<p>They have a semester system which means they take less classes. So that can't be good right?</p>
<p>And I noticed their curriculum doesn't really have structure. In the requirements section it only lists 2 classes as requirements, and then it just says "pick any two from the list".</p>
<p>what's your thought on this?</p>
<p>Berkeley is a semester system school. They take the same amount of classes.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/csugrad/[/url]”>CS Major Information | EECS at UC Berkeley;
<p>"All students can petition to this major once they have have completed all technical prerequisites with a gpa of 2.0 or above. All upper division courses applied toward the major, must also be completed with a technical gpa of 2.0 or above.
The Computer Science Prerequisites</p>
<p>You must complete all the lower division course requirements before you will be considered for admission to the major. These are:</p>
<pre><code>* CS 61A (Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs), 61B (Data Structures), 61C (Machine Structures)
<p>Sample Programs</p>
<pre><code>* Sample Programs for Incoming Freshmen
<p>The Admissions Policy</p>
<pre><code>* The CS 61 series, CS 70 (Discrete Math & Probability) and EE 42 (Introduction to Digital Electronics) are the courses most seriously considered for admission
<p>Students are encouraged to submit a personal statement only in cases where:</p>
<pre><code>* there have been personal circumstances affecting academic performance;
<p>The Petition Process</p>
<p>Submit a CS Major petition to 377 Soda Hall during the semester that all technical prerequisites are being completed.</p>
<pre><code>* Complete Major Petition AND Declaration of Major Form.
o Major Petition (PDF)
o Declaration of Major Form (PDF)
<p>Petition Deadline is the last day of classes the semester you are completing technical prerequisites.
Back to top </p>
<p>The Upper Division
Enrollment Policy</p>
<p>All upper division Computer Science course enrollments are restricted. If you are a declared CS or EECS major, or an identified CS minor you may be allowed to enroll in upper division courses during TeleBears. If you are not in one of these categories, then you will have to put your name on the waiting list for the course(s) you hope to take. See the Course Enrollment Policy for specific information.
Required Courses for Satisfaction of the CS Major</p>
<p>L&S CS majors must earn 27 units in upper division technical courses, including:</p>
<ol>
<li>Required Courses:
* CS 170 (Algorithms)
* CS 162 (Systems)</li>
<li>Breadth courses choose two from the following:
* CS 150 (Digital Systems)
* CS 152 (Compuer Architecture)
* CS 160 (User Interfaces)
* CS 161 (Computer Security)
* CS 164 (Languages and Compilers)
* CS 169 (Software Engineering)
* CS 184 (Computer Graphics)
* CS 186 (Databases)
* CS 188 (Artificial Intelligence)</li>
<li>Any two additional Upper Division Computer Science courses.</li>
<li>Technical electives.
Any upper division CS or EECS course provided it is graded is automatically approved. See the list of other approved non-CS technical electives.</li>
</ol>
<p>Note: All courses taken for the major must be taken for a letter grade. Refer to Prereq Chart in EECS Handbook for prerequisites for upper division CS courses.
Workload</p>
<p>CS 150 (Digital Systems), 152 (Computer Architecture), 162 (Operating Systems) and 184 (Computer Graphics) are known to have heavy workloads. It is recommended that you not take these courses in combination.
The L&S College 36-unit requirement</p>
<p>In order to graduate as an L&S student, you must complete a minimum of 36 upper division units. At least 6 of these upper division units must be outside your major department (this includes EECS courses not taught by CS faculty!). See the L&S unit requirements for more information on this.
The CS Division single-course restriction</p>
<p>The CS Division allows majors to satisfy at most one upper division course requirement at another four-year institution. Occasional exceptions are made. In either case, you need to make prior arrangements. You are expected to complete 27 upper division technical units at Berkeley. Please note that upper division courses from other four-year institutions can be used toward the upper division unit requirement set by the College of Letters and Science. "</p>
<p>On a semester system, you take fewer courses, but the courses are “bigger”. Some courses may be equivalent to two courses at a quarter system school.</p>
<p>Yes ankur, i’m well aware of that whole page.</p>
<p>but from what I can tell I can skip databases (which is data structures, correct me if i’m wrong), and the compiler course. In some schools these are mandatory while here it’s an option.
