Requirements

Digital and Computational Studies Coordinate Major

Students coordinate their study of digital and computational studies (DCS) with any department/program at Bowdoin that offers a major. To satisfy the requirements for the coordinate major in DCS, students must complete the eight credits detailed below as well as the major requirements within their coordinated department/program.

Digital and Computational Studies Minor

• Courses count toward the major or minor if grades of C- or better are earned.
• One course taken with the Credit/D/Fail grading option may count toward the major or minor as long as a CR (credit) grade is earned.
• One first-year writing seminar may count toward the major or minor.
• A maximum of two independent studies can count toward the major at either the intermediate or advanced level. Independent studies do not count toward the minor.
• The director of digital and computational studies works with students to discuss double-counting cross-listed courses with other departments or programs.
• With prior approval, two courses from a one-semester study-away program may be counted toward the major; three courses may be counted toward the major from a yearlong program. One course from a one-semester study-away program may be counted toward the minor.

Information for Incoming Students

Digital and Computational Studies addresses topics that span disciplines across campus, uniting them through computational thinking, data analysis, critique of digital objects, and creative problem solving. In particular, computation is not presented merely as a technique to be exploited, but as an object of study with corresponding strengths and weaknesses. Students in DCS classes have the opportunity to work on digital projects, many of them in collaboration with other students.

The following courses are open to first year students and count toward the requirements for the DCS coordinate major or minor: DCS 1100 Introduction to Digital and Computational Studies, offered every fall, and DCS 1500 Understanding and Deploying Computational Methods. The latter requires completion of DCS 1100 Introduction to Digital and Computational Studies as a prerequisite and will be open to first-year students in the spring.

The following courses, when offered, are also open to first year students and count toward electives for the DCS coordinate major or minor: DCS 1020 How to Read a Million Books and HIST 1024 Serious Games: Critical Play for History, both first-year writing seminars, and  PHIL 1336 Ethics for a Digital World.

All of these courses assume no background in any of the subjects covered, ranging from humanities, social sciences, computer science, and mathematics. Several DCS courses are cross-listed with other disciplines. They may be open to first year students, and may count as electives.