UW-Madison Computer Sciences Department Undergraduate Program Information

When should I see an advisor?
You must see an advisor to declare a major, but you don't have to wait until then. You are urged to see an advisor (or to contact her/him by email) any time you have questions. Every time you are intending to make a change in your electives (or in the course(s) meant to satisfy the 3cr or 6cr after Calculus), have an advisor change your Course Plan accordingly, to make certain that an advisor approves of that change. This prevents unpleasant surprises in what you think is your last semester here. It isn't necessary to see the same advisor every time. If you use email as your medium of contact, please avoid "flooding", i.e., sending the same question to multiple advisors.

Where do I find an advisor?
Check the CS Advisor List for current office hours, or see
Lisa Louden in room 5355 of the Computer Sciences Bldg,
1210 W. Dayton St., for a list.

What does it take to major in Computer Science?
If you are a student in the college of Letters and Sciences (L&S), you can graduate with a major in CS by taking 10 Computer Sciences courses and four Mathematics courses. Students in other colleges, particularly Engineering and Business, can get a second major in CS. See FAQ "What about second majors"

What should I do first?
Before you can officially declare CS as your major, you must complete three CS courses: CS 302, 354, and 367 (by 9aug02), or else CS 240, 302, and 367. You must have a 2.6 average (2.5 if admitted to UW before Fall 1998) in certain (see below) CS courses taken at the time you want to declare CS as your major. CS 354/240, 302, and 367 should give you a good idea of what Computer Sciences is like. Even if you decide not to major in CS, these courses will be valuable to you in other technical fields.

It is strongly recommended that a student take 302 in Java before taking 367, for the following reasons. A student having taken 302 in anything other than C++ or Java will lack the material on Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) needed in 367. While a student having taken 302 in C++ will have learned OOP, Java will be needed in 367 immediately, and this knowledge cannot be picked up by taking 368 simultaneously or earlier since 368 has (the first part of) 367 as a prerequisite. Links to C++ and Java tutorials can be found in the menu above right.

What courses are used to calculate my GPA for determining acceptance to the CS major?
At least two and, effective 15 sep 01, at most the first four, CS courses taken at UW-Madison, and this must include the three courses for the Acceptance requirement if taken here and may otherwise include any CS courses (including any course cross-listed with CS) taken at UW-Madison except for CS 110, 132, 310, 312, 368, 371, and 550. The grade for a repeated course is included only if that prior grade was an F.
Concretely, assuming that you have not taken cs354 before 9aug02, you include (1) each of 302, 240, 367 that was taken on campus, (2) other qualifying CS courses, but only in the order they were taken. This means, in particular, that once you are done taking four qualifying CS courses, you cannot improve the acceptance GPA by taking additional CS courses.

How do I declare a major in CS?
You should see a member of the CS Undergraduate Advising Committee (UGAC) to fill out a Course Plan and a Major Declaration Form. The Course Plan indicates which courses you intend to take to satisfy the requirements for the major and when. You will need a current transcript to declare. You may obtain a "campus copy" transcript from the Registrar in Room 123 at the Peterson Building, or by e-mail through EASI. If for any reason you alter your plans, you should see a CS undergraduate advisor (not necessarily the same one) to revise your Course Plan.

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Can I take any courses in my major Pass/Fail?
No. If you are a CS major, you cannot take any CS courses Pass/Fail, whether or not they are in your Course Plan of official courses.

When should I declare my major?
You should declare the major as soon as you have completed CS 302, CS 354, and CS 367 (before 9aug02), or CS 240, 302, and 367. The L&S college likes to have students declare a major no later than the end of their sophomore year.

When am I officially admitted to the CS Major?
In approximately two weeks after an Undergraduate Advising Committee member has approved and signed your Course Plan, you will receive a welcoming letter from the Committee Chair informing you that you have been admitted to the CS Major together with a copy of your Course Plan.

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What do I need to do before I graduate?
While there are no official forms to fill out in order to graduate, there are several things that are important for you to check in the penultimate and last semesters before you graduate. Things you are advised to do include:

1. During Preregistration for your last semester (or what you think will likely be your last semester), answer "YES" to the question "Do you expect to graduate at the end of next semester?" By doing so, you will be automatically sent in the mail during that semester a letter from the Registrar's Office with a list of deficiencies you must satisfy (or fix) before you graduate.

2. Have a look at your DARS Report via MY UW. Read it over carefully to find deficiencies. Be aware of the fact (still true 2nov98) that a DARS report obtained this way by a student not from L&S might not contain explicit mention of the second major in CS; such a student needs to get the DARS report via machines in 123 Peterson Building.

3. Make sure your CS Course Plan is up to date. One reason for a deficiency is that your CS major Course Plan is not up to date. The Course Plan you have on file in the CS Department is used for determining deficiencies in the major, so you must see a CS advisor to update your Course Plan if there are changes to what you have on record in your Course Plan.

4. Check to make sure your major(s) is (are) declared correctly. That is, make sure you have officially added and/or dropped majors so that the list of majors on record is exactly what you want for graduation. If not, go to the individual departments to add or drop a major.

