Minor Degrees in Computer Science

Beginning with the class that matriculated at Duke in 2019, the requirements below define the CS minor.

To add, drop, or change a major, minor, certificate, or concentration, please complete the form on this page.

Minor in Computer Science

The Minor in Computer Science consists of five courses in Computer Science.

Prerequisites:

  • One of the following introductory CompSci courses or equivalent:
    • COMPSCI 101L - Introduction to Computer Science
    • COMPSCI 116 - Foundations of Data Science

NOTE: COMPSCI 101 -- Only this course can be taken S/U and count towards degree requirements for CompSci majors and minors. For other majors and minors you plan to have, you need to check if they will also allow this course to count if taken S/U.

Requirements:

  • COMPSCI 201 - Data Structures and Algorithms
  • COMPSCI 210D - Introduction to Computer Systems or COMPSCI 250D - Computer Architecture
  • Three additional COMPSCI courses at the 200-level or above.

NOTE: Only one Independent Study can count and it must be a COMPSCI Independent Study.

NOTE: Only one Social and Policy Oriented Computing course may count toward the elective requirement. See our list here.

For students matriculating before Fall 2022: COMPSCI 101 or COMPSCI 116 can count as one of the three electives. In that case, then Independent Study courses cannot count toward the electives.

Minor in Artificial Intelligence: Applications and Implications

Prerequisites:

  • COMPSCI 101L - Introduction to Computer Science
  • COMPSCI 230 - Discrete Math for Computer Science or 231D - Discrete Math with Functional Programming and Proofs or 232 - Discrete Mathematics and Proofs
  • MATH 212 - Multivariable Calculus
  • MATH 216 - Linear Algebra and Differential Equations or MATH 218 - Matrices and Vector Spaces or MATH 221 - Linear Algebra and Applications
  • MATH 230/STA 230 - Probability

NOTE: COMPSCI 101L -- Only this course can be taken S/U and count towards degree requirements for CompSci majors and minors. For other majors and minors you plan to have, you need to check if they will also allow this course to count if taken S/U.

Requirements:

The minor in Artificial Intelligence consists of five courses at the 200-level or above (not including the prerequisites).

  • COMPSCI 201
  • COMPSCI 370D or COMPSCI 570
  • COMPSCI 371D or COMPSCI 571D or COMPSCI 671D
  • Two additional courses, electives selected as follows:
    • One elective outside of Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Electrical and Computer Engineering from this list:
      • Biomedical Engineering 502, 503, 504, 513, 515, or 517
      • Law 592
      • Linguistics 216S, 498, 501, or 510
      • Neuroscience 267 or 355S
      • Philosophy 209, 212, 250, or 252
      • Policy, Journalism and Media Studies 372
      • Political Science 331
      • Psychology 257, 258, 276, 308L, 451S, 461S, 462S, 469S, 470S, or 478
      • Public Policy 255/Computer Science 255
      • Science and Society 606S
    • The second elective may also be a course selected from the list above OR a course selected from the approved electives within the Computer Science BS major concentration in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning OR a research independent study with a significant emphasis on Artificial Intelligence.

Minor in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics

Prerequisites:

  • MATH 111
  • One of MATH 112, MATH 122, STA 101 or higher, OR BIO 204

Requirements:

Five courses at the 200-level or above (not including the prerequisites):

  • Three of the five courses are from Computer Science:
    • COMPSCI 201 - Data Structures and Algorithms
    • COMPSCI 260 - Introduction to Computational Genomics
    • One of the following:
      • COMPSCI 216
      • COMPSCI 226
      • COMPSCI 316
      • COMPSCI 370
      • COMPSCI 372
      • COMPSCI 290 - Special Topics on the following subjects (some may not be offered regularly):
        • Intro to Applied Machine Learning (Spring 2025)
      • COMPSCI 390 - Special Topics on the following subjects (some may not be offered regularly):
        • Introduction to Computational Connectomics (Spring 2025)
        • Deep Connectomics (Fall 2025)
      • or any 500-level course, or as approved by the Director of Undergraduate studies in Computer Science, e.g., an independent study in an area related to Bioinformatics or Computational Biology
  • Two of the five courses are from Biology:
    • BIO 201L, BIO 202L, or BIO 203 (no longer offered)
    • One of the following: MGM 222FS; CELLBIO 451; BIO 218, 220, 223, 251L, 271, 311, 315 (renumbered from 215), 318, 325, 326S, 414LS, 415S,  416L, 418, 424S, 425, 427S, 432S, 450S, 452S, 453S, 556L, 557L; BME 244L; or any 500-level or above non-independent study CBB course (except CBB 510S and CBB 511 do NOT count), or as approved by the DUS in Computer Science in consultation with the DUS in Biology

Note:

Students may not receive more than one of the above Computer Science minors. Also, Computer Science majors are eligible to receive the Minor in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics. They are not, however, eligible to receive any other Computer Science minor.