Admissions
Admission to the University
For information on how to apply to the University, please see the UC Santa Barbara Admissions Page or apply directly online through the UC Admissions Page.
Admission to the Major
As of Fall 13, Computer Science is only offering a BS degree. We are no longer accepting students into the BA program.
Students interested in computer science who apply to UCSB should declare the computer science major when they apply. UCSB students in majors other than computer science major can petition to the Department of Computer Science for consideration for admission via change-of-major once they complete the minimum requirements (specified below) for doing so. Computer Science majors have priority when registering for all Computer Science courses. Students admitted to the computer science major are responsible for satisfying major requirements in effect when they declare their major. Upper and lower division courses required for the major that are offered by the Department of Computer Science or any other department must be taken for letter grades.
Changing Your Major to the Computer Science BS or BA (UCSB students only)
Students applying for major status in the BS or BA program who have completed more than 105 units will NOT be considered for a change of major/change of college unless they can demonstrate that they will be able to complete all of the degree requirements for the proposed program without exceeding 200 units or no more than 5 total years of post-secondary study, including time enrolled at other institutions.
Students changing from the BA (in the College of Letters and Science) to the BS (in the College of Engineering) in Computer Science (or vice versa) must follow the same rules as for changing from any other major, as described below.
Students may petition once to enter the computer science major (BA or BS) once they complete the following milestones (and are able to demonstrate that they will be able to complete the computer science degree within this total unit limit and time limit to graduation described above). These milestones, however, are the minimum requirements for consideration -- achieving them does not guarantee approval of the change-of-major petition or admission to the major. Please Note: Given the high demand for this major, admission will be granted on a competitive basis, and only if there are sufficient pedagogical resources available (instructors, TAs, staff support, classrooms/labs/seats).
- Completion of the courses CS16, 24, and 40, with a grade of B or better (first-takes only).
- Completion of the courses Math 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4B, with a grade of C or better.
- A cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher.
Petitions are due by the start of Pass 1 of registration for the quarter that follows the one in which final milestones will be completed; we will make our best effort to respond to such by the start of Pass 3. Any petitions that are denied will be automatically considered and evaluated a second time in the next quarter (unless the student withdraws his/her petition). Petitions denied a second time will not be reconsidered.
CS Pre-Majors (at the start of Fall of 2012)
The Computer Science Department prior to the Fall of 2012 instituted a pre-major policy. Students entered the department in the pre-major (in most cases) and then transferred to the full major. Students in the Computer Science pre-major at the start of Fall 2012 may petition to enter the major (i) according to the rules above, or (ii) upon completion of the pre-major courses with at least a GPA of 2.75 across them (assuming they are able to complete their degree within the total unit limit and time-to-graduation requirements specified above). Students who choose to petition via the pre-major option must do so by the end of Spring 2013 for consideration. The pre-major courses are
- For BS Pre-Majors: Math 3A, 3B, 3C/4A, and 5A/4B; CMPSC 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, and 64; PSTAT 120A.
- For BA Pre-Majors: Math 3A, 3B, 3C/4A, 5A/4B, and 5B/6A; CMPSC 16, 24, 32, and 40; PSTAT 120A.
Details on the pre-major can be found in the university catalog specific to a particular matriculation year prior to 2012.
Other Cases
Students who are not in the CS pre-major or CS major at the start of Fall of 2012 but who matriculated at UCSB prior to Fall 2012 can employ either set of rules above, to submit a change-of-major petition, if and only if
- They complete at least CS24 in the CS Lower Division Prerequisite Chain , at UCSB with a C or better, before the start of Fall 2012, and
- They complete the pre-major (with its minimum GPA requirements), and petition, by the end of Spring 2013.
No further exceptions will be considered.
Details on the pre-major can be found in the 2012 university catalog which is available in the CS office.
Recent Admissions Statistics
Five Year Enrollment History Computer Science - BS only| Fall 2009 | Fall 2010 | Fall 2011 | Fall 2012 | Fall 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 253 | 260 | 326 | 342 | 320 |
| 2007/2008 | 2008/2009 | 2009/2010 | 2010/2011 | 2011/2012 | 2012/2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | 50 | 35 | 45 | 73 | 71 |
