<p>Hi,
I'm an international Student contemplating pursuing an undergraduate degree in US or Canada. I wanted to know whether I would have to take courses unrelated to my chosen Majors and Minors (Computer Science and History/Psychology) in my freshman year?</p>
<p>Thanks
jonsnow316</p>
<p>It depends on the school. Some colleges have many distribution/core requirements. Others have few or none.</p>
<p>It also depends on what you mean by “related”. Many colleges (or majors) have math/computation requirements, which you may or may not consider “related” to your interests. Many colleges have some kind of writing requirement, which you may be able to satisfy with certain English courses, which you may or may not consider “related” to your interests. Example:
<a href=“http://writing.ucdavis.edu/programs-and-services/university-writing-requirements-by-college”>http://writing.ucdavis.edu/programs-and-services/university-writing-requirements-by-college</a></p>
<p>Bottom Line: unless you choose from a small number of Open Curriculum colleges, you probably will be expected to take courses outside the departments you’ve listed. At some schools, you may be able to postpone that until after your first year.</p>
<p>I guess, more specifically, I wanted to know if I would be able to avoid pure science subjects like physics,chemistry etc. I understand there might be courses which are not purely computer science but of use to a computer scientist ( like say Maths and English ) , but would there be enough flexibility in the choice of courses that pure sciences may be avoided? I also understand that this may vary with different universities, but I just wanted to get a general idea of how it is like in Canadian and American Universities, before I decide to invest my time preparing for SAT. I’ve checked a few universities, like McMaster(<a href=“http://future.mcmaster.ca/programs/compsci/”>http://future.mcmaster.ca/programs/compsci/</a>) and university of Pittsburgh (<a href=“https://www.cs.pitt.edu/undergrad/bs.php”>https://www.cs.pitt.edu/undergrad/bs.php</a>) where it is clearly given science courses are not mandatory, but others seem less clear. Would greatly appreciate if you guys could give a better idea. I’m mainly looking at universities which might come under world top 250.</p>
<p>Thanks
jonsnow316</p>
<p>You can avoid “pure science” subjects by going to a college that either has an open curriculum or one that clumps together the sciences with math to establish a “requirement”. You’re looking at computer science requirements. These are different from general education requirements in that all students are required to fulfill GERs, while only majors are required to fulfill departmental requirements. What you want is a school without general education requirements, as those which do have them, usually tend to have natural sciences as a requirement (although perhaps paired with math or whatever). Check out the computer science major requirements for each school to figure out if the department requires you to take courses in the natural sciences.</p>
<p>At most US schools, computer science will count as a science, but very often you’ll still need to take a science class with a lab. Those can be for your general education. The goal isn’t so much to prepare you for higher-level science classes (since you won’t take them) but rather to educate you in the ways science applies to your daily life, in the world, in economics, etc. You will always complete experiments and read graphs/charts. Some topics will come from newspaper headlines. You may study how chemistry affects cooking and wine, or how biology and the environment relate. These classes aren’t difficult per se and make sure you’re able to function as an informed citizen of the world.
Some colleges have an “open curriculum”, ie., you can study whatever you want. These would include Amherst, Vassar, Brown, URochester - all of which are super selective.
You’ll need to compare the science requirements at all the schools you’re interested in but also look at the course catalog to see if the “general education” science class pique your interest.</p>