The recently released CS2023 Curriculum Guidelines propose a “CS Core” of topics that any student with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science must know. While the process of generating CS2023 included multiple rounds of feedback from the CS community, the end result is necessarily the result of compromise and may not meet the needs of all institutions. In particular, the size of the CS Core, as measured in instructional time or courses, may not be consistent with all programs. Small programs with limited faculty, liberal arts programs wishing to ensure space for academic exploration, or departments wanting to explore less traditional curricular structures may find a large CS Core limiting. The 2024 report “Piecing Together the Next 15 Years of Computing Education” edited by Decker and Weiss discusses the challenges of our increasingly “overstuffed curricula” and the barriers this can erect against broadening participation in computing.

This BoF will start from the position that there is an interest in identifying a CS Microkernel – a small set of the most essential CS skills and concepts that all programs should cover. We will explore reasons CS educators may be interested in a CS Microkernel, such as identifying the central CS content for a CS+X major or for a CS minor, or aiding transfer students. We will then discuss what processes and principles we might follow to identify the Microkernel content.

We intend for this BoF to serve as a starting point for a more extended project exploring this topic.