On-Campus Application to the Informatics Major
Interested applicants: Please note the Fall 2025 Informatics on-campus application revision at the bottom of this page.
Applying to the Informatics Major
Informatics is one of the majors on campus that requires an application, which means that interested students must submit an application in order to join the major. The application will ask for a short essay, an informal transcript that can be easily generated by SPIRE, and some basic information such as GPA. Interested students may apply at any time, and applications received by the following due dates are guaranteed for consideration that semester. Reapplications are welcome.
In addition to other considerations, the minimum requirements for acceptance* are:
- A grade of C or better in INFO 150 (or COMPSCI 240, COMPSCI 250, MATH 300, MATH 455, or STAT 315/515)
- A grade of C or better in CICS 110 (or COMPSCI 121 or INFO 190S), CICS 160 (or COMPSCI 186), or CICS 210 (or COMPSCI 187)
- The grade of the highest level programming course in this list will be reviewed. For example, if a student has completed both CICS 110 and CICS 160, the grade for CICS 160 will be reviewed.
- A cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher
*Students with special situations and those who anticipate fulfilling these minimum requirements within a reasonable time frame (typically one semester) may be offered a contract which offers enrollment in the major after specific conditions have been met.
INFORMATICS APPLICATION FORM
Deadlines:
- Applications received by Dec. 15 will be considered for the following Spring semester admissions to the major.*
- Applications received by May 15 will be considered for the following Fall semester admissions to the major.
*Applications received two weeks before class registration begins will be eligible for a preliminary review to identify those students immediately eligible for acceptance so they can have access to advising support before registration, either via peer advisors or faculty/staff advisors. The minimum requirements for this preliminary review are completion of CICS 110 and INFO 150 or equivalent and the GPA requirements listed above; students with these courses in progress or GPA below the required threshold are not eligible for the preliminary review.
Timeline:
Applications are processed at the end of each semester. This means students who apply for Spring admission can expect to receive a decision sometime in January and students who apply for Fall admission can expect to receive a decision sometime in June.
Ways to Learn More About Informatics
There are several ways to learn what informatics is all about. Interested students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of at least one of these opportunities before submitting an application.
- Speak to a peer advisor
- Visit the CICS advising office
- Attend an info session (these are typically held during the first week of each semester)
- Attend the Fall Majors Fair
- Take an Informatics required class (INFO 101, CICS 110, INFO 203 are all places to learn more about Informatics)
Informatics On-Campus Application Revision – Effective Fall 2025
Informatics Application Deadlines
Effective Fall 2025, on-campus applications to the Informatics major will adhere to the following schedule. Applications submitted during a given semester will be considered for admission in the following semester. For example, applications submitted in Fall 2025 will be reviewed for admission in Spring 2026. Late applications will not be accepted but may be considered for the next enrollment cycle.
The existing deadline of May 15, 2025, for Fall 2025 admission will remain unchanged.
Application Cycle | Application | Application Deadline | Application Confirmation Period | Applicants sent final decisions |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | September 20 | October 1 | Mid-to-late October | Early-to-mid January |
Spring | February 13 | March 1 | Mid-to-late March | Early-to-mid |
Preliminary Review Discontinued
The pre-registration review will no longer be supported. Starting Fall 2025, there will only be one deadline per application cycle, as summarized above.
Grade Requirements for Informatics Coursework
On-campus applicants who have completed courses that count toward the Informatics major requirements (beyond the two minimum course requirements described below) are expected to earn a grade of C or higher in all such courses, and these courses will be evaluated as part of the holistic admission process. Any in-progress grades will be reviewed at the end of the semester/application cycle. For repeated courses, only the most recent grade will be considered.
If a course was taken as an elective pass/fail, the underlying letter grade will be used in the evaluation. Please note that students are not required to revoke any elective P grades into letter grades for the application process. However, once students are admitted into the major, they must revoke any elective P grades to officially change their major to Informatics in SPIRE. This is because only letter grades can be used to fulfill Informatics major requirements.
Contract conditions
Students in special circumstances may be offered a contract for enrollment in the major, provided specific conditions are met:
Effective Fall 2025, transfer students who meet the minimum requirements through courses taken outside UMass Amherst.
Fourth Semester Policy
The Informatics program expects students to join the Informatics major by the end of their 4th full-time semester to be able to complete the Informatics degree within the 10-semester statute of limitations defined in Section III.J of the UMass Amherst Academic Regulations document. Students who seek admission to Informatics in their 5th full-time semester or later are required to have their academic plan reviewed by the CICS Director of Academic Advising and Student Success as part of the holistic review process to determine if an exception to the 4th-semester rule is appropriate given progress towards completing Informatics major requirements.
Computer Science to Informatics Admission
Current Computer Science majors may change to the Informatics major without submitting an application if they meet the following criteria:
- A grade of C or better in INFO 150 (or COMPSCI 240, COMPSCI 250, MATH 300, MATH 455, or STAT 315/515)
- A grade of C or better in CICS 110 (or COMPSCI 121 or INFO 190S), CICS 160 (or COMPSCI 186), or CICS 210 (or COMPSCI 187)
- The grade of the highest level programming course in this list will be reviewed. For example, if a student has completed both CICS 110 and CICS 160, the grade for CICS 160 will be reviewed.
- A cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
- In addition, students are required to discuss this change with a CICS advisor so that any concerns about the time to complete the degree can be addressed.
After fulfilling the criteria, students can complete the CICS Program Change Form (not the Informatics application form). Students who make this change to Informatics will follow the program requirements in force during the semester that their major change to Informatics is updated in SPIRE.