Students interested in learning about computer science, join Professor Rodger in the Duke Emerging Scholars Computer Science (DES-CS) program.

Taking computer science courses opens the door for you to careers that

As a DES-CS student, you will take two regular computer science courses and two half-credit seminar courses in the one year program. These courses focus on

In the fall you will take the introductory computer science course CompSci 4 (Introduction to Programming with Virtual Worlds) and the associated CompSci 18S (Problem Solving Seminar). In the spring you will take CompSci 6 (Introduction to Program, Design and Analysis I) and the associated CompSci 18S. The two half credit CompSci 18S courses will count for your one credit required first-year seminar course.


This program assumes no prior programming experience.

The DES-CS program is for those students who have had little or no programming experience. If you have already taken a programming course, check with the computer science placement information for the right course for you.


The DES-CS program ran for three years from Fall 2005 until Spring 2008. This program is not running in 2008-09 but it will start back again for 2009-10.



PLTL Exercises - many of the exercises are pencil/paper or hands-on language independent



This program is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.