Computer Science

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The mission of the Computer Science Program at Francis Marion University is to prepare students for meaningful careers and lifelong learning through a strong foundation in computing principles, problem-solving, and ethical practices. The program emphasizes interdisciplinary hands-on experiences, teamwork, and community engagement to foster innovation, critical thinking, and regional impact. By cultivating a supportive and inclusive environment, the program encourages curiosity, creativity, and confidence in using technology to address real-world challenges.

MINORS
COLLATERALS
MAJORS
SCHOLARSHIPS
SALARIES

COMPUTER SCIENCE SCHOLARSHIPS

The ACS Technologies Scholarships

Students must complete the general FMU Scholarship Application at the beginning of the spring semester. This form may be obtained from the Financial Assistance Office and the deadline for its submission is March 1st. The criteria for awarding the ACS Technologies scholarship are as follows:

  • First preference is given to a student who is a Computer Science major and an employee, or dependent of a current employee, of ACS Technologies in Florence, SC.

  • If no such candidate exists, the recipient must major in Computer Science and must be a full-time junior or senior with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.

Previous recipients are eligible for repeat awards provided all qualifications are met.

All recipients will be selected by the FMU Financial Assistance Committee.

ACS Technologies

COMPUTER SCIENCE SALARIES

Highest Paid Masters Grads per $1,000

Computer Science Bachelor Degree Median Salaries

Network Architect 101,210 Median Pay
Programmer 79,840 Median Pay
Computer Systems Analyst 87,220 Median Pay
Database Admin 84,950 Median Pay
Info Security Analyst 92,600 Median Pay
Network And System Admin 79,700 Median Pay
Software Developer 102,280 Median Pay

*Information for graph gathered from here: NACE, The Academy, Northeastern

COMPUTER SCIENCE
SALARIES

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COMPUTER SCIENCE
JOBS PER STATE

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COMPUTER SCIENCE
JOB MARKET

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COMPUTER SCIENCE MAJOR

Students seeking a B.S. degree in computer science will enter as pre-computer science students. They will advance to being a computer science major upon completing:

  1. MATH 132 or Math 137 or Math 201 or Higher

  2. Computer Science 190 and Computer Science 190L with a grade of C or higher in each of these courses or by permission from the department.

A major in Computer Science requires the following:

Major Core – 36 hours

  • CS 226 – Programming and Algorithmic Design I

  • CS 227 – Programming and Algorithmic Design II

  • CS 280 – Digital Systems Design

  • CS 310 – Computer Architecture and Organization

  • CS 313 – Systems Design and Development

  • CS 318 – Data Structures and Algorithm Analysis

  • CS 340 – Software Design and Development

  • CS 350 – Theory of Computation

  • CS 401 – Programming Languages

  • CS 410 -Operating Systems

  • CS 430 – Data Base Management Systems Design

  • CS 440 – Computer Networks

Computer Science Electives – 6 hours

  • Select from the following:

    • CS 330 – Special Topics in Computer Science

    • CS 360 – Introduction to Computer Graphics

    • CS 425 – Numerical Analysis

    • CS 475 – Internship in Computer Science

Computer Science Capstone – 6 hours

  • CS 480 – Capstone I

  • CS 482 – Capstone II

English

  • ENGL 318 – Technical Communication*

    *Should be completed by the end of the sophomore year. Students should also consider ENGL 418 Advanced Technical Communication upon successful completion of ENGL 318.

A minor in Applied Mathematics – 18 hours

  • MATH 201 – Calculus I

  • MATH 202 – Calculus II

  • MATH 230 – Discrete Mathematics I*

    • *Should normally be taken before completing any computer science course at CS 280 level or higher

  • MATH 312 – Probability and Statistics for Science and Mathematics

  • Either MATH 203 – Calculus III and MATH 425 – Numerical Analysis or MATH 304 – Linear Algebra and MATH 305 – Linear Programming

NOTE: In order to be eligible to register for computer science courses at the 300-level or above, students majoring in computer science must have obtained a GPA of 2.25 or higher on all courses required in the computer science major or minor and must have an overall GPA of 2.0 or better

CS Four-Year Plan
CS Course Map

COMPUTER SCIENCE MINOR

A minor is offered in Computer Science and consists of the following:

Required Courses – 18 hours

  • CS 190 – Programming Fundamentals

  • CS 226 – Programming and Algorithmic Design I

  • CS 227 – Programming and Algorithmic Design II

  • Select three (3) from CS 280 – Digital Systems Design or higher

A minor is offered in the Software Engineering track and consists of the following:

Required Courses – 18 hours

  • CS 190 – Programming Fundamentals

  • CS 226 – Programming and Algorithmic Design I

  • CS 227 – Programming and Algorithmic Design II

  • CS 313 – Systems Design and Development

  • CS 340 – Software Design and Development

  • MIS 225 – Modern Programming or Math 213 – Scientific Programming in Python or an approved CS elective

  • These courses cannot be counted towards more than one of a major, a minor, or collateral within the School of Business.

