Make no mistake; most 100 level Computer Sciences (CS) courses will not resemble Computers 101, as you may have known it. Unlike other departments in the School of Engineering, approximately half the CS online portfolio listings are fundamental (100 series) courses. Most 100 courses taken by industry students are introductions to very specific or advanced subject areas in computer sciences, offering opportunities for industry students to update and deepen their understanding of fundamentals, or expand their knowledge into new areas.

"These are very challenging courses," Maggie Johnson, the Senior Lecturer for CS and the Department of Symbolic Systems, emphasizes. She teaches 103 Discrete Mathematics series courses and CS 148 Introduction to Computer Graphics. An important part of her job is to develop the undergraduate curriculum. "Technology changes so quickly we have to update and change our requirements constantly. We demand absolutely top-notch technical skills of our undergraduates and the curriculum reflects that. What our students don't know when they graduate, they can learn quickly."

The 100- series draws students deeper into areas such as discrete math, programming and technologies. In particular, proficiencies reflected in the 103 and 106 series are necessary for success in many other CS courses that have high relevance to industry students: databases, compilers, advanced topics in operating systems and more.

Knowledge of these areas must be absolutely current as well as thorough. Jeff Ullman, W. Ascherman Professor of Computer Science (Emeritus) and a former CS Department Chair, elaborates. "There is a certain mathematical sophistication and programming background we expect in our intermediate-level courses," he says. "Someone who thinks these courses are like introductory-level computer courses will be out of the game entirely. We never want anyone to be set up to fail, so its important for potential students to understand the requirements and to look at their backgrounds realistically."

Venki Rajagopaln of Sun Microsystems in India, who earned his Software Systems Certificate, found that his prerequisite courses were among his most valued courses in the program. "In particular, CS 140 Operating Systems and Systems Programming and CS 143 Compilers stood out for me, both because of the information itself and because they were the most challenging," he says. "I appreciated that challenge—yes, some of the subject material was not new, but I was tested at a new, deeper level. Stanford is a completely different experience from other schools. It was excellent."

Johnson has seen the mutual benefits of teaching industry students. "Theory is always in support of practice in our courses. While we bring industry students' skills up to new standards, they ask questions that cut right to the point, bringing real world practice into the classrooms."

And sometimes the benefits to industry students are more subtle. "I had a researcher in astrophysics who took CS 103A, where we teach logical thinking," Johnson recalls. "As an astrophysicist, she was able to think scientifically, but the course allowed her to expand her approach to include both mathematical and logical thinking. By the end, she had new tools to apply in her research.. A course like this, in the fundamentals, really can have an impact on many facets of your life."

Maggie Johnson teaches the 103 series and CS 148 Introduction to Computer Graphics to industry students. She has been a lecturer at Stanford since 1991, and has taught courses through SCPD for more than ten years. One of her primary interests is the effect of IT on the global economy and she helped establish TechEconomy.org, a non-profit organization, to study this area. This Autumn she will be teaching CS103A Discrete Mathematics for Computer Science.

Jeff Ullman chaired the Stanford CS Department from 1990 to 1994, and won the Karl V. Karlstrom outstanding educator award, ACM, in 1998 and the Knuth Prize in 2000. His interests include database theory, database integration, data mining, and education using the information infrastructure. This Autumn, Ullman will be teaching CS 145 Introduction to Data Bases.