<p>We had a good visit at UC Davis - our prospective student liked the campus a lot. We didn’t have a chance however to speak to any Comp Sci majors - the major he wants primarily. If there are any UC Davis Comp Sci majors on here - could you give me your 2 minute sales pitch for the program? How you came to choose Davis for Comp Sci, what you like about the Davis program specifically? Also if you could provide any clarification on the Comp Sci vs Comp Sci Engineering majors - that would be helpful too. Thanks.</p>
<p>I can’t quite make a sales pitch as I have nothing to gain and nothing to lose. :)</p>
<p>What I like about the program? Flexibility.
[CS</a> Requirements, Computer Science Major, Department of Computer Science](<a href=“http://www.cs.ucdavis.edu/undergrad/csmajor/cs-req.html]CS”>Undergraduate)
Note the upper division electives: one could almost turn the major into a math degree if they wish.</p>
<p>What was particularly helpful while in the process of making my decision was the wealth of information available. Almost every course has a very detailed page such as this [Computer</a> Science @ UC Davis | Course Descriptions](<a href=“Schedules and Classes | Computer Science”>Schedules and Classes | Computer Science) while I had trouble getting basic information from some of the other UCs. (Complete list: [Expanded</a> Course Descriptions, Department of Computer Science](<a href=“Schedules and Classes | Computer Science”>Schedules and Classes | Computer Science))</p>
<p>See [Computer</a> Science - Davis Wiki](<a href=“http://daviswiki.org/Computer_Science]Computer”>http://daviswiki.org/Computer_Science) for the differences between CS and CSE.</p>
<p>Thank you much!</p>
<p>My older son’s roomate is a freshman CS major at UCD. He recommends that you have prior knowledge of JAVA and Python languages before you start any classes or you will be behind in many of the intro CS classes.</p>
<p>Thank you Gumbymom. He’s got Python and Java are pretty well covered. He took Java at CSM last summer and will take the CS AP test in the spring. He’s self taught on Python and C++ through the O’Reilly books.</p>
<p>Derse - how realistic would it be for someone to double major with CS? He would ideally like to double major CS and Chinese. He would enter having completed 10 or 11 AP classes including AP Calc, AP Spanish, AP Japanese. And he’ll have completed four community college classes including intro Java and Engineering (and Chem and Chinese). He would probably be at a 3rd year level of Chinese when he starts. </p>
<p>On a related note - for his senior year he needs to decide whether to take AP Statistics or AP multi-variable calculus. Can you advise which would be a better one to take in preparation for the CS major?</p>
<p>I would prioritize C++ first as that seems to be the predominant language for CS classes, but CS majors in general should be comfortable with at least a few languages.</p>
<p>A double major would definitely be possible as CS at UCD is not as unit-heavy as it is in some of the other UCs (although one is more than welcome to go far beyond the minimum requirements; it’s simply nice to have the option to pursue other interests).</p>
<p>I would advise him to take the multivariate calculus exam because as of now, CS has a lower-division computational statistics requirement (STA 32) that cannot be fulfilled by AP Statistics (which satisfies STA 13).</p>
<p>Thank you again. This is really great information.</p>
<p>Note to the double minor above: It was stated that CS is not unit intensive; that is true if it is NOT within the engineering department. If one takes computer science WITHIN the engineering department, it would almost certainly require a fifth year to double major.</p>
<p>Sorry to add a question to this forum.
Would you choose Cal Poly Comp Sci or Davis Comp Sci?</p>
<p>Don’t you have to apply again specifically for Comp Sci as a junior after you do the first two years of Comp Sci pre requisites at davis in comp sci?</p>
<p>Bump</p>
<p>No, you don’t need to reapply. You just need to fill out the major change forms and you’re good to go. In the case of CS (Letters and Science), you don’t even need to have completed the prereqs before switching; you just need to have taken a CS class, I believe. You need to complete the standard engineering prereqs if you want to switch to CSE (College of Engineering), but regardless you can switch as soon as you have them without having to apply.</p>
<p>As for double majors and/or minors, it’s perfectly possible if you’re doing CS. I’m double majoring with linguistics and CS and am on track to graduate in 4 years. If you’re considering any other majors or minors, definitely pick CS over CSE. This also applies if you just prefer flexibility in general.</p>
<p>Note for those confused with the abbreviations, for clarity:
CS refers to computer science within the College of Letters and Science. This has much fewer required units compared to CSE, and has the aforementioned flexibility as a result.
CSE refers to computer science within the College of Engineering. As has been stated, this one is less flexible due to the amount of required units.</p>