Becoming a Computer Science Major

Any student may become a Computer Science pre-major by filling out the appropriate form provided by the Registrar. It is advisable to do this early to ensure receiving departmental newsletters and staying advised of any changes which may be made in degree requirements. Declaration of a major will also enable participation in department affairs such as the Student Advisory Committee (SAC).

In order to become a full major, a student must complete the courses required of pre-majors and apply for full major status. An application should be filled out at the department office before the end of the spring quarter of the year of application, whether or not the student intends to take additional required classes during the summer quarter. A student may not preregister for any upper-division (300 or higher) classes in Computer Science without first being admitted to full major status. Applications for admission are reviewed between June and September. The department determines how many new majors will be admitted each year, based upon laboratory facilities, computer resources, and available faculty. To be considered for admission to full major status, a student must have:

A minimum grade of C- in all of the following classes or their equivalents:
- Mathematics 111, 112, 113
- Computer Science 201, 202
- Physics 221, 222
- English Writing
A grade of CR in CS 110 (a credit/no-credit class).
A cumulative grade point average of 2.25 or higher. (Note that much higher grades in the required classes listed above are required. See the next paragraph for details.)

Applicants for the CS major are ranked according to their composite grade point averages in the required classes listed above, and the students with the best composite scores are admitted. The lowest student on the list to be admitted had a score of 3.2 in 1993, a score of 3.4 in 1994, and a score of 3.3 in 1995. Keep this in mind when estimating your chances for admission.

All classes used in the calculation must be taken for letter grades. Credit/no-credit grades are not acceptable, except in CS 110. Furthermore, each class may be repeated only once. If a class is repeated, only the second grade received is used. If a student registers for a class and later withdraws, resulting in a grade of W, or if a student receives a grade of I or V, that is considered to be one of the two allowable times to register for it.

If credit is granted for any of the above classes based on advanced placement test scores or courses taken at other schools, grades are assigned for use in the calculation. Check with the departmental Academic Counselor for details.

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