ABSTRACT
An undergraduate computing curriculum should provide appropriate background for students seeking careers in the field–either in graduate school or in industry. A curriculum must be manageable; it must fit reasonably within a program that allows students to graduate in a specified length of time. As computer science has grown, the number of topics required in the undergraduate curriculum has grown as well. Many computing faculty could identify worthwhile topics that could extend an undergraduate curriculum to 6 or more years. If all possible topics cannot be covered, choices must be made, curriculum must reflect pragmatic constraints and compromise, and changes in the size of a curriculum must reflect adjustments of priorities within the overall structure of school and its culture. In considering how to address curricular and course bloat, some approaches may be suggested by considering the process a team might follow for submitting a paper to a professional conference that places length limits and other constraints upon submissions.