COMPUTER SCIENCE COLLATERAL

A collateral in programming requires the following:

Required Courses – 12 hours

  • CS 190 – Programming Fundamentals

  • CS 226 – Programming and Algorithmic Design I

  • CS 227 – Programming and Algorithmic Design II

  • MIS 225 – Modern Programming or Math 213 – Scientific Programming in Python or Computer Science 318.

  • These courses cannot be counted towards more than one of a major, a minor, or a collateral within the School of Business

Computer Science Faculty

✖
  • Dr. Araujo Ken M.
    Dr. Ken M. Araujo Associate Professor of Computer Science karaujo@fmarion.edu Phone843-661-1377 Departments
    Computer ScienceSchool of Business
    OfficeSOBE 238
    Additional information

    Adviser to FMU chapter of UPE, International Honor Society for the Computing and Information Disciplines

    Education

    Ph.D., The University of South Carolina

    M.S., The University of South Carolina

    B.S., The University of South Carolina

    B.S., Francis Marion College

    Area of Expertise

    Object-Oriented Modeling Design Patterns

    Biography

    Ken Araujo joined the Francis Marion faculty in 2008. From 1991 to 2008 he was a member of the department of mathematics at Florence-Darlington Technical College and taught as an adjunct instructor for Coker College. He was a member of the department of mathematics at Francis Marion College from 1986 to 1988. His research has been published in Proceedings of The Southeast Case Research Association (SECRA).

    photo of Ken Araujo
✖
  • Rao Padmaja
    Padmaja Rao Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Area Coordinator of Computer Science mrao@fmarion.edu Phone843-661-1591 Departments
    African and African American StudiesComputer ScienceSchool of Business
    OfficeSOBE 236
    Additional information

    Adviser to FMU ACM Student Chapter and CS programming contest team Coordinator of the CS internship program

    Education

    M.S., Stevens Institute of Technology

    B.S., University of Maryland

    Area of Expertise

    Software Engineering Networking

    Biography

    Padmaja Rao joined the Francis Marion faculty in 2005. She teaches courses in object-oriented programming, software engineering and networking. Before coming to FMU, she worked for eight years in IBM, T. J. Watson Research Center in Hawthorne, New York where her research areas included network management, directory services and security. Her work was presented at many conferences including IEEE 802.9 Working Group Task Force and Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) on secure DNS. She holds a patent in the area of network security architecture.

    Photo of Padmaja Rao
✖
  • Dr. Rubin Konstantin
    Dr. Konstantin Rubin Assistant Professor of Computer Science SRubin@fmarion.edu Phone843-661-1542 Departments
    Computer ScienceSchool of Business
    OfficeSOBE 234
    Additional information

    Education

    PhD, M.S., University of South Carolina

    B.S., Smolensk State University, Russia  

    Area of Expertise

    High Performance Computing, Parallel Programming, Computer Vision

    Biography

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    Dr. Rubin received a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, focusing on Embedded Systems design. He received his Master’s degree and PhD from the University of South Carolina in Columbia. While at USC, he worked remotely on research projects for Texas Instruments involving High-Performance Computing, parallel Programming (OpenCL), and Computer Vision (OpenCV 3.x). Dr. Rubin's doctoral research focused on developing algorithms for data exchange in torus mesh networks.

    photo of steve rubin
✖
  • Sauls Patsy
    Patsy Sauls Instructor of Computer Science psauls@fmarion.edu Phone843-661-1425 Departments
    Computer ScienceSchool of Business
    OfficeSOBE 233
    Additional information

    Education

    M.B.A., Francis Marion University

    B.S., Francis Marion University

    Area of Expertise

    Servers and Systems

    Biography

    Patsy Sauls joined the Francis Marion CS faculty in 2010. From 1997 to 2009, she worked in the Academic Computing Services and Campus Technology at FMU as a Coordinator of User Services and as a Server and System Specialist. She also worked as a Computer Programmer for the Department of Mathematics from 1983-1997.

    Her focus for the last several years has been on installing and maintaining servers and systems such as OpenVMS, Novel, Microsoft, VMware, Cisco NAC, and packetshaper. She has earned several computer certifications including CNA (Novel 5.1) and MCSE (Microsoft 2000).

    photo of Patsy Sauls

Academic Partnerships

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Through Course Power, Francis Marion University has an affiliation with IT-ology.

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