WHAT OUR ALUMNI ARE SAYING …
Cynthia Cheng ’14, Computer Science and Mathematics
Internship: NBC Universal in Los Angeles
Cynthia, who juggled her studies with a spot on Hofstra’s women’s
golf team, accepted a job offer from GEICO in Maryland to serve as a
programmer analyst II. She is part of a three-year rotational program
that allows employees to develop technology skills in different areas of
the company. During her senior year at Hofstra, she said, “The professors
in this department are excellent. I see them for help if I’m having trouble
in class or if I just want to talk about things I’m interested in or want to
learn more about.”
STUDENT COMPETITIONS
•Hofstra-CPXi Venture Tech Challenge is an annual entrepreneurial
competition that encourages students from all disciplines to take an
innovative idea from conception to business plan. Prize money totaling
$100,000 is available to Hofstra teams of undergraduate and graduate
students. The competition is sponsored by alumnus and Hofstra Board of
Trustees member Mike Seiman ’01, who is founder and CEO of CPXi, a
digital media company he started while still a Hofstra student. In 2014
two computer science majors, Brian Blanco and Ashish Pandhi, won first
place and a prize of $50,000 to develop an advanced social media
management platform. In 2013, the competition’s inaugural year, another
team of computer science majors, Shashank Sanjay and Michael Moskie,
won first place for developing a low-cost 3-D printer. Computer science
student Alexander Rosenberg won second place and $25,000 that same
year for his project, “EMR (Electronic Medical Record) Advantage.”
•Make-A-Thon/Hack-A-Thon, held every semester, is an all-night event
that gives students the opportunity to engage in special hands-on
activities, including 3-D printing, basic electronics, and robotics, as well
as a coding competition where teams create games and applications that
benefit the campus community.
•Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Team Programming
Competition
Nathan Clark ’11 (MS), Deputy Resources Division Chief, Air Force
Sustainment Center
“Hofstra was a great learning experience for me. The faculty’s expertise
and genuine interest in the subject areas was immediately apparent. I was
able to maintain a full-time work schedule with frequent work trips while
attending classes and applying new knowledge to my job. With my
schedule, distance learning was the only way I could achieve my goal —
and Hofstra made it possible.”
Stephen Spano ’15, Computer Science
Internship: S&P Capital IQ (led to full-time employment)
Stephen spent his last two years at Hofstra as a research assistant, working
with one of his professors on malware analysis and an open source
machine emulator called QEMU. He also worked as a computer science
tutor at Hofstra and volunteered as a math tutor for elementary school
children as part of a McGraw Hill Financial initiative. Following a summer
internship with S&P Capital IQ as a software engineer, Stephen was
offered a full-time position upon graduation. Stephen said, "My classes
taught me the core fundamentals of my field and how to apply those
fundamentals to many real-world problems."
For more information visit hofstra.edu/seas or
hofstra.edu/computerscience or contact:
Simona Doboli, PhD
Chair, Department of Computer Science
Adams Hall, Room 110A
103 Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY 11549-1030
Simona.Doboli@hofstra.edu • 516-463-4786
63262:10/15
Department of
Computer Science
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Among the unique features of our programs are:
•The introduction of special topics courses every semester to reflect the
dynamic nature of the computing field.
•The freedom students have to pursue special interests in computing
science by taking individual independent study courses. The BA track
allows students to design their own program of study.
•Two programs in computing entrepreneurship that teach students how to
start and manage a new company. These unique programs were
developed by the Computer Science Department and the Frank G. Zarb
School of Business, and they are funded by the National Science
Foundation.
•Undergraduate research experiences that allow students to work on
research projects in collaboration with a faculty member on a shared
area of interest.
Hofstra University’s Department of Computer Science in the School of
Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) offers an exciting learning
environment where students may pursue multiple paths toward
undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science or computer
engineering. Students develop a strong foundation in programming and
application development, network and software engineering, operating
systems, algorithms and computer architecture. Students reinforce
knowledge with yearly hands-on projects and a senior design project.
All programs are approved by New York state and are accredited by
the Middle States Association of Colleges and Universities.
DEGREE PROGRAMS
• Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Computer Science
• Bachelor of Science (BS) in Computer Engineering
• Bachelor of Science (BS) in Computer Science
• Bachelor of Science (BS) in Computer Science and Mathematics
•Master of Science (MS) in Computer Science – Students may pursue this
degree in a traditional classroom setting or fully online
• Dual degree options: Computer Science, BA/MS; BS/MS
• Minors: Computer Engineering, Computer Science
Concentrations are available to students interested in
developing a more in-depth knowledge of a particular area.
Currently concentrations are offered in:
• Entrepreneurship in Computing • Networking and Cybersecurity
• Web and Mobile Engineering• Gaming and Graphics
FACILITIES
Computer science students have access to the following completely
renovated labs:
•The Big Data Laboratory, funded by a $1 million grant from New York
state, is equipped with over 20 servers and a 64 CPU machine, a storage
capacity of over 1,000 TB and a processing capacity of over 400 CPU
cores. This lab is used in advanced classes such as secure systems,
networking, networking security, semantic Web and data science.
•The Gaming and Graphics Laboratory features 16 graphics machines with
powerful NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards and Unity game developing
software.
•The Research and Innovation Laboratory, funded by an NSF-CPATH
grant, is utilized by students working on entrepreneurial and research
projects. The lab is equipped with one server and four Linux/Windows
machines.
•The Computer Architecture, Embedded Systems and Mobile Computing
Laboratory is used in hardware-oriented courses such as embedded
systems, assembly language, robotics, and mobile application
development.
•The Linux Laboratory is the department’s largest lab with 30 Linux OS
machines. It is used in introductory programming courses as well as
advanced classes such as operating systems and programming
languages.
•The Systems Laboratory is equipped with 21 Windows machines with
specialized application software such as Microsoft MSDNA and Matlab.
This lab is used for advanced classes such as Web application
development, database systems, and artificial intelligence.
CO-OP PROGRAM AND INTERNSHIPS
The co-op program provides students with an opportunity to gain real-world
experience in a full-time, compensated position for six to eight months.
There are currently more than 50 companies participating in the program.
Corporations hiring computer science and computer engineering students
include IBM, Black Knight Financial Services, Telephonics Co., Clever Devices,
Interdigital Communications Corporation, Xcerra Corporation, National Grid
and PSEG. The program is an optional, no-credit course that extends the
student’s undergraduate studies by an additional semester.
Students are also encouraged to participate in internships during their junior
and/or senior year. The department has connections with a large number of
local companies.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
The success of our graduates is a reflection of the high-quality education
Hofstra provides. Recent institutional research reports that 97 percent of
Hofstra SEAS graduates are employed or pursuing full-time graduate
studies within a year of graduation. Alumni are employed by national
corporations, including the S&P 500, GEICO, Con Edison, Bank of America,
and Computer Associates. Others have pursued graduate studies at
prestigious institutions such as Princeton University, Columbia University,
and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.