{"id":21,"date":"2021-10-11T21:33:47","date_gmt":"2021-10-11T21:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.saumag.edu\/cs\/?page_id=21"},"modified":"2026-08-03T10:25:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T15:25:00","slug":"math-and-computer-science-homepage","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/cs\/","title":{"rendered":"Math &#038; Computer Science at SAU"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>The Department<\/h2>\n<p>The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science offers Bachelor of Science degrees designed to prepare students for careers in today\u2019s rapidly evolving computing industry.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<strong>B.S. in Computer Science<\/strong>\u00a0provides a broad foundation in programming, algorithms, software engineering, computer architecture, operating systems, databases, networking, and other core areas of computing.<\/p>\n<p>Besides this traditional general computer science degree, we also offer a B.S, in Computer Science with four concentrations.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<strong>B.S. in Computer Science\u00a0with a concentration in\u00a0Artificial Intelligence<\/strong>\u00a0prepares students to design, develop, and deploy intelligent systems. The curriculum includes artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, generative AI, computer vision, reinforcement learning, data mining, and the responsible development of AI systems.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<strong>B.S. in Computer Science\u00a0with a concentration in\u00a0Game and Animation Design<\/strong>\u00a0combines computer science with game programming, computer graphics, animation, mobile application development, and interactive media. Students develop both technical and creative skills for careers in video game development, animation, simulation, digital entertainment, and related industries.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<strong>B.S. in Computer Science\u00a0with a concentration in\u00a0Cyber Security and Privacy<\/strong>\u00a0focuses on protecting computer systems, networks, and digital information. Students develop knowledge and practical skills in network security, privacy, digital forensics, cyber defense, cryptography, ethical computing, and responses to evolving cyber threats.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0<strong>B.S. in Computer Science\u00a0with a concentration in\u00a0Data Science<\/strong>\u00a0equips students with computational, mathematical, and statistical skills for analyzing large and complex datasets. The program emphasizes data mining, machine learning, big data, cloud computing, data visualization, privacy, ethics, and responsible for data-driven decision-making.<\/p>\n<p>The department also offers the\u00a0<strong>Master of Computer and Information Science<\/strong>\u00a0program, which prepares students for advanced careers in computing and information technology. The graduate curriculum combines theoretical foundations with practical applications in areas such as software development, databases, networking, artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies. The program is available in both on-campus and fully online formats.<\/p>\n<div id=\"learning-goals\" class=\"alert alert-info\">\n<h3>B.S. Computer Science Program Educational Objectives (PEOs)<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Ability to solve complex computing problems using theory, methods, and algorithms as well as design and implement the solutions efficiently using software tools and programming languages.<\/li>\n<li>Ability to effectively communicate, collaborate, and engage in lifelong learning, embracing the latest practices, methods, and technologies in computer science.<\/li>\n<li>Ability to demonstrate a clear understanding of the ethical and legal principles regarding the computing profession.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>B.S. Computer Science Student Outcomes<\/h3>\n<ol class=\"numeric\">\n<li>Analyze a complex computing problem and to apply principles of computing and other relevant disciplines to identify solutions<\/li>\n<li>Design, implement, and evaluate a computing-based solution to meet a given set of computing requirements in the context of the program\u2019s discipline<\/li>\n<li>Communicate effectively in a variety of professional contexts<\/li>\n<li>Recognize professional responsibilities and make informed judgments in computing practice based on legal and ethical principles<\/li>\n<li>Function effectively as a member or leader of a team engaged in activities appropriate to the program\u2019s discipline<\/li>\n<li>Apply computer science theory and software development fundamentals to produce computing-based solutions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Recent News<\/h2>\n<div class=\"feedzy-b17d091b92cdc1305a016ac9aa7a4dfb feedzy-rss\">\n\t\t<ul class=\"feedzy-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<li  style=\"padding: 15px 0 25px\" class=\"rss_item feedzy-rss-col-1\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"rss_image\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/2026\/sau-college-of-science-and-engineering-announces-2026-outstanding-award-recipients\/\" target=\"_blank\" \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\trel=\"noopener \"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttitle=\"SAU College of Science and Engineering announces 2026 Outstanding Award Recipients\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"height:150px;width:150px;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2026\/08\/faculty-sci-768x359.jpg\" title=\"SAU College of Science and Engineering announces 2026 Outstanding Award Recipients\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px\">\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/2026\/sau-college-of-science-and-engineering-announces-2026-outstanding-award-recipients\/\" target=\"_blank\"  rel=\"noopener \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSAU College of Science and Engineering announces 2026 Outstanding Award Recipients\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"rss_content\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The Southern Arkansas University College of Science and Engineering recognized five faculty members as recipients of its 2025\u20132026 Outstanding Awards during the college\u2019s annual back-to-school meeting in August. The Outstanding Awards are among the college\u2019s highest honors, presented annually to faculty members who have demonstrated exceptional dedication and achievement in their respective areas. Recipients are...  