Development (3 cr.)
BUS S310 Systems Analysis and Design (3 cr.)
BUS S410 Systems Implementation (3 cr.)
BUS S433 Information Systems Security (3 cr.)

Cognitive Science

COGS Q351/B351 Introduction to Artificial Intelligence and Computer Simulation (3 cr.)

Computer Science

Any course at the 300-level or above

Journalism

JOUR J300 Journalism/Communications Law (3 cr.)
JOUR J414 Globalization of Information (also International Newsgathering Systems) (3 cr.)

Sociology

SOC S319 Science, Technology & Society (3 cr.)

School of Public and Environmental Affairs

SPEA V369 Managing Information Technology (3 cr.)

Telecommunications

TEL T321 Telecommunications Policymaking (3 cr.)
TEL T421 Economics of Communications (3 cr.)
TEL T427 International Telecommunications (3 cr.)

Select one of the following capstone options for a total of 6 hours:

INFO I494/495 Design and Development of an Information System (3/3 cr.)
INFO I491 Capstone Project Internship (3-6 cr.)
INFO I492/493 Senior Thesis (3/3 cr.)

Learn more about current informatics electives.

Cognate Area Courses (15-18 cr.)

View a complete list of cognate areas and courses.

Students should, in consultation with their academic advisors, choose cognate areas before their sophomore year. Students must receive a grade of C- or higher in each course and a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.

General-Education Requirements (38-41 cr.)

English Composition (3 cr.)

This part of the writing requirement may be fulfilled in any one of the following ways:

Exemption without credit. Students scoring 670 or higher on the SAT Critical Reading test, or 32 or above on the ACT English Composition section, or 4 to 5 on the Advanced Placement English Composition section, are exempt from English composition.
Excemption with credit. A student will be granted 2 credit hours of ENG W143 if the student has:
1. a score of 670 or above on the SAT Critical Reading test, or 32 or above on the ACT English Composition section, or 4 to 5 on the Advanced Placement English Composition section, plus
2. a score of 660 or higher on the SAT Writing test, and if the student applies to the Department of English in Ballantine Hall 442.
Completion of any of the following options with a grade of C or higher:
1. ENG W131 (3 cr.)
2. ENG W170 (3 cr.)
3. ENG L141 and L142 (4/4 cr.)
4. AAAD A141 and A142 (4/4 cr.)
5. Two semesters of ENG W143 (1 cr.), combined with two introductory courses, CMLT C145 and C146 (3/3 cr.)
6. A combination of any two course options from a, b, and c above.

Note: Courses taken under these options, except for ENG W131, W143, and W170, may, if they are so designated, be applied toward distribution requirements.

Writing (3 cr.)

ENG W231 Professional Writing Skills, an approved substitute (3 cr.), or completion of one intensive writing course at the 200 level or above after completing the English composition requirement. Intensive writing courses at IUB are defined by the College of Arts and Sciences.

Students must check the listings for courses in the online enrollment system each semester to make certain the course section they have chosen fulfills the requirement.

Oral Communications (3 cr.)

CMCL C121 Public Speaking, or approved substitute (3 cr.)

Quantitative and Analytical Skills (6 cr.)

Select one of the following:
1. MATH A118 Finite Mathematics for the Social and Biological Sciences;
2. MATH D116-D117 Introduction to Finite Mathematics I-II;
3. MATH M118 Finite Mathematics; or
4. MATH S118 Honors Finite Mathematics.
Students must receive a minimum grade of C in each course to meet the School of Informatics admission requirements.
Select one of the following statistics courses:
1. MATH/PSY K300 Statistical Techniques;
2. MATH/PSY K310 Statistical Techniques;
3. CJUS K300 Techniques for Data Analysis;
4. SPEA K300;
5. ECON E370 Statistical Analysis for Business and Economics;
6. ECON S370 Statistical Analysis for Business and Economics: Honors;
7. SOC S371 Statistics for Sociology;
8. MATH M365 Introduction to Probability and Statistics;
9. STAT S300 Introduction to Applied Statistical Methods; or
10. STAT S320 Introduction to Statistics.

Natural Sciences (8 cr.)

A minimum of 8 credit hours of natural science courses selected from the following list. A Topics course (E105 or S105) will count as one of the required courses in this area. One of the courses must be a laboratory course or have an associated laboratory section.