So how would i know what classes i need to take?</p>
<p>^^^ Hah. Databases is definitely not data structures. That is 61B (a class you have to take before even being accepted into the program). They are absolutely, completely different things.</p>
<p>Chances are, 61B(data structures) is the only thing that you might come in having already fulfilled as far as major-related courses go. Aside from that, you need to take everything else. Possibly, you could have some sort of equivalent to 70, but that’s probably unlikely.</p>
<p>You will certainly have to take:
61A
61C
EE40 or 42
All upper-division requirements</p>
<p>And you will almost certainly have to take 70.</p>
<p>As far as testing out of 61B, a lot of people whom I know that skipped it really came to regret it (though some didn’t). It is taught in much greater depth at Berkeley than it is at pretty much any high school or junior college.</p>
<p>You ask if it’s a good program… Well, we get wined and dined by the most coveted employers and grad schools in the world, so they obviously think that we’re a good program. We are one of the most well-connected schools in the tech industry, local to the silicon valley. I’m not sure why you would think that the semester system makes it a lesser program, but Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and a multitude of other employers would obviously disagree with you, judging from their aggressive recruiting from our program.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If you want to go into an industry software job, the courses with the most commonly seen concepts are:</p>
<p>CS 170 algorithms
CS 162 operating systems
CS 169 software engineering
EE 122 networks
CS 186 databases
CS 161 security</p>
<p>Depending on the type of application, the following can be useful:</p>
<p>CS 164 compilers
CS 152 computer architecture
CS 150 digital systems
CS 160 user interfaces
CS 184 graphics
CS 188 artificial intelligence</p>
<p>(the last three for the seemingly-popular computer game emphasis; Physics 7A and art would also be useful for that)</p>
<p>For graduate school, they suggest including CS 150, CS 162, CS 164, and CS 170 for a broad background in CS. Of course, you’ll want to add courses leading to your intended area of specialization in graduate school.</p>
<p>Yea, as of Fall 2011, CS70 can’t be satisfied by taking a course comparable to Math 55 which is Discrete Mathematics unless it was taken prior to that year. A couple of my friends neglected this class in CC and now have to take CS70 during this semester.</p>
<p>Unless you’re in the bay area, you won’t be able to satisfy 61A and most likely not 61C but 61B should have some type of articulation at most CCs. Regardless, all of these classes are requirements for graduation and will have to be taken after transferring.</p>
<p>CS 61B can be found at a few CCs; partial CS 61B (requiring taking CS 47B after transfer) can be found at a few more. AP CS A does not fulfill CS 61B (the discontinued AP CS AB does).</p>
<p>CS 61A is harder to find (Laney). So is CS 61C (Diablo Valley; partial at Cabrillo).</p>
<p>EE 42 is also hard to find (Laney, Alameda).</p>
<p>CS 70 articulation may not exist yet. However, it would be a good idea for prospective transfer students to take a course that articulates to Math 55 if no course that articulates to CS 70 exists.</p>
<p>For prospective EECS transfers, EE 40 and EE 20N may not exist as articulated courses at CCs.</p>
<p>Use [Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org) to find courses at nearby CCs.</p>
<p>Berkeley’s L&S CS is definitely a *<strong><em>ty program. That’s why all our students graduate to work for *</em></strong>ty companies, like Google.</p>
<p>All the younglings nowadays can’t even AP out of 61B =P … *sigh</p>
<p>Like someone stated, a semester system just means “bigger” classes. You aren’t missing out on anything if thats what you’re thinking. There’s a reason Berkeley is one of the best public universities. </p>
<p>The “lack of structure” is to allow you to emphasize in things you’re interested in. I know for other majors it is more structured but some other majors also have various emphasis you can major in, which is why it is more structured. </p>
<p>The CS program is definitely a good one. Google, Apple, and Pixar wouldn’t send their recruiters here if it wasn’t.</p>
<p>On a related question… if you do fine in the CS pre-major classes, is the petition for the major just a formality? Do most people get into the major, or is it very selective? I’m a freshman applicant for the CS in L&S major, and if I’m admitted, I wanted to know how likely I’ll be able to get into the major (assuming I pass all the pre-major classes).</p>
<p>L&S CS is currently not listed as a [capped</a> major](<a href=“http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/major/majorlist.html]capped”>http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/major/majorlist.html), and the department [web</a> page](<a href=“CS Major Information | EECS at UC Berkeley”>CS Major Information | EECS at UC Berkeley) says that you need a 2.0 technical GPA and a 2.0 (presumably overall) GPA.</p>
<p>This is not exactly a high bar; if you don’t have a 2.0 GPA, you have more urgent problems, like avoiding academic dismissal.</p>
<p>However, L&S CS was once a capped major that had competitive admissions to declare the major.</p>
<p>^ thanks. Yeah, I saw the 2.0 GPA requirement, and thought can that be it?</p>