Computer science admissions requirements vary from school to school, but there are some basic things that students can expect if they are applying to such a program at a four-year university. The following facts are important for any student to consider before they begin the computer science admissions process at their school of choice.
If a student has completed an associate's degree at a community college, they will more than likely need a minimum GPA on all coursework taken in order to transfer into a Bachelor of Science program in Computer Science at an accredited four year college or university. For students coming into a college or university straight out of high school, there will be academic and SAT requirements. And there are typically prerequisite courses in subjects such as mathematics and science that must be taken before either type of student may enter the upper division computer science major. The GPA requirements for these classes may be higher than the average GPA requirements for all other coursework taken so far, and for students transferring in, the GPA requirements are probably going to be a bit higher all around.
After making it through the computer science admissions process, there will be several requirements that must be met in order to finish the program and graduate with a Bachelor of Science. At a typical four-year college, students must first complete all the general education requirements, which should take about two years, and declare their major by their sophomore year. Typical computer engineering courses taken after that are Introduction to Computing, Data Structures, Discrete Mathematics, Principles of Computer Organization, Principles of Programming Languages, Algorithms: Design & Practice, Analysis of Algorithms, Theory of Computation and six additional elective courses in computer science, plus a senior project or thesis.
The computer science admissions requirements may be tough, and the requirements to finish the program may be even tougher, but it is well worth it for the wonderful career opportunities that will be available thereafter. This is one of the most lucrative fields with terrific job outlook and positions available around the world.