Computer Science and Information Systems Awards

James A. Schaefer Book Award

This award provides funds for the purchase of books and a membership in the ACM.

Eligibility Requirements

This award is given to a computer science major who completed CSCI 315 at Rhode Island College for the first time within the previous calendar year and of all such students has the highest GPA in computer science. If there is a tie, the award is given to the student who, in the judgment of the department, has contributed the most to the major. 

Award History

This award is named for James A. Schaefer, one of the founders of the computer science program at Rhode Island College in the early 1980s and who served as an invaluable member of the computer science faculty until his retirement in 2008. 

Rhode Island Alpha Chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon

Rhode Island College's chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon, the international computing honor society, is a collaboration between the computer science and computing and information sciences programs. It is the first chapter of Upsilon Pi Epsilon in the state, and it inducted its first members in 2011.

Eligibility Requirements

A candidate must:

• be a computer science or computer information systems major at Rhode Island College
• have taken at least 45 credits, including 15 credits in the major
• be in at least the top 30% of students with the required number of credits
• have a GPA of at least 3.0, both overall and in their major

Richard A. Howland Computer Science Award

This award was established on Sept. 15, 1988, and the winner is selected by the department chair in consultation with the Departmental Advisory Committee.

Eligibility Requirements

A candidate must:

• be a senior computer science major working on his or her first degree
• have completed at least 60 credits at Rhode Island College.
• have a GPA of at least 3.5 in courses counting towards the computer science major
• have at least a 2.67 (B-) overall GPA

Preference will be given to students who participate in activities in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science or in equivalent professional activities.