Department of Computer Science

The Saint Louis University Department of Computer Science is committed to the development and study of computing technologies for the greater good of humanity.

SLU offers bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees, as well as minors and accelerated program options. Our undergraduate programs prepare students for a variety of career paths in a computerized and AI-driven society. Our curriculum provides flexibility so that students choose advanced electives that shape their education to meet diverse career goals (e.g., computer security, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, software engineering). Our graduate programs train students to become excellent researchers or leaders in their industry. Graduate students can take part in departmental research that is funded by grants from both government and private organizations. No matter the program, students will study closely under nationally and internationally recognized faculty in SLU's cutting-edge facilities and labs.

SLU is an R1 research university, and our computer science faculty lead their fields in driving high-impact research for the greater good. From artificial intelligence to network infrastructure and security, our faculty are building the future.

Research Areas

The Department of Computer Science engages in to rigorous, innovative research that improves people's lives and advances knowledge and understanding of our world. Faculty research interests include:

Artificial intelligence and machine learning
Computer vision and image processing
Cyber-physical systems
Robotics and remote sensing
Data science

Highlights

Jie Hou, Ph.D., assistant professor, was awarded an NIH grant alongside co-PI Brent Znosko, Ph.D. This research can be used to better understand humans, bacteria, and viruses and can be utilized by other scientists who are researching the causes, diagnosis, prevention, and cure of human diseases.

Abby Stylianou, Ph.D., associate professor, received a NSF CAREER Grant for her research in image recognition and retrieval. Her project, “Aligning Image Retrieval Systems with Human Notions of Similarity,” will develop new ways to make image search systems more intuitive — guided by how humans recognize visual detail.

Lorenzo Pappone, doctoral student, received a SLU Dissertation Fellowship. His research tackles key challenges in modern computer networks — including congestion control, reducing latency, and optimizing machine-learning model training in distributed systems.

Student Outcomes

Our students succeed in establishing careers in top technology firms as well as a wide variety of industries that need continuous streams of CS talent. The program prepares these students for both entry-level and upper-level positions. Recent graduates are currently work in industry in positions such as software engineers, data scientists, web developers and cybersecurity specialists.

Graduates have found employment with the following companies:

Samsung
Boeing
AT&T
Enterprise
U.S. Bank
Spectrum
Deloitte
Lumen Technologies

Amazon
Equifax
Wells-Fargo
Centene
Booz Allen
ARCO
Excenture

Google
U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Agency
Mastercard
Garmin
U.S Federal Reserve
U.S. Air Force
U.S. Postal Service

Our graduates have also leveraged their education and research experiences to join labs at SLU and elsewhere. Many graduates find success in academic environments as researchers or instructors or go on to pursue advanced degrees in computer science and related disciplines.

Mission Statement

The Department of Computer Science at Saint Louis University is committed to:

Providing an outstanding education in all aspects of modern computer science, thereby preparing our majors for productive careers in the field or for further graduate studies
Serving students who major in other disciplines with the computational knowledge and skills that are required for success in their chosen fields
Instilling in our students the value of lifelong learning and continuing professional development
Advancing knowledge in the field of computer science through research, and involving students in this work as an essential complement to traditional teaching activities
Promoting an awareness in our students of ethical issues that arise in computer science, and the importance of extending the benefits of computing technology to underprivileged communities, locally and globally

Department of Computer Science