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  Dr. Jim McQuillan, Professor of Computer Science

  School of Computer Sciences, Western Illinois University.







Recent teaching awards:

• 2020-2021 College of Business and Technology faculty award for Excellence in Teaching
• 2018-2019 School of Computer Sciences Graduate Teacher of the Year
• 2017-2018 School of Computer Sciences Undergraduate Teacher of the Year
• 2017-2018 School of Computer Sciences Graduate Teacher of the Year

Research interests:

• combinatorics, finite geometries, Desargues configurations, graph labellings, hyperovals, cryptography, codes, designs
• algorithms, satisfiability of boolean expressions, complexity theory

Book:

Aiden A. Bruen, Mario A. Forcinito, James M. McQuillan, Cryptography, Information Theory, and Error-Correction: A Handbook for the 21st Century, Second Edition, July 2021, John Wiley & Sons.     • Hardcover available July 21, 2021.     • eBook available October 8, 2021. Authors' website for the book: https://cryptohandbook.info Wiley's website for the book. A review of the book: Mathematical Reviews MR4484976, MathSciNet, AMS, 2023 (The link will display a review if you have access to Mathematical Reviews.) A review of the book: MAA review by Bill Satzer, Mathematical Association of America (MAA) Book Reviews, December 31, 2023.

ISAS 2015 conference:

• I was the Vice President (organizer) for the 2015 Annual Meeting conference of the Illinois State Academy of Science (ISAS), April 10-11, 2015, at Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL.
  There were 106 posters and 69 oral presentations. There were 240 registrants for this conference.
  The Keynote Address was given by Professor C. Victor Jongeneel, on "Biology Meets Big Data: High-Throughput Computing for Genomics and Beyond".

CS Faculty and Staff Resources



WIU Named Least Expensive Public University to Attend in Illinois, November 20, 2023.

Prospective new student to the School of Computer Sciences at WIU? Consider applying for a scholarship or an award!

• Prospective undergraduate students:    Freshman and Transfer Scholarships - School of Computer Sciences
          Cybersecurity Freshman or Transfer Scholarship
          Women in Computing Scholarship
          School of Computer Scences Freshman or Transfer Scholarship
          United States Veterans or Military Personnel Entrance Award - School of Computer Sciences
• International Graduate Student Scholarship:
          International Graduate Student Scholarship.

Some job-related articles:

• Projections Point to Salary Increases for Class of 2024 Bachelor's Grads, January 30, 2024, by Kevin Gray.
  "Like last year, computer sciences majors are expected to be second on the top-paid majors list."
  See Figure 1 and Figure 2 from that article.


• Salaries Expected to Climb for Class of 2023 Master's Grads, Feb. 17, 2023, by Kevin Gray.
  "... the demand for computer sciences majors is highest among the reported master's degree majors ..."


• Computer Sciences, Engineering Top-Paid Categories for Class of 2021 Master's Grads, Aug. 8, 2022, by Kevin Gray.
  "With an average starting salary of $102,782, computer sciences majors were the only group of Class of 2021 master's majors to top the $100,000 mark."


• Computer Science Grads Projected to be Top-Paid Major, by Mimi Collins, January 21, 2022.
  "Class of 2022 bachelor's graduates earning degrees in the computer sciences are expected to command top dollar, according to results of NACE's Winter 2022 Salary Survey."


• Average salary for Master's Level Computer Science Grads Nears $100,000, by Kevin Gray, September 27, 2021.
  "Class of 2020 graduates in the computer and information sciences discipline received the highest average starting salaries at the advanced degree levels, according to results of NACE's Summer 2021 Salary Survey report."


• U.S. has almost 500,000 job openings in cybersecurity, by Khristopher J. Brooks, May 21, 2021.


• Cybersecurity spending to hit $150 billion this year, by Lance Whitney, May 17, 2021.


• Computer Sciences, Business the Top-Paid Class of 2019 Majors at Advanced-Degree Levels, by NACE Staff, September 21, 2020.
  "Among Class of 2019 graduates earning advanced degrees, computer and information sciences majors have the highest average starting salary at the master's-degree level, ...
  Among Class of 2019 master's graduates, computer and information sciences majors earn salaries that average $95,711."


• Average Salary for Class of 2019 Up Almost 6 Percent Over Class of 2018's, by NACE Staff, September 4, 2020.
  "At $76,986, the overall average starting salary for Class of 2019 computer and information sciences majors is 7.8 percent higher than last year's average ...".
  "... for the fourth consecutive year, the average starting salary for computer and information sciences tops those of all other disciplines."


• Cybersecurity Spending To Reach $123B in 2020, by Louis Columbus, August 9, 2020, Forbes.com.


• Computer Science Grads Projected to be Top-Paid in Major, by NACE Staff, March 9, 2020. "Computer science majors are projected to have the highest starting salary among Class of 2020 graduates earning bachelor's degrees in the computer sciences discipline, according to NACE's Winter 2020 Salary Survey."


• MIS Projected to be Top-Paid Business Major by NACE Staff, Febrary 24, 2020. "Management information systems majors are projected to have the highest starting salary among Class of 2020 business graduates earning bachelor's degrees, according to NACE's Winter 2020 Salary Survey."

WIU Library

• Interlibrary loan
• ACM Digital Library and other databases from the WIU Library.

Campus maps

Campus Recreation





Jim McQuillan
School of Computer Sciences
447 Stipes Hall
Western Illinois University
jm-mcquillan [AT] wiu [DOT] edu

School of Computer Sciences phone: 309-298-1452