<p>I was admitted to CNS for a mathematics major this spring 2015 as a sophomore-level applicant, but now I'm rethinking my decision.
How easy is it to simply change to a different major within CNS?</p>
<p>And... I know this really kicks it up a notch, but how hard would it be to change to a CS major...?</p>
<p>I visited UT today and talked with a CS advisor. In regards to changing to CS, it would be very difficult. Apparently, there were no internal transfers accepted to CS for the Spring 2015 semester, with something around 10-15 external transfers. The influx of students wanting to major in CS as well as the limited amount of professors teaching within the major have caused this, and ultimately CNS as a whole has raised their standards for internal transfers. Before, a student with a 2.0+ GPA could just sign a few documents and declare himself/herself as a particular major in CNS, but now there is a much larger hurdle to declare a major for CNS, albeit easier than CS. I’m not necessarily trying to say to “give up” on CS, but you’ll need both the grades and luck to get in internally. Make sure you have a contingency plan (i.e. stay as a Math major) if you don’t end up getting in.</p>
<p>@JD1327 I’m… confused. An external transfer is from outside the university. An internal transfer is from outside the college of CNS within UT Austin. I’ve already been accepted to CNS, so it wouldn’t be an “internal” transfer?
I’m already “in” CNS.</p>
<p>…Ah, my bad. I wasn’t paying attention to what you had written. In your scenario, I’m not entirely knowledgeable about the process for major changes, but I suspect it would be equally challenging to change to CS. Do you have any programming experience or any EC’s related to CS? That would be helpful in you getting in.</p>
<p>I’ve taken the equivalent to the first two introductory courses at another college (so I know a couple of languages). I’ve also done a few MOOCs, taken a C++ course on the side at a community college, and participated in just a few hacknights and CS extracurriculars.</p>
<p>Yeah you’d be an internal transfer which may be harder or easier than external, like above they took 15 externals but no internals. All the internal transfer info is online you’d need to do one year in your other major before you can apply </p>
<p>I got into Math at UT from engineering at UT after a year by just filling out paperwork and the guy told me that CNS is an open college and accepts everyone. I got accepted into math despite my low GPA and it only took 20 seconds to sign my name and that was it (they didn’t need a resume or anything). This was 3 years ago. I don’t know exactly why the guy said that it’s an open college but I am thinking it applies to all majors in CNS except CS. I know CS is very competitive and tough to get into. If you have 60 credit hours or more, they won’t even look at you.</p>
<p>@longhorns061012 “Internal transfers are students enrolled in another college or school at UT Austin who are seeking a specific major in the College of Natural Sciences.”
Like I said, I’m already IN CNS…?</p>
<p>@sadhippo That was an internal transfer from Cockrell, I’m already in CNS, so what’s the policy there for a change of major?
And even if I did have to do an internal transfer to get into CS in CNS from within CNS, having above 60 credit hours as a disqualifier isn’t very fair; I have 75 right now, but that’s just because I have a lot of AP credits. I’m still in my sophomore year.</p>
<p>Ok to clarify, you are still an internal transfer. Someone trying to change to CS from Math is the same as someone trying to change from Engineering. If you’re not a CS student but are a UT student, you’re an internal transfer. If you’re not a UT student, you’re an external transfer. That’s the only two types of transfer </p>
<p>@longhorns061012 changing your major is the same thing as transferring?</p>
<p>Yes, changing your major = transferring to another major. If you want to change your major, you have to apply to transfer.</p>
<p>The only majors you can just go move to are open Liberal Arts majors or UGS, everythig else requires competitive transfer application </p>
<p>So even people who came in as freshman into a specific college at UT undeclared have to do this transfer process to declare a major within that college?</p>
<p>Yes, you can’t just say I’m this major now, because you’re competing against everyone else trying to change to that major</p>
<p>CNS may let you change to certain majors easily if you’re already in CNS, but not for CS or Environmental Science or Public Health. For those majors CNS students have no advantage over say UGS students</p>
<p>When I was in the school of engineering and was considering switching to a different type of engineering, my advisor told me that I was under the category of “internal transfer” even though I was looking at majors within the college I was already in (though I didn’t end up in engineering-I chose math). Already being in CNS will not do much to help you get into CS. If it were the case that being in CNS helps you get into CS, people trying to get into CS would just transfer into something like math or physics (since they accept everyone who is already in UT) only with the intention of trying to get CS at a later date which is why they don’t have it set up to favor CNS over, say, engineering students. It may be possible that the coursework you choose to take as a CNS student is somewhat closer to desired coursework for someone wanting to transfer into CS but that would be the only thing that might even slightly affect the transfer application. The GPA is going to be the most important thing. There may be a list of required courses that you must have completed in order to be eligible to apply for transfer into CS once you are already at UT but I’m not sure since I haven’t looked into that part.</p>
<p>@jkim3265 There is a ton of information on the UT CNS site. You were an external transfer. Now you are an admitted student. </p>
<p>This quote is directed at incoming Freshman, but I think it applies to you:</p>
<p>Major changes for applicants who are awaiting a decision can often be made before the application deadline through your “My Status”page. Sometimes a major change requires submitting an appeal for consideration and is only offered based on qualifications and space in the program. The Office of Admissions handles all major change requests for incoming students prior to the first class day at UT Austin.</p>
<p>I believe the answer to your question is - work with the Office of Admissions to see if you can change your major. CS is more competitive than Math, so you may get denied, but reach out to Admissions. I imagine your case will fall under the “space in the program” caveat. </p>
<p>quoted from FAQ #11 here: <a href=“FAQs for Undergrad Applicants | College of Natural Sciences”>https://cns.utexas.edu/students/future/faqs</a></p>
<p>Please return to this forum to let us know the proper procedure and your status/results. </p>