Computing Science & Business Administration
Technology is transforming how organizations operate, make decisions, and serve their customers. The Computing Science and Business Administration (CS&BA) program brings together computing and business education in an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science offered jointly by the Department of Mathematics and Computing Science and the Sobey School of Business.
Why study Computing Science and Business Administration (CS&BA)?
Technology decisions are business decisions. Organizations need people who understand what a system should do, how much it will cost, whether it will deliver value, and whether people will actually use it. These questions bring together computing science and business administration. In this program, you will learn to write software, work with data, and understand computer systems, while also learning how organizations manage finances, make investments, reach customers, and plan for the future. The program is well suited to students who are interested in technology and want to understand how it is developed, managed, and used to solve real business problems.
Where Computing meets Business
Consider how a technology-based solution develops from an initial idea into something an organization uses. At every stage, technical and business questions go hand in hand.
Is this worth doing? Business Finance I (FINA 2360) and Planning and Control (ACCT 3332) help you understand costs, investments, and business performance. Introduction to Data Analytics (CSCI 2227) teaches you how to use data to support these decisions.
What exactly are we building? Systems Analysis and Design (MISA 4425) helps you understand business needs and translate them into system requirements, while Software Engineering (CSCI 3428) teaches you how to design and develop software solutions.
How is the data organized and used? Database Systems (CSCI 3461) and Big Data Management and Visualization (CSCI 4480) teach you how to store, manage, and make sense of data. Introductory Financial Accounting (ACCT 2241) shows how organizations record and organize financial information.
Will the system perform reliably and securely? Algorithm Analysis (CSCI 4452), Operating Systems (CSCI 3431), and Systems Security (CSCI 4301) provide the technical foundations for building efficient, reliable, and secure systems. Applied Information Systems (MISA 2325) helps you understand how organizations manage information technology and its associated risks.
Will people actually use it? Human Computer Interaction (CSCI 3475) teaches you how to design technology that is useful and easy to use. Introduction to Marketing (MKTG 2270) helps you understand customers and their needs, while Organizational Behaviour (MGMT 2382) explores how people work together within organizations.
Did it achieve its goals, and what comes next? Strategic Management (MGMT 4489) helps you understand how organizations evaluate decisions and plan for the future. Introduction to Machine Learning (CSCI 3470) introduces techniques for discovering patterns in data that can support better decisions.
The combination of computing and business courses helps you connect technical knowledge with business decisions, from identifying a need and developing a solution to evaluating its impact. As technologies and business practices evolve, this foundation prepares you to adapt, work across disciplines, and contribute to how organizations use technology.
Course codes refer to courses listed in the Saint Mary's University Academic Calendar.
The Saint Mary's approach
One degree, four years, entered directly
At Saint Mary's, you can study computing science and business administration within a single four-year Bachelor of Science program. Offered jointly by the Department of Mathematics and Computing Science and the Sobey School of Business, the program brings both disciplines together from the beginning of your university studies.
- 33 credit hours of Computing Science
- 39 credit hours of Business courses from the Sobey School
- A foundation in mathematics, statistics and economics
- Opportunities for co-operative education, subject to eligibility requirements
Two faculties, and known in both
First-year courses average approximately 60 students. In upper years, most computing classes hold between ten and twenty. You will take those courses with largely the same group of students across several years, and you will come to know the faculty of the department directly. You will also be a familiar face in the Sobey School rather than an anonymous transfer from Science.
That dual membership is the quiet advantage of the program. You get two sets of professors, two career networks and two sets of competitions, without having to apply twice or study for five years.
- 10 to 20 students in a typical upper-year computing class
- Approximately 60 students in an average first-year class
Taught by award-winning teachers and an internationally accredited business school
Three members of the Department of Mathematics and Computing Science have received the Father Stewart Medal, Saint Mary's recognition for excellence in teaching. The same faculty maintain active research programs in machine learning, bioinformatics, complex systems, numerical analysis, computer vision, security and human-computer interaction, and they teach the introductory courses as well as the advanced ones.
The Sobey School of Business has held AACSB accreditation since 2003, a standard met by fewer than six per cent of business schools worldwide. It is one of Canada's oldest and largest business schools, and your business courses are taught within it rather than adapted for science students.
- Courses are taught by faculty members in both faculties.
- Ethics modules are being embedded within technical courses, so that privacy, bias and responsible use of AI are treated as part of the engineering work.
- Business courses carry the same accreditation as those taken by Bachelor of Commerce students.
Experiential learning
Students have opportunities to work on real-world projects with external clients and community partners as part of their coursework. For example, in Systems Analysis and Design (MISA 4425), student teams have worked with business organizations to analyze their needs and design proposed systems. In Software Engineering (CSCI 3428), students have developed software solutions for external clients, gaining experience across the software development lifecycle. Past community partners have included Autism Nova Scotia and Northwood.
