Mathematics preparation for undergraduate degrees in computer science

Abstract

Throughout the history of computer science education there has been debate on what should be the appropriate mathematics background for computer science majors. The first computer science instructors were mathematicians and the first curriculums were just modifications of mathematics curriculums. However, as the discipline has grown and matured there has developed several areas of computer science where traditional undergraduate mathematics is not used and traditional mathematics preparation may not be appropriate. Although logic and problem solving skills are valued by the Computer Science community, exactly how many hours of mathematics and what areas of mathematics should be required, needs to be addressed. This panel was convened to discuss this issue from a variety of viewpoints. We hope that discussion will give the listeners new ideas on just what should be the appropriate courses and topics for their institution and program. The panel was chosen to present a wide range of view representing a variety of schools (large and small, public and private, traditional and non-traditional, preparation for the workplace or for disciplines (E-commerce, distributed computing, artificial intelligence, software engineering and graphics) viewpoints (both young and old, industrial and academic).