Diploma in Computer Science

The Diploma in Computer Science is a 60-credit-hour program distributed over two years of study.
It is competency oriented as required by the IT industry standards with emphasis on the following concepts:

• Computer Platforms
• System Analysis
• Programming
• Database Design
• Personal Skills Development

The program strikes a balance between theory and practice. Although it emphasizes practical work,it also covers the theoretical foundations in order to establish adequate links with education at a higher level and keep the students abreast of current knowledge in the field. Students will have hands-on experience with computer hardware, software, and methodologies of software evaluation and development of computer applications with strong emphasis on developing programming skills, including programming for the World Wide Web. In addition, the program follows a modern liberal arts approach by exposing the students to a sound knowledge of general sciences, the arts, study of the Omani culture, mastery of general computing skills, and efficient usage of Arabic and English languages.

Although the Diploma holders may exit the university education with this degree, they will also have opportunities to continue their education to complete a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science if they satisfy the requirements for admission to that program, then most of the credits successfully completed in the diploma program are transferable to the B.Sc program.

For the Plan of Study, Click the link below:
Diploma in Computer Science – Plan of Study

Diploma in Computer Science for Students with Hearing Impairments

Bachelor in Computer Science

1. Bachelor in Computer Science with Specialization in Cybersecurity
2. Bachelor in Computer Science with Specialization in Data Science

Bachelor of Computer Science with Specialization in Cybersecurity

The B.Sc in Computer Science with specialization in Cybersecurity is a four-year, 120 Credit Hours program designed to enable its holders to contribute to improving and modernizing the lifestyle and work culture through the computerization and automation of a wide range of processes in the industries and the society. The program content is very much in line with the current standards and guidelines established by the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM).

To graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree, students must satisfactorily complete the program of study with an overall minimum average of 65 percent, and a cumulative average of 70 percent in all computer science courses.

For the Plan of Study Click the Link below:

Cyerbsecurity – Plan of Study

Bachelor of Computer Science with Specialization in Data Science

The B.Sc in Computer Science with specialization in Data Science is a four-year, 120 Credit Hours program designed to enable its holders to contribute to improving and modernizing the lifestyle and work culture through the computerization and automation of a wide range of processes in the industries and the society. The program content is very much in line with the current standards and guidelines established by the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM).

To graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science degree, students must satisfactorily complete the program of study with an overall minimum average of 65 percent, and a cumulative average of 70 percent in all computer science courses.

For the Plan of Study Click the Link below:

Data Science – Plan of Study

Master of Computer Science in Cybersecurity

This is a two-year program consisting of 33 Credit Hours designed and offered by DU to prepare students with undergraduate degrees in technology disciplines for responsible leadership roles in the technology-based and information-based workplaces. The Master of Science in Cybersecurity degree equips technology professionals to assess the security needs of information and network systems and then to manage the implementation and maintenance of the recommended security solutions.

Admission Criteria
Admission to the Master of science in cybersecurity requires the candidate to have:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related domain recognized by MoHERI, Sultanate of Oman
• A minimum CGPA with Good score or equivalent in Bachelors in Computer Science or a related domain.
• A minimum CGPA of 65% or equivalent could be considered as eligible with a minimum of 2 years of work experience
• Have an IELTS score of minimum 6.00 or equivalent.

Students with bachelor degree from other majors must study and pass minimum of 4 bridging courses (12 credits) and maximum of 8 (24 credits) bridging courses in Computer Science recommended by the interview panel with a grade not less than C.

Program Objectives

The objectives of the Master of Science in Cybersecurity are to:

• Develop capability in the students to protect institutional computer systems and networks.
• Prepare students to apply, manage and observe cybersecurity technology to ensure the fortification of institutional Information Technology infrastructure.
• Inculcate skills in the students to be able to critically recognize, analyze and assess the critical and remedial security breaches and attacks.
• Integrate state of the art technology to solve critical issues in the field of Cybersecurity.
• Recognize, articulate, and analyse issues in Cybersecurity through latest state of the art tools and techniques applicable in the field.
• Rationally manage ethical issues emerging in practiced Cybersecurity undertakings.
• Communicate effectively cybersecurity related issues by reporting orally and in written.

Intended learning outcomes

• Demonstrate knowledge of best practices in cybersecurity management.
• Understand ethical challenges that confront a cybersecurity professional.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental and advanced concepts of operating systems, networks, and cloud computing.
• Demonstrate knowledge of cybersecurity regulatory environment and ethics.
• Mitigate and overcome the challenges evolved in Cyber attacks.
• Use techniques to guard the institutions security architecture and the data against attack and unlawful access.
• Analyse and evaluate networks, cybersecurity problems and apply theoretical principles of computer science and relevant disciplines to find appropriate solutions.
• Work independently and collaborate effectively in team.
• Communicate effectively, present and write professional reports.

For the Plan of Study Click the Link below:
Cybersecurity – Plan of Study

For Diploma in Computer Science

Graduation Requirements
To receive a Diploma in Computer Science, students must satisfactorily complete 60 credit hours that are described in the Program of Study with an overall minimum average of 65 percent.

University Requirements
Student working for a diploma in computer science must complete a total of 24 credit hours of general educational (university) requirements distributed as follows:

• 3 credits of Arabic: ARAB 101 (Academic Writing in Arabic)
• 3 credits of Social and Cultural Studies: SOCS 102(Omani Society)
• 9 credits of English communication skills: ENGL 101 (Basic Academic nglish I), ENGL 102C (English for Computer Science I), ENGL 203C (English or Computer Science II)
• 3 credits of computer literacy: CMPS 100B (Introduction to Technical omputing for the Sciences)
• 3 credits of Entrepreneurship: ENTR 200 (Entrepreneurship: Innovation nd Creativity)
• 3 credits of mathematics: MATH 199 (Calculus I)

College Requirements
A one, 3-Credit Hours course is chosen from any other major.

