Undergraduate FAQs

You can appeal for "credit overload" to the college's academic advising office. 

You first need to be admitted to the university and express an interest in the major. The admissions department then decides whether to admit you directly into the major—usually, this requires that you do well in high school precalculus as well as meeting the general requirements for admission to the university. There are also limited places for students admitted to other majors to join the CS major after they arrive on campus.

UMass has a standard list of AP equivalencies that you should check.

You can check your grade on SPIRE once it is available. Alternatively, call the New Students Program for your score, and you should talk to the x department about what course would be appropriate for you to start in.

All courses from CNS majors, which include:

• Animal Science
•  Astronomy
• Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Biology
• Building and Construction Technology
• Chemistry
• Earth Systems
• Environmental Science
• Food Science
• Geography
• Geology
• Mathematics and Statistics
• Microbiology
• Natural Resources Conservation
• Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences
• Physics
• Pre-Veterinary Science
• Psychology
• Sustainable Food and Farming (BS)
• Sustainable Horticulture (BS)
• Turfgrass Science and Management

College of Information and Computer Sciences

ALL COURSES from the College of Information and Computer Sciences.

CNS-comparable 5-College majors

Courses from CNS-comparable 5-College majors count (e.g., CHEM @SMI).

Individual Courses

Additionally, these specific individual classes from majors outside of CNS, CICS also count.

• ANTHRO 103 Human Origins and Variation
• ANTHRO 281 Research Methods Anthropology
• ANTHRO 317 Primate Behavior
• CE-ENGIN 240 Statics
• CHEM-ENG 120 Fundamentals
• CHEM-ENG 290B Chem Eng Princp/Biological Syst
• E&C-ENG 211 Circuit Analysis I
• E&C-ENG 212 Circuit Analysis II
• E&C-ENG 214 Active Net I
• E&C-ENG 221 Int Dig & Comp Sys
• E&C-ENG 222 Microprocessor Lab
• E&C-ENG 242 Data Structures & Algorithms
• E&C-ENG 357 Field Analysis I
• E&C-ENG 358 Field Analysis II
• E&C-ENG 361 Fund of Elec Engr
• ECON@SMI 190 Intro to Statistics & Econometrics
• ECON 309 Game Theory
• ECON 452 Econometrics
• EDUC 276 Erroneous Beliefs
• EDUC 517 Intro Comp Use Tchng
• EDUC 527 Intro Ed Uses of Computers
• ENGIN 104E Intro To Engr B
• ENGIN 191A Seminar
• ENGIN 191E Sem-First Year Prog
• ENGIN 191X S-C++ Prog Engineers
• ENVIRDES 597A ST-Computers In Environmental Design
• ESS@SMI 150 Nutrition and Health
• EXERSCI 130 Intro To Excsci
• EXERSCI 210 Hum Perf & Nutrition
• EXERSCI 305 Kinesiology
• EXERSCI 478 Exercise Physiology
• FINOPMGT 422 Financial Engineering
• FINOPMGT 497H ST-Advanced Topics in Finance
• KIN 100 Introduction to Kinesiology
• KIN 110 Human Performance & Nutrition
• KIN 430 Biomechanics
• KIN 470 Exercise Physiology
• LING 201 Intro to Linguistic Theory
• LOGC@SMI 100 Valid & Invalid Reasoning
• M&I-ENG 201 Intro Matl Science
• M&I-ENG 210 Statics
• M&I-ENG 211 Strength Of Material
• M&I-ENG 230 Thermodynamics I
• M&I-ENG 310 Dynamics
• M&I-ENG 460 Human Factrs Engin I
• MUSIC 110 Fundamentals of Theory
• NUTRITN 130 Nutr For Hlth Lfstyl
• NUTRITN 140 Nutrition, Weight & Fitness
• NUTRITN 230 Basic Nutrition
• OIM 240 Business Data Analysis
• OIM 350 Business Intelligence and Analytics
• OIM 454 Data Mining in Business
• PHIL 110 Introduction To Logic
• PHIL 511 Modal Logic
• PHIL 513 Math Logic I
• PHIL@MNT 210 Logical Thought
• PUBHLTH 160 My Body, My Health
• PUBHLTH 223 Intro to Biostatistics for Public Health
• PUBHLTH 460 Telling Stories with Data: Statistics, Modeling, and Data Visualization
• PUBHLTH 540 Intro Biostatistics
• RES-ECON 211 Intro Statistics for the Life Sciences
• RES-ECON 212 Intro Stats/Soc Sci
• SOCIOL 212 Elem Statistics
• SOCIOL 313 Survey Design and Analysis
• UWW 222 Introduction to Body & Brain
• UWW 240 Intro To Ecology

Yes, we have a short list of colleges on our Transfer Credit Evaluation (TCE) webpage. If there is a course you have taken or a university or college that is not listed, follow the TCE Process to have courses reviewed. See a question below on just how many courses you can transfer in. Residency requirements vary by program.