Read More<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li  style=\"padding: 15px 0 25px\" class=\"rss_item feedzy-rss-col-1\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"rss_image\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/2025\/southern-arkansas-university-students-launch-blights-grasp-on-steam\/\" target=\"_blank\" \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\trel=\"noopener \"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttitle=\"Southern Arkansas University students launch Blight\u2019s Grasp on Steam\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"height:150px;width:150px;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/05\/Gaming-PR-Cover-768x432.jpg\" title=\"Southern Arkansas University students launch Blight\u2019s Grasp on Steam\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px\">\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/2025\/southern-arkansas-university-students-launch-blights-grasp-on-steam\/\" target=\"_blank\"  rel=\"noopener \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSouthern Arkansas University students launch Blight\u2019s Grasp on Steam\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"rss_content\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Southern Arkansas University\u2019s Game Development program proudly announces the official release of Blight\u2019s Grasp, an immersive student-developed action game now available on Steam. Play Blight\u2019s Grasp on Steam: https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/3470150\/Blights_Grasp\/ Created as part of SAU\u2019s game development senior project, Blight\u2019s Grasp represents the culmination of a year-long collaborative effort by Chrono Clash, a talented team of...  Read More<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li  style=\"padding: 15px 0 25px\" class=\"rss_item feedzy-rss-col-1\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"rss_image\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/2025\/sau-faculty-and-students-participate-in-campus-computer-workshop\/\" target=\"_blank\" \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\trel=\"noopener \"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttitle=\"SAU faculty and students participate in campus computer workshop\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"height:150px;width:150px;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/05\/HCP.jpg\" title=\"SAU faculty and students participate in campus computer workshop\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px\">\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/2025\/sau-faculty-and-students-participate-in-campus-computer-workshop\/\" target=\"_blank\"  rel=\"noopener \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSAU faculty and students participate in campus computer workshop\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"rss_content\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Eleven faculty members and graduate students from the departments of Mathematics and Computer Science, Biology, and Engineering recently attended a workshop on using a High Performance Computing (HPC) system recently held on the SAU campus. HPC is the engine behind some of today\u2019s most groundbreaking discoveries and innovations. At its core, HPC harnesses the immense...  Read More<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li  style=\"padding: 15px 0 25px\" class=\"rss_item feedzy-rss-col-1\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"rss_image\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/2025\/sau-mathematics-faculty-present-research-at-regional-conference\/\" target=\"_blank\" \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\trel=\"noopener \"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttitle=\"SAU mathematics faculty present research at regional conference\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"height:150px;width:150px;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/04\/featuredmath-768x566.jpg\" title=\"SAU mathematics faculty present research at regional conference\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px\">\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/2025\/sau-mathematics-faculty-present-research-at-regional-conference\/\" target=\"_blank\"  rel=\"noopener \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSAU mathematics faculty present research at regional conference\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"rss_content\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Three SAU faculty traveled to Edmond, Oklahoma, to present their research at the 86th Mathematical Association of America (MAA) Regional Conference at the University of Central Oklahoma in April. Assistant Professors of Mathematics Dr. Muhammad Inam, Dr. Chong Li, and Dr. Jie Zhou from SAU\u2019s Mathematics and Computer Science Department presented the following research over...  Read More<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li  style=\"padding: 15px 0 25px\" class=\"rss_item feedzy-rss-col-1\" >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"rss_image\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/2025\/sau-students-benefit-from-series-of-guest-speakers\/\" target=\"_blank\" \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\trel=\"noopener \"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttitle=\"SAU students benefit from series of guest speakers\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"height:150px;width:150px;\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/03\/EsterMead-768x432.png\" title=\"SAU students benefit from series of guest speakers\" style=\"height:150px;width:150px\">\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/news\/2025\/sau-students-benefit-from-series-of-guest-speakers\/\" target=\"_blank\"  rel=\"noopener \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSAU students benefit from series of guest speakers\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"rss_content\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tstyle=\"\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>College students often have to wait until after graduation to learn what it\u2019s like to work in their field. However, Dr. Esther Mead is bringing that valuable knowledge to the students in her class at Southern Arkansas University. Mead, an assistant professor of Information Systems in the Rankin College of Business and an adjunct instructor...  Read More<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" media=\"all\">.feedzy-rss .rss_item .rss_image{float:left;position:relative;border:none;text-decoration:none;max-width:100%}.feedzy-rss .rss_item .rss_image span{display:inline-block;position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;background-position:50%;background-size:cover}.feedzy-rss .rss_item .rss_image{margin:.3em 1em 0 0;content-visibility:auto}.feedzy-rss ul{list-style:none}.feedzy-rss ul li{display:inline-block}<\/style>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Department The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science offers Bachelor of Science degrees designed to prepare students for careers in today\u2019s rapidly evolving computing industry. The\u00a0B.S. in Computer Science\u00a0provides a broad foundation in programming, algorithms, software engineering, computer architecture, operating systems, databases, networking, and other core areas of computing. Besides this traditional general computer&#8230; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/cs\/\"> Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":564,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-21","page","type-page","status-publish","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/564"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80,"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21\/revisions\/80"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saumag.edu\/cs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}