Change of Major Advice, Bio ---> Comp Sci

Hello everyone,

I am a Biological Sciences major in my 3rd year at UCI and after much thought I have decided I want to switch to a Computer Science major instead. I have found that I enjoy learning computer science far more than any of the previous subjects I have studied. I am a transfer student and I am currently at the end of my first year at UCI (Spring quarter). I have 138 units completed as of today and I have a ~3.3 gpa. The majority of my past coursework consists of biology, chemistry and some physics classes. I am taking my 1st two ICS courses currently (ICS 31 and ICS 6N in Spring quarter), I have spoken to an ICS counselor and she said it is going to be difficult to change majors. She added that the Bren School of ICS has a 120 unit limit restriction for students who want to switch into Computer Science, this if the excerpt from their website:

“Change of major criteria applies to students with 120 units or less…Students with more than 90 units may not be admitted to the major; they will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis provided they have made substantial progress in courses required for the major.”

Based on my conversation with the counselor, she said that I must first get the 120 unit restriction lifted and then I can submit an application for change of major. I tried submitting a petition for them to lift the restriction before this quarter began and they denied it immediately. After I finish my classes this quarter I plan to submit the petition again to have the restriction lifted (May have a higher chance of being accepted after I have taken the ICS courses). If this is lifted then I will need to take ICS 32 next quarter and submit the application for change of major after that class is completed(That too is not guaranteed to be accepted).

At this point I am unsure of what to do as it seems I have several different options laid out ahead of me. I am unsure if the restriction will be lifted and if Bren School will accept my change of major request. I do not want to graduate with a degree in Biology, Bioinformatics or any related field. The two things I know for sure are that I want to graduate with a degree in Computer Science and that I do not want to waste any more time getting there. I am wondering how I could accomplish this in the least amount of time possible. I am open to switching schools (If need be) or also going back to community college to complete the prereq courses I need (Though I am not sure how that would work). What do you guys think about my plan? I would appreciate any help and thanks in advance.

They probably don’t want you to need to take substantially more than 180 units (total) to graduate, because in-state students are subsidized, and they do not want any one student to consume too much of the subsidy*. Since you already have 138 units, and the UCI CS major requires about 100 units of CS courses, it does not seem too likely to get approval unless a significant portion of your 138 units came from AP/IB credit.

*See [url=<a href=“http://catalogue.uci.edu/informationforadmittedstudents/academicregulationsandprocedures/#CreditHourUnitLimit(Undergraduate)%5Dhttp://catalogue.uci.edu/informationforadmittedstudents/academicregulationsandprocedures/#CreditHourUnitLimit(Undergraduate)%5B/url”>http://catalogue.uci.edu/informationforadmittedstudents/academicregulationsandprocedures/#CreditHourUnitLimit(Undergraduate)]http://catalogue.uci.edu/informationforadmittedstudents/academicregulationsandprocedures/#CreditHourUnitLimit(Undergraduate)[/url] that indicates that UCI wants students to take no more than 12 quarters or 216 units to graduate.

If UCI is unwilling to let you change majors and stay extra quarters/units, look for a less impacted university where the campus and CS department are willing to accept high unit transfers and allow them to substantially exceed the 180 quarter / 120 semester units normally needed for a bachelor’s degree. Maybe check UCR, UCM, and the less impacted CSUs.