Program Requirements
The Program Requirements consists of eleven course encompassing 33 credit ours distributed (View study plan for further details).

For Bachelor of Computer Science Program

Graduation Requirements
To graduate with a BS in Computer Science, students must satisfactorily complete 120 credit hours of course work from the courses that are  described in the Program of Study with an overall minimum average of 65 percent, and a cumulative average of 70 percent in the major courses.

University Requirements
The BS general education requirements include the following 10 course comprising 30 credit hours:(View POS for further details).

College Requirements
This set consists of four courses comprising a minimum of 12 credit hours distributed as follows:

• One course in physical/natural sciences electives
• One course in social/humanities electives
• Two courses in any other majors

Program Requirements
This set consists of 25 courses comprising 78 credit hours

For Master of Science in Cybersecurity

There are two exit routes:

1. M.Sc in Cybersecurity (Industrial project)

8 core course (3 credits each) + 2 Major Electives (3 credit each) + Industrial Project (3 credits) = Total 33 credits

2. M.Sc in Cybersecurity (Comprehensive exam)

9 core course (3 credits each) + 2 Major Electives (3 credit each) + Comprehensive Exam (0 credit) = Total 33 credits

Click on the following link to view faculty & staff of Department of Computer Science.

Faculty & Staff of Department of Computer Science

Offices

After the successful completion of the new building which offered much more space, the department increased in size and acquired more teaching and learning resources. The new building increased the Computer Science department’s space to about three times. All the faculty members are provided with their own office rooms which are well equipped with all the modern facilities. The Department secretary is also provided with an office to increase productivity.

Classrooms and Laboratories

Classrooms: Common classroom building

The common classroom building contains numerous classrooms equipped with overhead projectors and a personal computer to serve the education needs of the DU community. The College of Arts and Applied Sciences and specifically the Department of Computer Science may use this facility as and when feasible.

These seven computer labs are specifically designated for the use of the Department of Computer Science in the College of Arts and Applied Sciences building. A dedicated room for students with disabilities has also been established in September 2021.

Computer Labs

Computer labs are equipped with 130 computers.

The College of Arts and Applied Science (CAAS) has initiated a renovation process of computer labs by upgrading the memory and replacing the existing hard disks with SSD which shall significantly enhance their performance. Furthermore, CAAS has ordered 16 new iMac computers for the immersive technology lab.

Computer Labs: CAAS 101C, CAAS 102C, CAAS 103C, CAAS 104C, CAAS 105C and 108C

These six computer labs are specifically designated for the use of the Department of Computer Science in the College of Arts and Applied Sciences building. A dedicated room for students with disabilities has also been established in September 2021.

Specialized computer labs: CAAS 107C, CAAS 131C, CAAS 106C

Three specialized computer labs are provided to cover the needs of Dhofar University students, staff as well as the local community to conduct the necessary training and extracurricular activities and avail of state-of-the-art hardware and software resources. These labs are:

• Networks and Cybersecurity Lab
• Immersive Technology Lab
• Robotics Lab

Software(s): Computer labs

Win7 professional operating system, office 2007/2010. The college has started upgrading the operating system as well as the software packages to Windows 10.

Others:

• Java JDK and NetBeans
• Visual Studio C++
• MySQL
• Ubuntu Linux
• Microsoft Visual FoxPro
• Microsoft Visual Basic
• Lazarus (FreePascal)
• Adobe Dreamweaver
• Adobe Flash Professional
• Microsoft Office
• Xampp

Hardware(s): Computer labs

Intel Core i5 CPU with 3.3GHZ, 4GB RAM, 500GB/1TB HD, and DVD/R

Graduates of the Computer Science program will have many career choices spanning a wide range of fields. Most notable are: computing and communication industries, investment banks and financial institutions, global defense and aerospace, management and computing consultancies, research laboratories, media industries, data science, artificial intelligence (AI), and cybersecurity sectors. Graduates will have employment opportunities in almost any enterprise as system analysts and designers, trainers, instructors, system engineers, programmers, database developers and managers, network managers, and computer science consultants. The continuing expansion of the use of computers in commercial and financial operations means employment opportunities in diverse industries.

Emerging Fields:

Data Science:

• Data Analysts, Data Engineers, and Data Scientists
• Business Intelligence Analysts
• Machine Learning Engineers working on predictive analytics
• Big Data Specialists managing large-scale data infrastructures (e.g., Hadoop, Spark)
• Data Visualization Experts who turn complex data into actionable insights

Artificial Intelligence (AI):

• AI Engineers developing intelligent systems for automation and decision-making
• Natural Language Processing (NLP) Specialists working with chatbots, virtual assistants, and language models
• Computer Vision Engineers focusing on image recognition, facial recognition, and AR/VR applications
• Robotics Engineers designing AI-powered robots and autonomous systems
• AI Ethics Consultants focusing on responsible and fair AI development

Cybersecurity:

• Security Analysts monitoring and detecting cyber threats
• Ethical Hackers (Penetration Testers) identifying system vulnerabilities
• Cybersecurity Architects designing secure networks and infrastructures
• Information Security Officers (CISO) managing enterprise security strategies
• Incident Response Specialists leading investigations and recovery from cyberattacks
• Threat Intelligence Analysts tracking emerging security threats

Graduates can also explore innovative fields such as the gaming industry, virtual reality, multimedia applications, computer animations, internet support and development, as well as many other related industries. With the rise of AI-driven solutions and cybersecurity challenges, computer science professionals are at the forefront of shaping future technologies and ensuring digital safety across sectors.