Department of Computer Science

About

Chair
Peter A. Cooper

Graduate Advisor
Peter A. Cooper

Faculty
David Burris, Lei Chen, Hyuk Cho, Peter A. Cooper, Ken Hartness, Jiahuang Ji, Timothy McGuire, Karon Murff, Gary Smith, Li-Jen Shannon, Cihan Varol

Mission
The Department of Computer Science is a community of faculty, staff and students, centered in the computer science disciplines. The Department of Computer Science is dedicated to providing the highest quality education possible to its graduate and undergraduate students through excellence in teaching and excellence in research. The department is committed to furthering the pursuit of knowledge and meeting the needs of a diverse society.

The Department of Computer Science seeks to provide an environment that encourages innovative thinking, academic rigor and the pursuit of scholarship in an atmosphere that promotes high ethical and moral values and mutual respect, embracing diversity, and working towards a goal of instilling a life-long love of learning.

Contact Information
936.294.3846

Website
Computer Science: http://cs.shsu.edu/
Digital Forensics: http://df.shsu.edu

Academic Programs

Degrees
Computing and Information Science, MS
Digital Forensics, MS
Information Assurance and Security, MS

Certificates
Graduate Certificate in Cyber Security
Graduate Certificate in Data Assurance
Graduate Certificate in Digital Investigation
Graduate Certificate in Educational Technology

Highlights

Sam Houston State University provides a comprehensive computing environment for students. The Computer Services Department operates a large number of computing laboratories containing desktop computers, and workstations. A variety of operating systems, network protocols, programming languages and application packages are available. Students have full access to the Internet and E-mail facilities when on campus and through dial-up facilities from off-campus. In addition to the institutional facilities, the Department of Computer Science operates a range of lab facilities to support its mission and programs, including network robotics and Unix labs, a data recovery lab and a network security lab. The department operates a 40-node symmetric multiprocessing system for use in parallel processing, digital forensics, cryptanalysis, and steganographic research. The department also has access to state of the art visualization facilities. As part of its operations, the department of Computer Science houses the Sam Houston State University Center of Excellence in Digital Forensics, a center dedicated to the development of digital forensics training for law enforcement personnel and research opportunities into forensics and security issues.

Career Opportunities

Computing professionals support many scientific, governmental, and commercial enterprises though network and communication systems management, application (computer program) development and maintenance, and hardware design. The management of computing resources within organizations is typically a mission critical activity and computing professionals occupy key organizational roles as network and database administrators, software engineers, systems analysts and programmers. Of key concern in today’s modern environment is the protection, assurance, and recovery of computing resources, providing opportunities for those wanting to work in the information assurance and digital forensics fields.

Student Organizations and Activities

Sam Houston Association of Computer Scientists - The club sponsors field trips, campus visits by guest speakers, and occasional student/faculty outings.

Internships

The Computer Science department does not operate internships as part of its degree programs.

Scholarships

The Department of Computer Science offers the following scholarships:

The Johnny Cook Kelly Memorial Scholarship: awarded to undergraduate computer science majors with a preference given to students from Walker County.
The Mohamed Ahmed Noman Scholarship: awarded to full time undergraduate students working toward a degree in Computer Science.
The Kailas and Becky Rao Scholarship in honor of Mr. Albert Kidd: awarded to full time graduate or undergraduate students in good standing and majoring in Computer Science.

Each of these scholarships requires a minimum GPA of 3.0 and registration in courses leading to a degree in Computer Science. Other criteria are also pertinent to individual scholarships. More information can be obtained through the department.