Computer Science and Information Technology
The Computer Science Department at the US Naval Academy offers the Computer Science (CS) and Information Technology (IT) majors. Both majors provide an exciting curriculum that meets the needs of newly appointed Naval officers serving in the fleet. This nationally recognized department is dedicated to remaining on the leading edge of research and technology. Both the CS and IT majors are dynamic and vital components of the Naval Academy's academic program.
Why Study Computer Science and Information Technology?
CS and IT are consistently listed at the top of major "best jobs" reports, often ranked #1 in terms of salary, job satisfaction, and career progression. Find out more here, including what the President has to say about this critical field of study.
Our Faculty
The department is home to 9 civilian Ph.D. professors, 6 military faculty, and a handful of distinguished visitors. Our faculty offer a range of exciting electives, integrate cutting edge research into the classroom, and many students pursue one-on-one research with faculty.
Information for Prospective Students
Explore the Majors
Spend some time learning and comparing the CS and IT majors. Detailed information about both majors, including why it is important to the Navy, can be found on our short introduction page.
Internships
the CS department sponsors a wide variety of amazing internships, with organizations like DIUx, Rebellion Defense, Draper Labs, and DoD High Performance Computing centers. CS and IT majors are also eligible for internships at NSA, U.S. national labs like Los Alamos and Oak Ridge, and many more.
Dual Majors
Many students choose a dual major with either CS or IT. In fact, double majoring in both CS and IT is a popular option given the overlap in content. Other dual majors, such as with Cyber Operations or Electrical and Computer Engineering, are also possible. Visit the dual major page for helpful details and dual major matrices.
Elective Courses
CS and IT majors can pursue a wide variety of electives in areas like Machine Learning, Mobile App Development, Web Development, Computer Graphics, and Computer and Network Security. With three major elective slots in your CS or IT matrix, you can increase depth of study in one area by taking several related electives in sequence. The full course listing is here.
News and Updates
Jamie Lee Earns Prestigious Churchill Scholarship
Each year, qualified students apply for the Churchill Scholarship in hopes of securing one of the 15 spots. This competitive scholarship allows the winners to earn a master’s degree at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge in UK. This year, MIDN Lee, Computer Science major, competed amongst 127 candidates from 82 institutions nationwide to win one of the 15 spots. MIDN Lee will pursue a master’s degree in Machine Learning. Once she completes the year-long program, she will serve in the Navy as a Cryptologic Warfare Officer.
Dr. Nate Chambers Wins 2020 Research Excellence Award
Associate Professor Nate Chambers is the 2020 recipient of the "Class of 1951 Civilian Faculty Excellence in Research Award", which is presented annually to the civilian faculty member at the Naval Academy who has exhibited the highest quality continued scholarly achievement through research. Dr. Chambers' research interests include natural language processing (NLP) and learning about the world from text with minimal supervision. Read more about Dr. Chambers here.
2020 Jean Bartik Computing Symposium (JBCS)
On February 27 -28, 2020, the Computer Science Department at the United States Naval Academy (USNA) hosted the second Jean Bartik Computing Symposium (JBCS). Named after Jean Bartik, one of the early pioneers of computing, the event brings together the service academies’ women and underrepresented minorities studying computing and connects them with industry, government, and military professionals in the field. This year's event was attended by thirty-seven midshipmen, seventeen West Point cadets, ten U.S. Air Force cadets along with faculty members from the service academies, distinguished speakers from DOD labs and agencies, and industry partners. Read more about JBCS here.
Mike Hanling Wins 2020 Top Trident Scholar Prize
MIDN 1/C Mike Hanling is the 2020 recipient of the "Class of 1979 Trident Scholar Prize". MIDN Hanling, a Computer Science major, was advised by Associate Professor Daniel S. Roche of the Computer Science Department as he worked on his award winning project titled "Proofs of Retrievability with Low Server Storage". Learn more about the Trident program and MIDN Hanling's project here and learn about Dr. Roche's research interests here.