Through the Saint Mary's Entrepreneurial Centre, students can take on paid project work addressing IT challenges for local businesses. Co-operative education is available if progression requirements are met, and our students take part in both programming hackathons and business case competitions, which most students only ever do one of.
- Paid project work with local organisations through the Entrepreneurial Centre.
- Co-operative education. Paid work terms alternating with study. Talk to the Co-op office early, as work terms affect your course sequence.
- Two kinds of competition. Programming hackathons and business case competitions.
- Study abroad and exchange through Saint Mary's international partnerships.
Projects our students have worked on
Every year our students build things for real partners. Recent examples:
Citco Group, global fund administration: a generative AI tool that scrapes documents so fund accountants find information faster.
Green Power Labs: AI for energy management, from regional solar mapping to site-level integration.
SimplyCast: mining usage data to redesign interfaces and make the product easier to learn.
Connect Women's Centres: interactive dashboards profiling women and girls in rural Nova Scotia.
Missing Link Technologies: applied research linking data centre infrastructure to AI.
Students have also built fraud detection for a global communications company, a video consultation and e-commerce system for healthcare, and an interface for a music platform connecting DJs and club patrons. Partners vary by term.
Sample courses offered
From your first year, you will study both computing science and business administration, building technical and business knowledge alongside one another. As you progress, you can explore areas that interest you, from artificial intelligence and data analytics to business management and strategy.
Computing core
Develop the programming, problem-solving and technical skills needed to understand and build computing systems.
- CSCI 1226 Introduction to Computing Science and Programming
- CSCI 1228 Advanced Computer Programming and Problem Solving
- CSCI 2327 Digital Logic and Computer Architecture
- CSCI 2341 Data Structures and Algorithms I
- CSCI 2355 Internet Technologies and Web Programming, or CSCI 2356 Mobile App Development
Explore Computing Further
Choose from a range of computing electives to pursue your interests and deepen your technical knowledge. Examples include:
- CSCI 2227 Introduction to Data Analytics
- CSCI 3461 Database Systems
- CSCI 3470 Introduction to Machine Learning
- CSCI 3475 Human Computer Interaction
- CSCI 3482 Artificial Intelligence
- CSCI 4301 Systems Security
- CSCI 4480 Big Data Management and Visualization
Connecting Computing and Business
Learn how organizations use technology to address business needs, improve operations and develop information systems.
- MISA 2325 Applied Information Systems
- MISA 4425 Systems Analysis and Design
Business and Management
Understand how organizations operate, manage people, reach customers and make business decisions.
- MGMT 1281 Introduction to Business Management
- ACCT 2241 Introductory Financial Accounting
- MKTG 2270 Introduction to Marketing
- MGMT 2382 Introduction to Organizational Behaviour
- MGMT 2385 Introduction to Human Resource Management
Finance and Business Strategy
Learn how organizations manage financial resources, evaluate investments, measure performance and plan for the future.
- FINA 2360 Business Finance I
- ACCT 3332 Planning and Control
- MGMT 4489 Strategic Management
Course offerings vary by term. The Academic Calendar is the authoritative source for course descriptions, prerequisites and availability, and sets out the full requirements for the program. Students should consult a Program Advisor or Science Advisor when planning their sequence of courses.
Future career opportunities
Software tools keep getting better at producing code. Deciding what should be built, what it will cost, whether it will pay for itself and whether anyone will adopt it remains human work, and it needs someone who understands both sides. Halifax supports a working technology sector across financial services, ocean technology, health data, insurance, logistics and the public sector, and our students meet those employers before they graduate through co-op and applied projects. Example roles include:
- Product manager or technical product owner
- Business or systems analyst
- IT project and programme manager
- Data analyst or business intelligence developer
- Solutions architect or technical consultant
- Software developer in finance, insurance or logistics
- Information security and risk roles
- IT consultant
- Founder, or early employee at a start-up
Most of these roles are difficult to enter from a purely technical degree or a purely commercial one, which is the point of taking both.
What our students are saying
"When I first started studying at SMU, I knew I wanted to go into computer science, but I wasn't sure what my minor or secondary study should be. I saw myself working in a business rather than going into research after graduation, which is why I'm glad SMU offers the Computing Science and Business Administration program. It provided a baseline understanding of how a business operates, covering a wide range of commerce topics, such as finance, accounting, management, and marketing. This understanding made it much easier to develop coding or tech solutions for these fields."
Emmet Dixon, BSc Computing Science and Business Administration, Spring 2025