Full Admission to the CS Major or the CS Minor

For the Fall 2020 semester, the Computer Science department has changed the admission criteria for full admission to the CS Major or Minor to take into consideration the credit/no credit (CR/NC) grading option.

You will be guaranteed full admission to the CS major or minor, if your average grade in CS 149 and CS 159 is a 3.0 or better, and if you have not repeated either of the two courses. If you took CS 149 in Spring 2020 and received a grade of CR, then you need a grade of B or better in CS 159. If you took CS 159 in Spring 2020 and needed to repeat it in Fall 2020, then we are not counting this as a repeat. Students who meet the criterial for guaranteed admission still have to apply.

Application to the CS Major or Minor: https://www.questionpro.com/t/ARXgAZjXmj

Please also see our Frequently Asked Questions about the Full Admission to the Major or Minor page.

Any student may declare a CS major or minor, but students can only enroll in CS courses 240, 261, 345 and beyond if they are fully admitted to the CS major or minor.

Applying for full admission to the Major or Minor

Students who have attempted CS 149, CS 159, or CS/MATH 227 at JMU may not attempt them elsewhere (that is, they must make any second attempts at JMU).

Students must submit an application for full admission to the CS major or minor no earlier than the semester in which they complete CS 159. The CS Major or Minor application.

Students with a GPA of 3.0 or better in CS 149 and CS 159 who have attempted these classes only once are guaranteed full admission to the major or minor. Others will be granted full admission to the CS major or minor as space permits based on their GPA in CS 139/149 and CS 159 and faculty evaluation of their potential to succeed in the CS major or minor.

Students who took CS 159 in the Spring 2020 semester and received a grade of CR, are guaranteed full admission to the major or minor if they received grades of A or A- in CS 149. Others will be granted full admission to the CS major or minor as space permits based on their grade in CS 139/149 and faculty evaluation of their potential to succeed in the CS major or minor.

For students who took CS 149 or CS 159 in the Spring 2020 semester and are repeating the class in a later semester, the Spring 2020 class will not count as an attempt with regards to the above guaranteed full admission criteria.

Students who took CS 149 in the Spring 2020 semester and received a grade of CR, may enroll in CS 159. Their grade in CS 159 will be used to determine full admission.

Students who have completed the CS minor may apply for full admission to the CS major no earlier than the semester in which they complete the last course in the CS minor.

CS minors with a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the CS minor will be fully admitted to the CS major; others will be admitted as space permits based on their minor GPA.

Students will be notified of their CS major or minor admission status by January 1st for admission in the spring semester (following application the previous fall semester), and by May 22nd for admission in the fall semester (following application the previous spring semester).

Students who are not granted full admission to the CS major or minor may file one additional application in the next regular semester after they are denied admission.

Transfer students who have completed the equivalent of CS 159 (or for whom this class is waived) are granted full admission to the CS major or minor. Other transfer students are subject to same process as non-transfer students.