BYU-Idaho Computer Science & Software Engineering

What You Just Learned

One Number Repainted the Whole Page

What You Just Did

When you moved the slider, a small program took your number, calculated a new set of colors, and swapped them into the page while you watched.

The Idea behind It

  • Variables and Events: The page listens for you to move the slider and stores your choice in a variable.
  • Color Math: Every color is calculated so text stays readable at every level, from 1% to 100%.
  • Saving a Preference: Your browser remembers your setting for the next visit.
  • Accessibility: The program checks contrast so people with low vision can still read the page.

Where You Would Learn This

CSE 110 Introduction to Programming, WDD 130 Web Fundamentals, and WDD 131 Dynamic Web Fundamentals, all in your first two semesters.

A computer can change a color. A person decides whether everyone can still read it.

Computer Science (B.S.)

Solve Hard Problems from the Ground Up.

How does a search engine find the right answer out of billions in a split second? How does your phone recognize your face in a blink? Computer Science shows you how, then teaches you to build it yourself.

See Your Path Apply to BYU-Idaho
A student explains an idea at a whiteboard while an instructor listensAn instructor and a student talk through code on a laptop

Is This You?

You Might Love Computer Science If You

You do not need to be a genius or a lifelong coder. You need curiosity and the grit to stay with a hard problem until it finally clicks. That moment is addictive.

  • Enjoy puzzles, logic, and figuring out why something works
  • Want to understand what is happening underneath your apps
  • Wonder how search engines, maps, and smart systems actually think
  • Love making things faster, smarter, or more efficient
  • Might want to go to graduate school or do research someday

What You Will Build

From Your First Program to Systems That Scale

Anyone can make code run. Computer scientists make it fast, make it smart, and prove it is right.

Algorithms That Scale

Master searching, sorting, graph algorithms, and Big O analysis, and prove exactly why one approach beats another.

CSE 381 Algorithms & Complexity

Programs That Do Many Things at Once

Write multithreaded, parallel code that splits huge jobs across many processors, the same way streaming services, search engines, and large-scale data systems work.

CSE 351 Parallelism & Concurrency

Data and Machine Learning

Wrangle real data with Python and SQL, find the patterns hiding in it, and build, train, and evaluate machine learning models.

DS 250 Data Science Programming, CSE 450 Machine Learning and Data Mining

Smart Data Structures

Hash tables, trees, graphs, and design patterns: Organize information so a program stays fast whether it serves ten users or ten million.

CSE 212, CSE 382 Patterns & Data Structures

Products with a Real Team

Gather requirements, design the interface, write and review code, test, and deploy a product together, exactly the way professional software teams do.

CSE 199R Freshman Discovery Project, CSE 399R Product Development Project

Your Own Advanced Focus

Pick advanced topics in your final year and go deep in the area that excites you most.

CSE 4xx Advanced Topics

Try It

Beat the Computer

Guide a robot through a maze, then watch a search algorithm find the shortest path square by square. It is the same idea you will master in CSE 381 Algorithms & Complexity.

Play Robot Path Puzzles

Your Path

What Four Years Can Look Like

Pick your degree and see the core courses you will take. Your advisor helps you shape the rest.

Choose Your Specialty:
  1. Year 1

    Learn to Build

    • CSE 110Introduction to Programming
    • CSE 111Programming with Functions
    • CSE 170Technical Teamwork
    • CSE 199RFreshman Discovery Project
    • ECEN 106Computer Systems
    • WDD 130 · WDD 131Web Fundamentals, Dynamic Web Fundamentals
    • ElectivesRoom for a minor, more depth, or another passion
  2. Year 2

    Build the Foundation

    • CSE 210Programming with Classes
    • CSE 212Programming with Data Structures
    • CSE 280 · MATH 119Discrete Mathematics, Calculus
    • CSE 310Applied Programming
    • CSE 370Software Engineering Principles
    • DS 250Data Science Programming
    • ITM 220SQL
    • ElectivesRoom for a minor, more depth, or another passion
  3. Year 3

    Go Deep

    • CSE 300Professional Readiness
    • CSE 351Parallelism & Concurrency
    • CSE 381Algorithms & Complexity
    • CSE 382Patterns & Data Structures
    • CSE 399RProduct Development Project
    • ITM 350DevOps
    • ElectivesRoom for a minor, more depth, or another passion
  4. Internship and Year 4

    Work and Specialize

    • CSE 398Internship, usually between semesters
    • CSE 4xxTwo advanced topics you choose
    • ElectivesRoom for a minor, more depth, or another passion

This is one suggested sequence. Review other course-plan options and flowcharts, then tailor a specific plan with an advisor today.

How You Will Learn

Understand It First. Then Use Every Tool Well.

You learn programming from the ground up, so you can read any codebase, debug it, reverse engineer how it works, and tell the moment something is wrong. You also study how intelligent systems are built: How they work, where they fail, and how to build them responsibly. Then you use them as one tool among many.

Most courses ask you to explain your thinking, test your work, and build with others. Those are exactly the habits employers and graduate schools look for, and they are what make you hard to replace.

Where It Can Lead

Careers and Graduate School

Computer Science graduates step into software engineering roles or continue on to graduate school.

Builds the software and apps people rely on
Software Engineer
Designs large systems so they stay fast and reliable
Systems Engineer or Architect
Tests software and makes sure it works before people use it
Quality Assurance Analyst
Turns designs and plans into fast, working code
Computer Programmer
Designs the computers and chips software runs on
Computer Hardware Engineer

Average Salary after Graduation

Starting
$79,787
5 years
$112,227
10 years
$138,529

Reported average earnings for BYU-Idaho Computer Science graduates, from federal Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) data as published on the Computer Science major page. Starting salary means earnings in the first year after graduation. Earnings vary and are not a guarantee.

Already a Student?

Switching, Transferring, or Coming Back? Start Here.

Plenty of great engineers found computing a little later. Here is how to jump in without losing momentum.

  1. Try the First Course

    Take CSE 110 Introduction to Programming. It is the first course in both majors and the fastest way to find out if you love this. Already programming? Test out with the LUC placement test and start in CSE 111.

  2. Talk with an Advisor

    An advisor can show how your current credits fit and map out your semesters. Meet with Academic Advising.

  3. Transferring Credit?

    See how courses from another school may count with the course transfer tool. Official evaluation decides what applies.

  4. Coming Back after Time Away?

    Whether you served a mission, worked, or cared for family, there is a path back. Former student admission.

Current students can also use the Student Hub for tools built for BYU-Idaho students. Questions about computing? Contact the CSE Advising Office at STEMadvising@byui.edu or 208-496-9880.

Your Next Step

Ready to Solve Hard Problems?

Apply to BYU-Idaho and write your first program in CSE 110 your very first semester.

Apply to BYU-Idaho Compare Software Engineering

Questions? Ask BYU-Idaho AI about majors, admissions, and campus life.