Anthropology
- ANTH B200 Bioanthropology (3 cr.)
- ANTH B301 Laboratory in Bioanthropology (3 cr.)
- ANTH B368 Evolution of Primate Social Behavior (3 cr.)
- ANTH B370 Human Variation (3 cr.).
Astronomy
Biology
Chemistry
Geography:
- GEOG G107 Physical Systems (3 cr.)
- GEOG G109 Weather and Climate (3 cr.)
- GEOG G185 Global Environmental Change (3 cr.)
- GEOG G208 Human Impact on Environment (3 cr.)
- GEOG G304 Physical Meteorology (3 cr.)
- GEOG G305 Environmental Change (3 cr.)
- GEOG G336 Remote Sensing (3 cr.)
- GEOG G350 Atmospheric Science (3 cr.)
- GEOG G431 Meteorology (3 cr.)
- GEOG G433 Synoptic Meteorology (3 cr.)
- GEOG G434 Air Pollution Meteorology (3 cr.)
- GEOG G471 Boundary Layer Meteorology (3 cr.)
- GEOG G473 Mesoscale Meteorology (3 cr.)
- GEOG G475 Climate Change (3 cr.)
- GEOG G477 Atmospheric Science (3 cr.)
Geological Sciences
Human Biology
- HUBI B101 The Human Organism (3 cr.)
- HUBI B201 Human Dilemmas (3 cr.)
- HUBI B301 The Intricate Human (3 cr.)
- HUBI B401 Complex Problems of Humanity (3 cr.)
Medical Sciences
- MSCI M131 Disease & the Human Body (3 cr.)
- MSCI M216 Med Sci of Psychoactive Drugs (3 cr.)
Physics
Psychology (excluding all courses that are considered mathematical science and social and historical studies courses)
- PSY P101 Introductory Psychology I (3 cr.)
- PSY P106 General Psychology, Honors (4 cr.)
- PSY P151 Introduction to Psychology I for Majors (4 cr.)
- PSY P201 Biological Bases of Behavior (3 cr.)
- PSY P204 Psychological and Biological Bases of Human Sexuality (3 cr.)
- PSY P211 Methods of Experimental Psychology (3 cr.)
- PSY P325 Psychology of Learning (3 cr.)
- PSY P327 Psychology of Motivation (3 cr.)
- PSY P329 Sensation and Perception (3 cr.)
- PSY P330 Perception/Action (3 cr.)
- PSY P336 Psychological Tests and Individual Differences (3 cr.)
- PSY P350 Human Factors/Ergonomics (3 cr.)
- PSY P417 Animal Behavior (3 cr.)

Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (15 cr.)

Informatics students must have a basic training in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, which will assist them in their lives and give them a broader perspective from which to approach the applications of information technology.

Five courses in arts and humanities and social and historical studies, as defined by the College of Arts and Sciences. Topics courses will count as one of the required courses in each area. At least two courses must be taken in each area. One of the five courses must be a course in ethics:

PHIL P140 Introduction to Ethics (3 cr.)
PHIL P242 Applied Ethics (3 cr.)
PHIL P340 Classics in Ethics (3 cr.)
PHIL P342 Problems of Ethics (3 cr.)
REL R170 Religion, Ethics, and Public Life (3 cr.) or an approved professional ethics course

General Electives (23–29 cr.)

Courses for the remaining credits will be decided by the individual student, in consultation with an advisor, to fulfill additional career and/or personal interests. Students may take a maximum of 4 HPER-E credit hours and 10 MUS-X credit hours below the 100 level to count towards the total hour requirement.

Dual Baccalaureate Degree

In certail circumstances, students may be permitted to pursue a B.S. in Informatics and complete an undergraduate degree in another degree-granting school of the university. Check with your academic advisor for more details and approval.

Second Baccalaureate Degree

In certain cases, the dean may admit bachelor’s degree holders to candidacy for a second bachelor’s degree. When such admission is granted, the candidates must earn at least 60 additional credit hours and meet the requirements of the School of Informatics. Students seeking second degree candidacy should review guidelines available from the Student Services office. Students with a bachelor’s degree who wish to further their education should also consider becoming qualified for admission to a graduate program.

The School of Informatics and Computing reserves the right to amend program requirements. Interested students are strongly encouraged to consult with an academic advisor. To schedule an advising appointment, please call (812) 856-6016 or reserve a time online.

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