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Bachelor of Science in Informatics

Tessa ZiwawoPictured | Tessa Ziwawo | Bachelor of Science in Informatics | South Bend, Indiana (hometown)
Club Affiliation | Management Information Systems Club

Bachelor of Science in Informatics

Informatics is understanding the impact of technology and information on people; the development of new uses for technology; and the application of information technology in the context of another field.

The B.S. in Informatics face-to-face degree follows the guidelines set out by the School of Informatics and Computing and other leading professional computing societies. Students in this degree program complete a core curriculum that builds an overall understanding of computers, computing environments, software development, and cognates (such as Bio Informatics, Business, Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Criminal Justice, English, Health Informatics, Life Sciences, Mathematics, New Media, Physics, Psychology, Social Informatics, and Web Development). The degree prepares students to enter challenging computing careers in the workplace or to embark on postgraduate programs in Informatics.

Academic Advising

Students should contact the Informatics program office (info@cs.iusb.edu or (574) 520-5521) before their first semester to schedule a meeting with an Informatics advisor to develop a plan for their academic course of study.

Students with substantial prior computer programming experience could take the course placement exams to assess their computer programming skills.

Advising holds are placed on all Informatics students by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences prior to advance registration and are reset following advising appointments. To determine who your assigned advisor is and how to contact them, see  One.IU.

Degree Requirements (120 cr.)
Degree Map >>

Students receiving the Bachelor of Science degree in Informatics must complete 120 total credit hours including:

Courses required for the B.S. in Informatics fulfill Fundamental Literacies: Quantitative Reasoning; Extended Literacies: Computer Literacy; and Tagged Courses: Information Literacy requirements.

  • World Language (0-6 cr.) | Successful completion of a second-semester language class, designated as 102, or formal training, as evidenced by secondary or university diplomas, in a language other than English. The Department of World Language Studies (W.L.S.) offers a placement examination to determine into which semester a student should enroll and/or to qualify students for credit by examination.
  • Minimum of 30 credit hours at the 300– or 400–level.
  • Courses required for the major must be completed with a grade of C– or higher, unless otherwise specified.
  • A minimum CGPA of 2.0 is required.
  • At least 22 of the 34 credit hours must be taken within Indiana University.
  • 40 credit hours in informatics, to be satisfied with the following core and elective courses:
  • All courses are 3 credit hours, unless otherwise noted.
Major Requirements (43 cr.)
Core Courses (34 cr.)
  • INFO-I 101 Introduction to Informatics (4 cr.)
    A grade of C or better is required. Placement exam is available.
  • INFO-I 201 Mathematical Foundations of Informatics (4 cr.)
  • INFO-I 202 Social Informatics
  • INFO-I 210 Information Infrastructure I (4 cr.)
    Test out is available
  • INFO-I 211 Information Infrastructure II (4 cr.)
    Test out is available
  • INFO-I 308 Information Representation

Select two from the following courses:

  • INFO-I 300 Human-Computer Interaction Design and Programming
  • INFO-I 303 Organizational Informatics
  • INFO-I 310 Multimedia Arts and Technology
  • INFO-I 320 Distributed Systems and Collaborative Computing

Select one from the following capstone options:

Option 1

  • INFO-I 450 Design and Development of an Information System
  • INFO-I 451 Design and Development of an Information System

Option 2 (check with the director of informatics for availability)

  • INFO-I 460 Senior Thesis
  • INFO-I 461 Senior Thesis
Electives (9 cr.)

At least nine credit hours (three courses) chosen from informatics electives (300–level or higher). Prerequisite courses may be required. The selection of informatics electives will be expanded as additional cognate areas develop.

Informatics Courses
  • INFO-I 300 Human-Computer Interaction Design and Programming
  • INFO-I 303 Organizational Informatics
  • INFO-I 310 Multimedia Arts and Technology
  • INFO-I 320 Distributed Systems and  Collaborative Computing
  • INFO-I 400 Topics in Informatics
    (e.g., bioinformatics, game programming)
  • INFO-I 420 Internship in Informatics Professional Practice
  • INFO-I 421 Applications of Data Mining
  • INFO-I 499 Readings and Research in Informatics
Computer Science Courses
  • CSCI-A 340 An Introduction to Web Programming
  • CSCI-B 401 Fundamentals of Computing Theory
  • CSCI-B 424 Parallel and Distributed Programming
  • CSCI-B 438 Fundamentals of Computer Networks
  • CSCI-B 451 Security in Computing
  • CSCI-C 311 Programming Languages
  • CSCI-C 335 Computer Structures (4 cr.)
  • CSCI-C 421 Digital Design (4 cr.)
  • CSCI-C 435 Operating Systems 1 (4 cr.)
  • CSCI-C 455 Analysis of Algorithms I
  • CSCI-C 463 Artificial Intelligence I
  • CSCI-C 481 Interactive Computer Graphics
  • CSCI-C 490 Seminar in Computer Science
Courses from Other Disciplines
  • BIOL-L 311 Genetics
  • BUS-K 301 Enterprise Resource Planning
  • ENG-W 315 Writing for the Web
  • ENG-W 367 Writing for Multiple Media
  • INMS-N 302 Digital 3D Art and Design 2; OR
    INMS-N 303 Digital 3D Art and Design 3
  • INMS-N 414 Interactive Game Design 3
  • INMS-N 442 Workshop in Integrated Web Design 2; OR
    INMS-N 443 Workshop in Integrated Web Design 3; OR
    INMS-N 444 Workshop in Integrated Web Design
  • MATH-M 365 Introduction to Probability and Statistics (4 cr.)
  • PHYS-P 334 Fundamentals of Optics
  • PSY-P 335 Cognitive Psychology
  • PSY-P 438 Language and Cognition
  • SOC-S 319 Science, Technology, and Society
Additional Requirements (16 cr.)
  • Physical and Life Sciences (10 cr.) | Courses in at least two different sciences must be taken (Select from astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, or physics)
  • Mathematics (6 cr.) | A grade of C or higher in each course is required
  • MATH-M 118 Finite Mathematics
  • Statistics course (300–level or higher)
Cognate Area (15-18 cr.)

The B.S. in Informatics requires students to choose a cognate area, or specific area of focus to better determine what kinds of people or systems that he or she would like to work with.

A cognate area is an integrated program of courses taken outside of the School of Informatics. These courses emphasize the foundations, applications and/or implications of information technology in the chosen area.

For instance, New Media/Arts cognate allows students to explore and learn the new forms of artistic expressions and pattern creation using computers. Artists use computers as their medium in creating, storing, and distributing artifacts.

Below is the list of cognates. For an up-to-date list of cognates see the Informatics advisor.

Academic Bulletins

PDF Version

2023-2024 Campus Bulletin
2022-2023 Campus Bulletin
2021-2022 Campus Bulletin
2020-2021 Campus Bulletin
2019-2020 Campus Bulletin
2018-2019 Campus Bulletin
2017-2018 Campus Bulletin
2016-2017 Campus Bulletin
2015-2016 Campus Bulletin
2014-2015 Campus Bulletin

Please be aware that the PDF is formatted from the webpages; some pages may be out of order.