<p>hi,
i'm a sophomore right now, and am considering to become a physics major. however, i want to be somewhat proficient at programming to open doors to job opportunities after i graduate. i don't want to be a cs major for two reasons - 1.) i'm not sure if i want to narrow my career path quite yet 2.) it's way too late for me to start the engineering path (i want to graduate on time).</p>
<p>anyway, i'm aware that cs classes have an enrollment restriction, and it's open only to engineers and math-comp majors. does anyone know if there's any way at all for a physics major to take cs classes at ucla?</p>
<p>^Yep, the Program in Computing (PIC) program run by the math department offers programing classes to non-majors.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, with the budget cuts, you are now pretty much restricted to taking PIC 10A/10B/10C (C++) and 40A (internet languages). Supposedly they’ll be offering 20A (Java) next quarter as well but I’ve seen this course come and go.</p>
<p>i actually am taking pic 10a right now, but if i wanted to pursue a more computer-science oriented field in the future, i know the pic series won’t serve me. but by the looks of it, i guess it’s my only option…?</p>
<p>I’m not sure why the PIC series won’t be good enough. If you don’t think it goes into enough depth, you should be able to study extra material on your own.</p>
<p>But unless you’re planning on becoming a professional programmer, I doubt it’s very important. With the programming required in physics, for instance, as long as you know the basic principles you can teach yourself the details as they’re needed.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure you can take CS 31 etc. even if you’re in L&S as several people on here have said they’ve done it in the past. I’m not sure how they did it, but sitting in from the start, getting permission from the professor and waiting for people to drop would probably work.</p>