Welcome to Computer Science
About the Department
The Computer Science Department at the US Naval Academy houses 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.
Research : Efficient Computation with Sparse Polynomials
We know computers are good at number crunching - but what about when those numbers have millions of digits? MIDN Atkins, Browning, and Overfield ('14), under the supervision of Asst Prof Roche, designed and implemented a high-performance software package for arithmetic with sparse integers, a more efficient storage format for some kinds of huge numbers. This package could be used to implement public-key cryptography with the same security but more efficient encryption and decryption.
Why Study Computer Science?
CS and IT are consistently listed at the top of major "best jobs" reports. It often ranks #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 10 civilian Ph.D. professors, 5 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.
Dual Majors
Many students from across the Yard 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.
Visit the dual major page for helpful details and dual major matrices.
Comparison with the SCY major
The department contributes many of the courses within the Cyber Operations (SCY) major. SCY is an interdisciplinary major with a large CS/IT core. Many of its courses are derived from CS and IT courses. Read about how CS/IT compare with SCY.
Recent Events and News
Supercomputer "Grace" Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
USNA Computer Science faculty members Dept. Chair CDR Mike Bilzor, Asst. Professor Gavin Taylor and Visiting Professor Carl Albing, along with members of the University of Maryland, participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Naval Academy's new supercomputer "Grace" in September 2016. Named after the computer science pioneer Admiral Grace Hopper, "Grace" will allow midshipmen in the Computer Science and Information Technology programs to learn high performance computing (HPC) principles on state-of-the-art equipment, as well as let faculty leverage the system for cutting-edge research.
CS Faculty Honored with 2016 HPC Hero Award
USNA Computer Science faculty members Asst. Professor Gavin Taylor, Visiting Professor Carl Albing, and Assoc. Professor Nate Chambers were honored with the 2016 High Performance Computing (HPC) Hero Award in the Team Achievement category. Profs. Albing, Chambers, and Taylor were presented with this award in August 2016 by Dr. Kevin Newmeyer (USNA '83), Chief of Staff of the Department of Defense High Performance Computing Modernization Program. Their tireless efforts to purchase and install state-of-the-art HPC equipment will provide Midshipmen with the ability to use cutting-edge tools and techniques to become leaders in DoD science and research communities. Learn more about the USNA Center for High Performance Computing Education and Research.
1st Place in the 2015 ACM Programming Competition
Three Naval Academy computer science majors competed against 188 different 3-person teams from universities and colleges across North Carolina to Pennsylvania. The ACM programming competition is the premier international competition that requires competitors to solve challenge problems with computer programs that they write from scratch in a 5 hour time period. The team that solves the most problems in the least time wins. The USNA team consisted of MIDN 1/C King, 1/C Mason, and 2/C O'Leary. The USNA team was 1 out of only 18 teams to correctly solve 5 challenge problems. Further, they were quicker than the others to rank 9th overall out of 188 teams. The USNA team was 1st place in its local site, and 1st over other Patriot League schools, as well as beating top research universities like Johns Hopkins and the Univ of Maryland. Congratulations to our midshipmen!
First Place in CDX: Cyber Defense Exercise
Our midshipmen from the Information Warfare Group won the 2015 Cyber Defense Exercise (CDX), outperforming the other service academies, including last year's winning team, West Point. Led by Computer Science majors 1/C Zane Markel and 1/C Devon Budzitowski, the team completed several cybersecurity tasks ranging from network security to computer forensics. Teams are scored based on successful completion and defense of their respective networks. The NSA's Information Assurance Directorate (IAD) sponsors the annual event. The USNA last won the event in 2010
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CS Major Selected as STAMP Scholar
Mr. Stamps and the Stamps Foundation selected ten midshipmen to become the Naval Academy's second cohort of Stamps Leadership Scholars. Our very own MIDN Andrew Zhao, a Computer Science major, was one of the selected students. The Stamps program provides each scholar with funding to be used for leadership development and top-student enrichment activities beyond those normally offered at the USNA.
Top Finish in Cyber Captain's Cup
The 'Anch0rm3n' cyber team from USNA placed 2nd out of 11 teams at the highly competitive, DoD-invitational Fort Meade Cyber Captain's Cup. The team competed against top cyber experts from all of DoD in the event's second year. The event was created and hosted by LTJG Justin Monroe (USNA 2010 - SCS and SIT dual major) and his team from NIOC-MD, a Fort Meade tenant command. The competition featured a number of challenges in digital forensics, network traffic analysis, binary reverse engineering, and similar topics.
CyberStakes Team Wins
The most recent DARPA CyberStakes team was entirely made up of Computer Science and Information Technology majors. They beat out Army, Air Force, and others at the cyber security competition. Here they are showing off their many medals.
