Informatics Academics
There are six core areas of the curriculum:
- Foundations (INFO 20x, 30x, 40x courses). These courses teach the foundations of data, information and knowledge, helping you understand what information is, and how we create and use it in our lives, communities, organizations and society.
- Data (INFO 33x, 43x courses). These courses teach foundational concepts and skills in how to represent, organize, store and retrieve data using technologies such as databases.
- Design (INFO 36x, 46x courses). These courses teach creative design skills, helping you imagine how information might be used to address problems, opportunities and injustices in the world.
- Development (INFO 34x, 44x courses). These courses teach foundational skills in processing and provisioning data through software, including web and app development.
- Organizations (INFO 38x, 48x course). These courses teach key perspectives on how information is used in organizations such as businesses, communities and governments, ensuring that your perspectives go beyond the individual.
- Society (INFO 35x, 45x courses). These courses teach core concepts in data and information ethics, policy, and society, giving you perspectives on how information is used in our social world.
In addition to these core areas, our curriculum also includes focus areas of cybersecurity (INFO 31x/41x), search and retrieval (INFO 32x/42x), data science (INFO 37x/47x); and more active, practical learning such as Capstones, internships, service learning and independent study (INFO 49x).
Earning the Bachelor of Science degree in Informatics requires three sets of courses:
- Lower-division requirements
- Core courses
- Concentrations/transcriptable options
Lower-division requirements
Our lower-division courses span all six of the core areas of the curriculum, teaching foundational concepts and skills.
- INFO 200: Intellectual Foundations of Informatics
- INFO 201: Foundational Skills for Data Science
- CSE 142: Computer Programming I, though many alternative courses can be used for admission.
- STAT 311: Elements of Statistical Methods OR QMETH 201: Introduction to Statistical Methods. (There are additional courses that can be used to satisfy this requirement, which can be referenced here.)
- I&S (Individuals and Societies) course
Core courses
Our core required courses, all at the 300-level, span the six areas of the curriculum: data, development, design, discovery, ethics and organizations. Each course provides a foundation that students use in their Capstone projects. Students deepen their expertise in a broad range of electives taught by iSchool faculty and invited guest faculty from industry, government and nonprofits around the Puget Sound area.
- INFO 300: Research Methods
- INFO 330: Databases & Data Modeling
- INFO 340: Client-Side Development
- INFO 350: Information Ethics and Policy
- INFO 360: Design Methods
- INFO 380: Information Systems Analysis and Management
- INFO 490: Capstone Project I (Details)
- INFO 491: Capstone Project II (Details)
In addition to the core INFO courses, the degree also requires two foundational courses in computer science, to provide the foundations necessary for succeeding in technical Informatics courses and technical interviews:
- CSE 143: Computer Programming II OR CSE 163: Intermediate Data Programming
- Choose one of these three options:
- CSE 373: Data Structures and Algorithms (4 credits)
- INFO 442: Cooperative Software Development (5 credits), not offered every quarter
- INFO 443: Software Architecture (5 credits), not offered every quarter
Building upon these foundations, students then take a range of Informatics electives, culminating in either a Capstone project for students interested in careers in industry or a research project for those interested in pursuing academic or industry research. View our list of approved electives.
Focus areas
To help students navigate our wide array of electives, there are several focus areas that can help you plan your course work and depth of expertise.