We do not have a specific track in gaming; however, a number of our students have gone on to work in the gaming industry. Gaming is a broad collection of CS topics, and fortunately, we do offer the right courses to cover them. You should complete the set using the General Computer Science track. Specifically, we suggest: CS320 Software Engineering, CS325 Human-Computer Interaction, CS373 Computer Graphics, CS377 Operating Systems, CS383 Artificial Intelligence, CS453 Computer Networking, and CS529 Software Eng Project Management. Also Physics 151 and 152 as your lab science requirement. There are usually other relevant courses offered as well. We've also recently offered CS491IP Programming the iPhone and iPad, and have had courses in Flash and multimedia topics. We also suggest minoring in Art (contact  Prof Galvis-Assmus) or at least taking Art Dept courses in digital graphic design.  

Visit this link for recommended laptop specifications as well as hardware and software notes.

There is no specific mathematics requirement for the computer science minor, but all the courses require R1 proficiency (such as MATH 104). It's true that COMPSCI 240 and 250 require MATH 132 as prerequisite. MATH 131 and MATH 132 are thus recommended, but students without those math courses can still complete the minor by taking other "core" CS courses COMPSCI 220 and COMPSCI 230.

It used to be 10 classes, but we revised the program. If you are in the old program, in almost all cases, it's strictly easier to complete the 5-course minor.

Yes and No. You may transfer in equivalent courses for CICS 160 or 210 taken at another university. But the three upper-level (200+) courses of a minor must be courses taken in our department. Classes taken at the Five Colleges do not count towards this residency requirement.

For the BS-CS, 5 of your 8 electives must be taken at UMass Amherst. Five College and study abroad courses do not count toward this 5-course residency requirement but may count toward the 3 remaining electives.

Two Lab Science Courses (8 credits)

Satisfy laboratory science requirement by taking two majors-level science courses in the College of Natural Sciences* that includes a lab component (8 total credits). See your Academic Requirements Report (ARR) for specific program requirements. Students select two courses from the following list---mixing departments is acceptable:

• CHEM 111 or 121 General Chem - Science Majors
• CHEM 112 General Chem - Science Majors or 122 General Chemistry
• GEOL 101 The Earth (with lab) or GEOL 103 Oceanography and GEOL 131 Experiencing Geology (lab) or GEOL 105 The Dynamic Earth and GEOL 131 (lab)**
• PHYSICS 151 General Physics I or PHYSICS 181 Physics I - Mechanics
• PHYSICS 152 General Physics II or PHYSICS 182 Physics II - Electricity and Magnetism
• Options in Biology for the CS Lab Science Requirement

**GEO-SCI 103/131 and GEO-SCI 105/131 require an ARR Exception. In general, if your grades are lower in courses that need an ARR Fix than in other courses for this requirement, we will not update your ARR.  We will fix your ARR, and you do not need to tell us. Only email upd@cs.umass.edu if you do not want to use these courses.

*The College of Information and Computer Sciences offers the following course that may be used as one of the CS Lab Science courses:

• CICS 256 (formerly 290M) Make: A Hands-on Introduction to Physical Computing, 4 cr

The course is currently open to first-year/sophomore BS-CS Majors only (juniors may be considered if available seats). The ARR does not list the course as an option. Therefore, an ARR Exception will be completed closer to graduation. We will fix your ARR, and you do not need to tell us. Only email upd@cs.umass.edu if you do not want to use this course.

Yes. For example, you can take Chem 111 (4cr) and Physics 151 (3cr) and Physics153 Lab (1cr) for a total of 8 credits. See details approved courses for the CS Lab Science Requirement.

There are only certain majors allowed to enroll in BIOL 151/152 and unfortunately, CS is not one of them.  The CS Curriculum and Undergraduate Program Committees allows a Biology Variance for students who entered the major after May 2014. While Biology courses are not required for the CS Lab Science Requirement, we allow options to use BIOL 151, 152, and 153.

Students must take BIOL 151, 152, and 153 (lab) for a total of 9 credits, to satisfy two CS Lab Science courses. Students may email upd@cs.umass.edu to request an ARR fix after completing all three courses, although it is not necessary. We look for these courses when the CS Lab Science Requirement is not satisfied and the ARR will be fixed when clearing students for graduation.

Science requirements for the BS degree must be 4 credit courses that  (1) count toward major requirements in the sponsoring department and (2) include a laboratory component. Students normally select two courses from this list—mixing departments is acceptable. Petitions for variances in the lab science requirement require the student to submit documentation to the UPD (upd@cs.umass.edu) that demonstrates that the alternate course meets the lab science requirement.

Yes.

No. You must take either COMPSCI 320 or 326 here at UMass Amherst to satisfy the IE requirement.

No. All primary CS Majors must take either COMPSCI 320 or 326 to satisfy the IE Requirement.  Double majors who want to use another dep

Credited internships are available with select industry partners only. See the CICS Careers Guide to Internships for more information.

A good first step in finding out about graduate school in computer science is to visit the new website on undergraduate research and graduate school for students, mentors, and advisors. After reviewing this site, you should make an appointment with your advisor for guidance on how to apply and which graduate schools would be suitable for you.