Unit 1 Fields of Computer Science

Overview of the fields of computer science

This short course comprises explanatory posters created by undergraduate students at the University of Aizu. The posters are designed to catch your interest and show you some of the typical content in computer science courses. All posters related to the same subfield are grouped together in a single slideshow. Watch the slideshows of the topics that are of most interest to you. We hope that you enjoy the content, and consider coming to our university.

Computer science can be broadly divided into three fields:

• Theoretical computer, science
• Applied computer science, and
• Computer systems.

Each of these fields are introduced in the following units. Each unit starts with a general introduction to the field. A list of subfields within each field is provided. This taxonomy of subfields is broadly based on the ACM Computing Classification System devised by the Association for Computing Machinery.

• Mathematical foundations
• Algorithms and data structures
• Artificial intelligence
• Communication and security
• Computer architecture
• Computer graphics
• Concurrent, parallel, and distributed systems
• Databases
• Programming languages and compilers
• Scientific computing
• Software engineering
• Theory of computation

Each unit comprises:

• General introduction to the field
• Taxonomy of subfields
• Student-created posters
• Video introductions by UoA professors

Read the general introduction of each unit. Watch the slideshows containing posters on the topics that are of most interest to you. If you find a subfield that you would like to pursue in more detail, then search for a laboratory or professor who could act as your graduation thesis supervisor.

Note well: Application for GT supervision and joining the lab associated with the supervisor is a competitive process. Students with the highest GPA, best performance in the selection interview, and who can show relevant experience and knowledge are most likely to receive offers. The student with a GPA of 3.8 whose TOEIC score is 820 and has a GitHub with multiple repositories of substantial projects would be a prime candidate for (almost) all laboratories. If your GPA is 2.X, your TOEIC score is less than 500 and you have little evidence of relevant self-study, a prudent choice would be to apply to a less popular laboratory.

Campus tour in Japanese

Watch.

Student contributions

To submit a slide for consideration for inclusion. Create your slide using this PowerPoint template. You can include or omit your name as you wish. Do not include copyright images without attribution. Use the same colour scheme, fonts and general layout/sizing as the template. The aim is to create attractive, informative slides that can help UoA students make better informed choices when selecting a laboratory.