The University of Maryland Department of Computer Science should offer CMSC412: Operating Systems in the Fall 2026 semester. 

 Most universities require their computer science undergraduates to take Operating Systems (OS). Despite how broad the field is, employers and other universities agree the class is essential for a complete understanding of computer science. Even for students who pursue careers far from low-level systems, OS is an opportunity for personal growth and new critical thinking skills that other classes cannot replicate.

 Not offering the class is even worse than not requiring it and threatens the reputation of UMD’s Computer Science program. Lost rigor and credibility will jeopardize future research funding and attract a worse applicant pool.

 We understand that many factors are considered before making these decisions, including faculty unavailability. But a professor would not need to prepare the course from scratch. At least three current CS professors have taught the class at other universities, which means, at the very least, there are syllabi and lecture materials to use next semester.

 This is not the case for CMSC389A, a new class on generative AI that the Department is offering. What will require months of preparation will yield far fewer benefits to students than CMSC412. Where AI replaces a traditional software engineering role, graduates may need to debug complex issues and make systems-level architectural decisions earlier in their career, without many years of practice writing code. Even if the knowledge is not used at the entry-level, learning how files are cached, stored and manipulated helps a data scientist navigate large datasets, a computational biologist understand how to write performance optimizations, and a cybersecurity expert protect applications against low-level vulnerabilities. Some parts of the tech industry are impossible to break into at all without solid systems knowledge, making UMD graduates weaker applicants. What we need in our college education is more coding, not less, to be ready for modern SWE. 

 As students of the UMD Computer Science program, we have no alternative. For those of us entering our last semester and moving into industry, we will permanently lose our chance at a formal education in operating systems. We cannot all take ENEE447, the only other class on operating systems; that is only open to Computer Engineering students until the first day of classes. And self-studying the course is all but impossible for most of us, especially without receiving academic credit for our work. CMSC412 is the only way to ensure for us the depth of knowledge, the personal growth, and the rigor that is expected of us in our future. 

 Sign this petition to tell the Department of Computer Science: your students would strongly support and appreciate your offering CMSC412 next fall.