computer science

Khoury College of Computer Sciences

Khoury College of Computer Sciences is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Khoury College of Computer Sciences rather than just read about it. In short: The Khoury College of Computer Sciences is the computer science school of Northeastern University. It was the first college in the United States dedicated to the field of computer science when it was founded in 1982.

Key takeaways

Khoury College of Computer Sciences belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Khoury College of Computer Sciences to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Khoury College of Computer Sciences from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Khoury College of Computer Sciences is the computer science school of Northeastern University. It was the first college in the United States dedicated to the field of computer science when it was founded in 1982. In addition to computer science, it specializes in data science, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. Khoury College offers Bachelor of Science (BS), Bachelor of Arts (BA), Master of Science (MS), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in computer science, as well as undergraduate and graduate degrees in interdisciplinary, computer-related fields. In fall 2025, some 4,339 undergraduate students, 4,247 master's students, and 326 doctoral candidates were enrolled in the college across nine Northeastern campus locations. Campus locations include Boston, Massachusetts (both Northeastern University’s and Khoury College’s oldest location); Arlington, Virginia; London, UK; Miami, Florida; Oakland, California; Portland, Maine; Seattle, Washington; San Jose, California; and Vancouver, Canada. Master’s programs are available at eight locations, and undergraduate degrees are offered full-time in Boston and Oakland, with semester learning opportunities in Seattle, London, and Oakland. In 2025, Khoury College's graduate program in computer science was ranked 27th in US News & World Report’s list of the "Best Computer Science Graduate Schools." The publication also ranked the graduate program 18th on its list of "Best Programming Language Programs." Khoury College is ranked 11th (tied with Stanford) in CSRankings, a ranking of computer science institutions based on faculty publications at selective conferences.

History Between 1979 and 1981, Northeastern organized a blue-ribbon panel of educators and experts, including industry leaders from Bell Labs, University of California, Berkeley, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Digital Equipment Corporation, to develop a plan to advance education and research in the emerging field of computer science. In 1982, the university formally established the College of Computer Science (CCS), the first US college devoted to computer science and the first new college at Northeastern in 17 years. Paul Kalaghan, director of Academic Computer Services, was named its first dean. The college was initially housed in Knowles-Volpe Hall, now known as the Asa S. Knowles Center, with 11 faculty members and 239 first-year students. Graduate degree programs were added in 1984. A year later, the college moved into the former Botolph Building, one of the oldest structures on campus, which reopened as the David and Margaret Fitzgerald Cullinane Hall. In 2004, the college moved into the newly constructed West Village H building, which consists of a six-story building and a 16-story tower containing the Khoury College of Computer Sciences and on-campus undergraduate housing.

Naming donation On December 16, 2018, Northeastern University announced a $50 million gift from alumnus and board trustee Amin Khoury to "support all aspects of the college's future focus." The College of Computer and Information Science was then renamed the Khoury College of Computer Sciences.

Northeastern Deans of Computer Science Elizabeth Mynatt, 2022–present Alan Mislove (interim), 2021–2022 Carla Brodley, 2014–2021 Larry Finkelstein, 1994–2014 Cynthia Brown, 1990–1994 Alan Selman (acting), 1988–1990 Paul Kalaghan, 1982–1988

Academic programs

Undergraduate degrees The undergraduate computer science program offers both Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees. While both require a core curriculum of computer science, mathematics, science, and humanities coursework, BA candidates are required to take more humanities coursework than BS candidates. The BS is thus the more technical of the two degrees, with the BA aimed at giving students a social science context with which to frame their understanding of computer science. Khoury College offers the following core undergraduate degrees:

BS in Computer Science BA in Computer Science BS in Artificial Intelligence BS in Cybersecurity

Combined majors and accelerated master's programs Khoury College offers 60 combined majors that pair computer science, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity with noncomputing disciplines to create hybrid degree programs with unique curricula. Khoury College is the top CS college for combined major offerings, with 62% of undergraduates pursuing a combined degree. Northeastern and Khoury College also offer PlusOne accelerated master’s programs in which up to 16 credits (four courses) count toward both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. Students can then take four master-level electives to complete the program.

Graduate degrees Khoury College offers both Master of Science and doctoral degrees.

Direct-entry master's degrees Khoury College offers the following master's degrees:

MS in Computer Science MS in Artificial Intelligence MS in Cybersecurity MS in Data Science MS in Complex Network Analysis (interdisciplinary) MS in Extended Realities (interdisciplinary) MS in Game Science and Design (interdisciplinary) MS in Health Informatics (interdisciplinary) MS in Internet of Things (interdisciplinary) MS in Robotics (interdisciplinary) MS in Statistics (interdisciplinary) MS in Statistics Connect (interdisciplinary) Align master’s degrees Established to broaden access to technology careers for students from nontechnical backgrounds, the Align master’s programs are offered across eight Northeastern campus locations and online, and in the following disciplines: computer science, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. The full-time program typically requires 2.5 years to complete and begins with bridge courses to establish foundational knowledge, followed by graduate-level coursework and paid co-op or internship experiences.

PhD program The PhD program prepares students for research careers in government, industry, or academia. Candidates are given a maximum of five years to complete this coursework and their doctoral thesis. Khoury College offers four PhD programs:

PhD in Computer Science PhD in Network Science PhD in Cybersecurity PhD in Personal Health Informatics

Research Khoury College conducts extensive research across multiple domains of computer science, with a mission to push the boundaries of computational technology and apply research discoveries to real-world challenges. The college emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and practical applications of computer science research.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Khoury College of Computer Sciences

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Khoury College of Computer Sciences claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Khoury College of Computer Sciences before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Khoury College of Computer Sciences ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Khoury College of Computer Sciences

In research: Khoury College of Computer Sciences appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Khoury College of Computer Sciences in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Khoury College of Computer Sciences is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1982 establishments in Massachusetts, Computer science departments in the United States, Computer science institutes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Khoury College of Computer Sciences outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Khoury College of Computer Sciences in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Khoury College of Computer Sciences means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Khoury College of Computer Sciences out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Khoury College of Computer Sciences in simple terms?

Why does Khoury College of Computer Sciences matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Khoury College of Computer Sciences?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Khoury College of Computer Sciences.