Undergraduate Programs

Minors

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering offers four minors.

Minor in Computer Science

CS Minor Admissions

Before being admitted to the minor there must be evidence that students have enough experience to be sure the Minor will be a good fit for them. Examples of such experience include: completion of the majority of a CSE course, like 1301 or a CSE 1301 equivalent transfer course, or passing AP CS-A with a 4 or 5, or other comparable experience and passing the CSE Placement exam.

Program Overview

If a student's goal is a basic foundation in computer science for application to another field but they are not planning a career as a practicing computer scientist, the minor in computer science is a good choice. The minor consists of five CSE courses: four core courses and one elective. The core courses provide an introduction to computer science concepts and problem-solving techniques. The electives offer flexibility to integrate computer science studies with a major area. Students select the courses that are most important to them, whether their interests are in fine arts, linguistics, psychology, philosophy, law, business, medicine, the natural sciences or anything else. Please visit the Washington University Bulletin to review the CS minor requirements and course offerings. For information on requirements from prior years, please refer to the Bulletin pages associated with those academic years (listed below).

Notes/Updates

Prior Bulletin Pages

Any Questions?

If you have any questions about the CS minor requirements, please feel free to contact: cse.undergrad@wustl.edu

Minor in Bioinformatics

Program Overview

Mindful of the emerging opportunities at the interface of biology and computer science, the Department of Biology and the Department of Computer Science & Engineering have fashioned the minor in bioinformatics. Please visit the Washington University Bulletin to review the Bioinformatics minor requirements and course offerings. For information on requirements from prior years, please refer to the Bulletin pages associated with those academic years (listed below).

Notes/Updates

Prior Bulletin Pages

Any Questions?

If you have any questions about the Bioinformatics minor, please feel free to contact: cse.undergrad@wustl.edu

Minor in Human-Computer Interaction

Program Overview

The human-computer interaction (HCI) minor is designed to give any undergraduate student at Washington University a multidisciplinary understanding of the principles and applications of HCI. This minor will introduce students to the techniques necessary to create effective user interfaces: requirements gathering, ideation, prototyping, visual design and evaluation. Students will explore these ideas in a variety of application contexts.

The HCI minor is intended for students who are interested in the design of user-centered interactive technologies and those desiring jobs that include user interface creation, product design, UX/UI design, app development, virtual and augmented realities, and so on. This minor should appeal to students in the College of Art — particularly designers and computationally intrigued artists — who are interested in gaining a more in-depth knowledge of back-end development skills. It will also be of interest to engineering students looking for more experience with aesthetics and front-end design skills. In addition to being useful for these primary audiences, this minor allows students from other departments on campus to support their studies with a clear track in a hybrid pursuit of design and programming. Please visit the Washington University Bulletin to review the HCI minor requirements and course offerings. For information on requirements from prior years, please refer to the Bulletin pages associated with those academic years (listed below).

Notes/Updates

Prior Bulletin Pages

Any Questions?

If you have any questions about the HCI minor requirements, please feel free to contact: cse.undergrad@wustl.edu

Minor in Computational Artificial Intelligence (Fall 2026)

mCAI Admissions

Admission to the mCAI minor is based on the candidate’s completion of the prerequisites listed below. Note: Only a single course may be completed via transfer.

Program Overview

The Minor in Computational A.I. (mCAI) is designed to provide WashU students with the skills to pursue research and careers that require competence with emerging trends in artificial intelligence.

Program Requirements

Mathematics Prerequisites

Calculus 3
- MA 2130: Calculus III

Matrix Algebra. Any one of:
- Engr 3180: Engineering Math A
- ESE 2180: Linear Algebra and Component Analysis
- MA 3300: Matrix Algebra (Old numbers: MA309)
- MA 4301: Linear Algebra

Probability and Statistics. Any one of:
- ESE 3260: Probability and Statistics for Engineering (old number ESE 326)
- ENGR 3280: Engineering Statistics with Probability (old number Engr 328)
- SDS 3020: Elementary to Intermediate Statistics and Data Analysis (old number SDS 3200)
- SDS 3030: Statistics for Data Science I
- SDS 3211: Statistics for Data Science I

Computing Prerequisites

Data Structures and Algorithms
- CSE 2407: Data Structures and Algorithms (CSE 2407 has a prerequisite of CSE 1301: Introduction to Computer Science or equivalent experience).

Foundation (Core) Courses: 6 units required

Introduction to A.I.
- CSE 4102: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

Introduction to Machine Learning. Any of:
- CSE 4107: Introduction to Machine Learning
- ESE 4170: Introduction to Machine Learning and Pattern Classification
- SDS 4430: Statistical Learning

Electives: 9 units required

Any three of:

CSE 3101: Introduction to Intelligent Agents Using Science Fiction
CSE 3104: Data Manipulation and Management
CSE 4061: Text Mining
CSE 4101: AI and Society
CSE 4109: Introduction to AI for Health
CSE 5104: Data Mining
CSE 5100: Deep Reinforcement Learning
CSE 5103: Theory of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
CSE 5105: Bayesian Methods in Machine Learning
CSE 5106: Multi-Agent Systems
CSE 5107: Machine Learning
CSE 5108: Human-In-The-Loop Computation
CSE 5180: Heuristic Search and Constraint Processing
CSE 5109: Advanced Machine Learning
CSE 5271: Data-Driven Privacy and Security
CSE 5270: Natural Language Processing
CSE 5370: Trustworthy Autonomy
CSE 5403: Algorithms for Nonlinear Optimization
CSE 5500: Mobile Robotics
CSE 5505: Adversarial AI
CSE 5509: Computer Vision
CSE 5610: Large Language Models
Students also have the option to use a 3-unit relevant, domain-specific course work from another department. Examples include Econ 6140: Machine Learning and Data Science in Economics; MEMS 5205: Machine Learning Applications in Mechanical Engineering, Physics 4080: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Methods with Applications to Physics; etc.

Additional Information

All courses used for the mCAI minor must be taken for a grade, and the student must earn a C- or better.

Any Questions?

If you have questions about the mCAI minor, please feel free to contact: cse.undergrad@wustl.edu