University of Massachusetts - Computer Science
 
 

Minor in Computer Science

Please note: New requirements for the Minor in Computer Science were approved in May 2009. Students may be awarded a minor for fulfilling either set of requirements, but in almost all cases students who have met the old ones have met the new ones as well. The old requirements are given below, after the new requirements.

The CS minor is a good and easy way for you to get a solid background in computer science, no matter what your major is. Given the importance of computer literacy in almost all other disciplines and professions, the CS minor may just be what makes your resumé stand out from all the others.

Students intending to minor in Computer Science must complete the Departmental Tracking for the Computer Science Minor and submit this form to the Main Office, Room 100, Computer Science Building. Many of our courses are only open to CMPSCI majors, so having this form on file will aid the department with providing the best service in terms of course registrations to our minors, as well as with the override process.

Academic minors are declared with the Registrar's Office when the course work for the minor is completed by a student (or, in the semester prior to the student's graduation, if course work related to the minor is being completed in his/her final semester). To declare a minor, complete the Declaration of An Academic Minor form and submit to the Computer Science Main Office for approval. Approved forms are then submitted to the Registrar's Office by the student.

The minor requires five computer science courses:

  • CMPSCI 121 Introduction to Problem Solving Using the Computer (or equivalent)
  • CMPSCI 187 Programming with Data Structures (or equivalent)
  • Three computer science courses (200-level or higher, not including CMPSCI 305) within the Department of Computer Science at UMass-Amherst

In addition, students must take at least two computer science "core" courses or their equivalents, which may be (and usually will be) part of the three 200-level courses listed above. The computer science core courses are:

  • CMPSCI 201 Architecture and Assembly Language Programming
  • CMPSCI 220 Programming Methodology
  • CMPSCI 240 Reasoning About Uncertainty
  • CMPSCI 250 Introduction to Computation
  • CMPSCI 287 Programming Language Paradigms

A student may meet one or both of the specific 200-level course requirements by taking an equivalent course outside the department, but there must still be three electives within the Dept. of Computer Science. For example, MATH 455 is often an acceptable replacement for CMPSCI 250, and many ECE classes are substitutes for CMPSCI 201.

There is no specific mathematics requirement for the computer science minor, but all the above courses require R1 proficiency (such as MATH 104) and CMPSCI 240 and 250 require MATH 132 as a corequisite or prerequisite. MATH 131 and MATH 132 are thus recommended, but students without them can still complete the minor by taking other core courses.

A cumulative quality point average of at least 2.00 is required in all Computer Science courses used to satisfy the requirements of the minor. No Computer Science courses used to satisfy the minor can be taken on a pass/fail basis.

Our former minor program required the following ten courses, or equivalents:

  • MATH 131 Calculus I
  • MATH 132 Calculus II
  • CMPSCI 121 Introduction to Problem Solving Using the Computer (or you may skip to 191B)
  • CMPSCI 191B Introduction to Java II
  • CMPSCI 187 Programming with Data Structures
  • CMPSCI 201 Architecture and Assembly Language Programming
  • CMPSCI 250 Introduction to Computation
  • CMPSCI 287 Programming Language Paradigms
  • Any two regular Computer Science courses, numbered 300 or above, except CMPSCI 305

Note: A grade of C or better (C- grades in or before the Spring 2006 semester are acceptable) is required in all courses used to satisfy the minor, including the preliminary courses.

It is possible to meet the old requirements without meeting the new ones, by using equivalent MATH or ECE courses for some or all of the cores, and in this case the department will still award a minor for students graduating by 2010.