Declaring the Interdisciplinary Major and Application Process
In recent years, there has been a rapid growth in demand for computing classes at UVA and other universities. In the last few years, the department has been able to accept all qualified students who wanted to declare the interdisciplinary major. But students must complete our application process, just in case demand in a given year was to increase beyond our capacity to serve our majors.
In the event that resources are inadequate to satisfy student interest in a given year, a selective admissions process would be used to evaluate applications to declare the Interdisciplinary BA in CS. The primary (but not only) criterion for admission would be evidence that a student will be able to complete our computing curriculum in a timely manner. (This includes grades in completed CS coursework.) Secondary criteria reflect the mission, values and goals of both the University as a whole and the Department in particular, including our goal to develop graduates who will become effective contributors, collaborators, innovators, or leaders in the profession and society.
Applications are completed in the spring semester (normally the student’s fourth semester). Students complete an online application that typically is available in January. Information about the process and deadlines is posted on the departmental website and publicized in other ways.
Due to prerequisite dependencies, it is difficult for students who have not completed CS 2110 by the end of their second year to complete the major in their four remaining semesters. Ability to complete the degree in a timely manner is a factor in acceptance into the major.
Second Majors: College of Arts and Sciences students who wish to declare the Interdisciplinary BA in CS as a second major must follow the application process described here. Only College of Arts and Sciences students are eligible to apply for the Interdisciplinary BA in CS degree as a second major.
Transfer Students from Outside the University: Students transferring into the University from other institutions must apply to the department to be allowed to declare the Interdisciplinary BA in CS major. Applications will be considered the summer before a transfer student begins classes, and the application process will be discussed during the summer orientation session. If an incoming transfer does not attend summer orientation, they must meet with a CS advisor before classes begin to discuss applying.
Transfer students who have not completed the degree’s pre-requisites (CS 1110 or equivalent and CS 2110, with grades of C+ or higher) before their first semester in residence cannot be accepted into the major. Due to prerequisite dependencies, it is difficult for third-year students who have not completed CS 2110 or its equivalent to complete the Interdisciplinary BA in CS in the four remaining semesters. It is important that students transferring to the University as third-years complete the equivalent of CS 2110 before coming to UVA. In exceptional cases, students in this situation may apply for the major, but the ability to complete the degree in a timely fashion is one factor that will determine if you are accepted into the degree program.
Requirements for the Interdisciplinary Major
The following version of the interdisciplinary major’s requirements applies to students with official “requirements terms” of Fall 2019 or later. Those with requirements terms of Summer 2019 or earlier, must meet slightly different requirements which can be found in an archived version of the Undergraduate Record.
To complete the Interdisciplinary BA in Computer Science, students must satisfy the pre-requisites, then complete 27 credits of CS coursework as well as 12 credits of related non-CS coursework as described below:
Prerequisites:
As noted earlier, to be accepted into the major, students must satisfy these pre-requisites. To be accepted into the major, courses used to satisfy these must have a grade of C+ or higher.
Required CS courses (15 credits):
CS elective courses (12 credits):
These are CS courses at the 3000-level or above, in addition to the required courses listed above. At most 3 credits of CS 4993 - Independent Study can be counted towards this requirement. CS 4980 and CS 4998 cannot be counted towards this requirement.
Integration Electives (12 credits):
These are non-CS courses that contribute to this program of study by exploring applications of computing to arts and sciences fields in a significant way or by providing fundamental computing depth and background. Integration electives are courses offered by departments in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The list of approved courses is available here .
Requirements for the Minor
Any student who is able to complete all of the requirements for a minor in Computer Science before graduation will be awarded the minor if they submit the minor request form at the beginning of their graduation semester.
Due to the demand for computing courses, the department can only accept a limited number of students to declare a minor in Computer Science. The CS department continues to work with the university to obtain resources that will allow more students to declare the Computer Science minor.
Students wishing to declare the minor will be considered after completing CS 2150. The normal deadline is March 1. Applicants who have already completed CS 2150 will be notified if they have been accepted as a CS minor by April 1. Applicants who are currently enrolled in CS 2150 will be notified if they have been accepted as a CS minor by June 1.
More information regarding the CS Minor can be found at https://engineering.virginia.edu/departments/computer-science/academics/computer-science-undergraduate-programs/cs-minor or by contacting cs-student-support@virginia.edu.
Computer Engineering students cannot get a Computer Science minor because the degree combines Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, and they will automatically have the equivalent of the minor in CS.
Required CS courses (6 courses):
Additional Information
For more information, contact Tina Hittinger, Assistant Manager for Student Services & Administration, Department of Computer Science, 85 Engineer’s Way, P.O. Box 400740, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4740; Phone: 434-924-9392, Fax: 434-982-2214; t-rex@virginia.edu.
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