5. Check that you satisfy the four (4) GPA requirements needed to graduate. Namely, you must have a 2.0 GPA for each of the following sets of courses: (Note: Transfer courses are not included in computing any of these GPAs.)

All courses taken for a grade (i.e., overall university GPA)

All Intermediate (I), Advanced (A) and Intermediate/Advanced (D) courses taken for a grade

All CS courses

All upper-level (i.e., numbered 400 and above) CS courses

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What about honors?
A student is usually admitted to the Honors program as a freshman and any such student may take any CS course numbered 300--699 for Honors credit, with the permission of the course instructor and the Departmental Honors Advisor. In addition, any CS course numbered 700 or above carries honors credit for undergraduates.

However, a student can graduate with ``honors in the major'' without being in the honors program. For such an ``honors in computer science'', see the Departmental Honors Advisor and check out the specific requirements listed in the undergraduate guidebook.

What about other (non-CS) degree requirements?
Advisors in CS can only advise you about specific requirements for the CS major. For information about other degree requirements, see the L&S Advising Services in 70 Bascom Hall.

For courses taken before admission or before re-entry to the University: Submit all transcripts along with your admission application to the Undergraduate Admissions Office (716 Langdon Street). They will attempt to determine all transfer credits and equivalent courses at UW-Madison. Have a look at the relevant web site.
For courses to be taken during the summer at another university:
Go to the Undergraduate Admissions Office in 716 Langdon Street and fill out a "Summer Request Form" for the course(s) you intend to take. They will then determine BEFORE you go, how these courses will be transferred here.
For courses to be taken during Study Abroad:
Go to the Undergraduate Admissions Office in 716 Langdon Street and fill out a "Study Abroad Request Form" for the course(s) you intend to take. They will then determine BEFORE you go, how these courses will be transferred here.
For courses taken after you have been admitted and AFTER you have completed them: Submit a copy of your transcript to the Transfer Admissions Office at 716 Langdon St. They will attempt to determine the credits and the equivalent courses here, if any.
In the event that the above offices cannot determine transfer credits for CS-type courses, they will ask the student to see an advisor in CS and to get a letter indicating how the course(s) you took should be transferred. In this event, take your transcript, and any materials you have describing the course(s) you took (especially a catalog description and a syllabus) to a CS Undergraduate Advisor. If the advisor can determine equivalency in CS, the advisor will write a memo stating "The course ________ taken by _______ at ________ is equivalent to CS _____ at the University of Wisconsin-Madison."

This memo should be sent by campus mail to

Transfer Admissions Office
716 Langdon Street

What about second majors for students in other colleges?
Acceptance of the major may be contingent on approval of a dean of your home college (Dean Pat Farrell, 2630 Eng., in the case of Engineering; for CALS, the process is more complicated: here are the full details for all the other colleges). When you hand in your major declaration form, make sure the advisor knows you are in another college.

Can I get a second degree?
Students should consult the Office of the Associate Dean, 70 Bascom Hall, if they wish to earn a second undergraduate degree. Students admitted as candidates for a second undergraduate degree are subject to the L&S Academic Probation and Drop system. A second undergraduate degree must be substantially different from the first degree. Students are not permitted to earn two undergraduate liberal arts degrees.

Requirements for admission to candidacy for a second degree are:
1) An undergraduate degree earned at UW-Madison or elsewhere.
2) Satisfaction of all basic admissions requirements to UW-Madison.
3) Submission of transcripts from all schools attended.
4) Minimum of 3.0 GPA on first undergraduate degree program.
5) Admission to the proposed major (major/certificate declaration form or departmental letter).
6) Written permission of the associate dean's staff, Student Academic Affairs.

To earn a second undergraduate degree from UW-Madison, students must:
1) Satisfy all basic Letters and Science degree requirements.
2) Satisfy all quality of work requirements.
3) Complete at least 30 credits in Letters and Science at UW-Madison after the first degree has been awarded, regardless of whether or not the first degree was an L&S degree.
4) Complete a minimum of 100 credits in L&S courses, which may include courses completed during the student's first degree program.

How do I find on-campus jobs related to computer science?
There are lots of places on campus where computer science related jobs are announced. Research-related jobs are generally announced by the faculty member whose grant is going to support the position, so these are found only by searching for announcements in each department. For information on on-campus and near-campus jobs, check out the UW Student Job Center listing of computer-related jobs, and the Career Advising and Planning Services (CAPS) office. There are also jobs posted outside the Computer Science Department main office (Room 5355), both on the bulletin board and in a notebook. Click Job and Internship opportunities for more.

What about graduate school?
Information about graduate school for CS undergrads can be found here. The UW-CS Graduate Program pages are here.

Where can I get more information?
Peruse the CS Undergraduate Program web pages and the CS Undergraduate Guidebook. The CS Guidebook has the most complete and up-to-date information on rules and requirements, as well as recently revised course descriptions. You should study it very carefully, especially pages 3 and 4.

FAQ about the CS Major