CS2013-final-report

Chapter 3: Characteristics of Graduates
Graduates of computer science programs should have fundamental competency in the areas
described by the Body of Knowledge (see Chapter 4), particularly the core topics contained
there. However, there are also competences that graduates of CS programs should have that are
not explicitly listed in the Body of Knowledge. Professionals in the field typically embody a
characteristic style of thinking and problem solving, a style that emerges from the experiences
obtained through study of the field and professional practice. Below, we describe the
characteristics that we believe should be attained at least at an elementary level by graduates of
computer science programs. These characteristics will enable their success in the field and
further professional development. Some of these characteristics and skills also apply to other
fields. They are included here because the development of these skills and characteristics should
be explicitly addressed and encouraged by computer science programs. This list is based on a
similar list in CC2001 and CS2008. The substantive changes that led to this new version were
influenced by responses to a survey conducted by the CS2013 Steering Committee.
At a broad level, the expected characteristics of computer science graduates include the
following:
Technical understanding of computer science
Graduates should have a mastery of computer science as described by the core of the Body of
Knowledge.
Familiarity with common themes and principles
Graduates need understanding of a number of recurring themes, such as abstraction, complexity,
and evolutionary change, and a set of general principles, such as sharing a common resource,
security, and concurrency. Graduates should recognize that these themes and principles have
broad application to the field of computer science and should not consider them as relevant only
to the domains in which they were introduced.