Pounce and students outside EMS

Pursue your passion—for finance, public health, animation, chemistry, or another field—while gaining in-demand CS skills.

Combine a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science with another major or two minors and open the door to more career opportunities in your chosen profession. This major is ideal for students with diverse interests. You don’t need prior Computer Science experience to pursue this major.

Program Type

Major

Program Format

On Campus

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Career Outlook

Tech skills are increasingly vital in many careers and mastering the basics can increase job security.

Job flexibility: With a solid background in computer science, you will find a wide range of opportunities open to you in case your interests change.

According to Code.org:

  • Wisconsin has averaged 9,705 open computing jobs each month.
  • These jobs have an average salary of $80,546.
  • Yet there were only 1,261 graduates in computer science in 2018.
Northwestern Mutual employees UWM computer science students on capstone projects. (UWM Photo/Troye Fox)

What to Expect

As a BA in Computer Science major you will cover the core of the discipline including:

  • Programming
  • Theory & algorithms
  • Social & ethical issues
  • Computer architecture

You choose electives to broaden your knowledge or specialize in one of these areas:

  • Artificial intelligence, data mining & machine learning
  • Computer graphics & human-computer interfaces
  • Computer networks & operating systems
  • Computer security & information security systems
  • Databases & information systems
  • Programming languages & compilers

Along the way you will take courses from your complementary major or minor.

UWM Computer Science laptop requirement

Learn more

Pairing Computer Science with Other Interests

Students who elect to earn two majors might couple their Computer Science studies with a BS in Public Health, a BS in Freshwater Science or a BA in Animation, to name just a few.

Those who elect to couple their BA in Computer Science with two minors or certificates have dozens of options including programs in crime analysis, biology, environmental studies, education, the arts, nutrition, political science, psychology and urban studies.

In all cases, your advisor will help you choose the academic path that best matches your interests.

Honors

You will be eligible for these honors in the major during your studies and upon completing your degree.

Students at UWM have many opportunities to earn honors recognition.

UWM’s College of Engineering & Applied Science program provides many opportunities to pair classroom learning with hands-on experiences outside the classroom. The college’s location in Wisconsin’s largest city, with a broad network of industry partnerships, gives you easy access to well-paid internships and co-ops, as well as other important opportunities to enhance your resume. 

Did you know? 

  • 97 percent of our graduates launch their careers or continue their education upon graduation.
  • $78,000 average starting salary
  • SOURCE: UWM First Destination Survey for the College of Engineering & Applied Science, 2021-2023

“Computer science experience has been an advantage in financial technology. Now it’s becoming more useful in investment management as cybersecurity becomes a bigger concern among financial institutions and professionals, and as electronic-born investments such as cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens become more mainstream.”


Reid PezewskiBA Computer Science + BBA Finance
Internships & Co-ops

You’ll have many hands-on opportunities to develop your skills and determine what type of career experience you would like after graduation, with opportunities to earn a significant paycheck in nearby internships and co-ops over summer breaks and even during the academic year.ear.

Here are some of the businesses where our computer science students have had internships, co-ops or launched their careers:

  • Amazon
  • Baird
  • Blue Yonder
  • Direct Supply
  • FIS
  • GE Healthcare
  • Johnson Controls
  • Kohl’s
  • Northwestern Mutual
  • Rockwell Automation
Capstones/Senior Design Projects

In your senior year, you’ll team up with other students to complete a Capstone Project, during which you’ll use what you’ve learned in class to complete an experience similar to a real-world employer project. Past students have created online games, apps, management software and more.

View senior design projects here.

Student Organizations

Data Science Club at UWM

A medium for collaborative and interdisciplinary discussions, support, and awareness of best practices in the diverse and rapidly growing field of data science.

Game Design & Development

Members come together and construct projects and ideas from all sides of gaming.

Google Developers Group at UWM

Members explore programming technology and enhance their skills in computer-related categories.

The Computer Society

Encourages education enrichment in computer science and related fields; provides opportunities for social activities with faculty members.

Robotics Association at UWM

Members design, build, test, program and compete in robotic competitions against universities from around the world.

For full descriptions and contact information of all engineering and computer science related student organizations and clubs, click here.

Resource Rooms & Teaching Labs

Connected Systems Institute

This lab works with students, faculty and private sector partners to help ensure that industry has the talent it needs to benefit fully from Industrial Internet of Things connectivity.

UWM students have a wealth of additional resources available to them within the College of Engineering & Applied Science. From computer labs and tutoring resources to teaching labs and spaces to create or collaborate. Details here.

