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Changing Your Major

Planning

  • I strongly recommend your reach out to the advisor of the new major to discuss your transition. Sometimes they are listed in the Course Catalog; sometimes you have to search through the faculty page of the department. If you are unable to identify an advisor in the department, reach out to the departmental front office, departmental coordinator, office assistant, or (lastly) the department head.

Logistics

To declare a new major or change your degree can be done via MyMadison. I find the process confusing, so I strongly recommend this tutorial: https://www.jmu.edu/computing/ittraining/e-training/mymadison-student-change-declare-major/story_html5.html

Feedback

If you have any feedback for the Computer Science department about the reason you have decided to leave the program, we very much want to discuss the details with you! Please contact our CS Advisor, Paige Normand (normanap@jmu.edu) to talk about your experience.

Switching from CS to IT

There is a helpful overlap of our introductory CS courses and the new IT major. If you have decided not to stay in CS but would like to continue in a computing field, IT is a great option!

Overview of the IT curriculum: https://www.jmu.edu/cise/information-technology/academics/index.shtml

If you'd like to discuss details about the IT major, reach out to the Program Director, Dr. El-Tawab, eltawass@jmu.edu

Switching from CS to CIS

Here is a helpful comparison of the two programs: https://www.jmu.edu/cob/cis/academics/cis-vs-cs.shtml

Note: switching from CS to CIS is not just a change of major, but a change of degree (from a BS to a BBA). This means you will need to complete the Business Core. This can add more classes to your graduation requirements; however, the College of Business is good about offering summer classes so you will have the opportunity to catch up there.

If you are a Freshman or Sophomore CS student who is interested in switching to CIS, meet with the CIS Madison Advising Peer, Ainsley Momorella: https://www.jmu.edu/cob/asc/advising/schedule-an-appointment.shtml (Choose in-person > advising with a Madison Advising Peer > Madison Advising Peer – Ainsley Momorella)

If you are a Junior or Senior CS student who is interested in switching to CIS, meet with the CIS Advisor, Danielle Maxham: https://www.jmu.edu/cob/asc/advising/schedule-an-appointment.shtml (Choose in-person > advising with a CoB Advisor > Danielle (Gallagher) Maxham)