Research Opportunities

As a top tier R1 research university, our students have the opportunity to work with faculty engaged in leading-edge research in areas such as:

  • Object-oriented programming
  • Cryptography
  • Computational robotics
  • Intelligent dialog systems
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Extensible languages

A benefit of attending a top tier R1 research university is the opportunity to work with faculty engaged in cutting-edge research and to participate in the Support for Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) program. The SURF program helps you to improve your professional preparation through research by closely working with our faculty to explore, discover, and transform ideas into reality.

SURF students also receive funding for their efforts: from 2012-2023 almost $1.5M was awarded to over 700 students from our college.

Graduate and undergraduate students also have the opportunity to participate in the annual Research Poster Competition & Experiential Learning Expo, providing them with excellent opportunities to share their work with judges from industry.

Student Startup Challenge

Directed by the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, the UWM Student Startup Challenge is an optional, co-curricular program that fosters our students’ innovative and entrepreneurial ideas. You can work alone or as part of a team as you gain the skills that come from entrepreneurial experience.

We’re Here to Help

Our dedicated Center for Student Experience & Talent (SET) works with our students to prepare them for a career after graduation.

What you’ll do

Drawing on the expertise from your other specialization, you might:

  • Find digital solutions to problems in commerce, science, entertainment, industry, healthcare or any other sector of the global economy.
  • Derive insights from the behavior of computer users or the data collected from computer systems to guide decision making in organizations
  • Create or assess applications or systems that run on a computer or another device.
  • Plan and carry out security measures to protect an organization’s computer networks and systems.
  • Find more effective and efficient solutions for an organization’s current computer system.

Advising

Megan Wisnowski
  • Academic Advisor, Undergraduate Advising
  • Students with last names M-R
Brandon Clark
  • Academic Advisor, Undergraduate Advising
  • Students with last names A-E
Tina Current
  • Senior Advisor, Undergraduate Advising
  • Students with last names beginning F-L
  • Prospective Transfer Student Liaison
Jennie Klumpp
  • Senior Advisor, Undergraduate Advising
  • Students with last names beginning S-Z
  • Prospective Student Liaison

Tutoring

Steven Anderson
  • Retention Coordinator, Tutoring
  • Student Support Center Coordinator
  • Freshmen Orientation Instructor

Faculty

John Boyland
  • Professor, Computer Science
Christine Cheng
  • Associate Professor, Computer Science
Mahsa Dabagh
  • Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
  • Affiliate Assistant Professor, Computer Science
Thomas Haigh
  • Professor, History - General
  • Affiliate Professor, Computer Science
Rohit Kate
  • Associate Professor, Computer Science
Chiu Law
  • Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering
  • Associate Professor, Computer Science
Jake Luo
  • Associate Professor, Health Informatics & Administration
  • Affiliate Professor, Computer Science
  • Graduate Program Director, Health Care Informatics
Amol Mali
  • Associate Professor, Computer Science
faculty photo susan mcroy
  • Professor, Computer Science
  • Department Chair, Computer Science
Ayesha Nipu
  • Teaching Faculty II, Computer Science
Sadia Nowrin
  • Teaching Faculty II, Computer Science
Shana Ponelis
  • Associate Professor, Information Studies Administration
  • Affiliate Professor, Computer Science
Mohammad Rahman
  • Richard and Joanne Grigg Professor, Mechanical Engineering
  • Department Chair, Mechanical Engineering
  • Affiliate Professor, Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering
  • Switzer Research Distinguished Fellow
Rock, Jayson
  • Teaching Faculty 3, Computer Science
  • Web Development Certificate Coordinator
Bob Sorenson
  • Teaching Faculty 3, Computer Science
Jerald Thomas
  • Assistant Professor, Computer Science
faculty image weizhong wang
  • Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering
  • Associate Professor, Computer Science
faculty member zeyun Yu
  • Professor, Computer Science
  • Professor, Biomedical Engineering
  • Director, Big Data Analytics and Visualization Lab
Zhen Zeng
  • Assistant Professor, Computer Science
Jun Zhang
  • Professor, Electrical Engineering
  • Professor, Computer Science
Tian Zhao
  • Associate Professor, Computer Science

Contact
Computer Science
Contact Info: ceas-cs@uwm.edu

Street Address
College of Engineering & Applied Science
3200 North Cramer Street
Milwaukee, WI 53211

Mailing Address
College of Engineering & Applied Science
P.O. Box 784
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0784