Is it possible for me to pursue a B.S. in CS at UMN Sci and Eng with a minor and Japanese?

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I’m a sophomore in HS planning to become a software engineer and I’m currently aiming for the University of Minnesota when I graduate, as I feel that’s a good fit school for me as a girl living in a small town in Florida, with the environment and all. Currently hold a 4.0 GPA UW.

Enough about me lol.

I looked into the UMN’s website and I read that for their B.A. programs, typically, they require you to take a language course, which I myself am interested in taking Japanese, and the B.A. program also makes room for a minor. Whereas a B.S. in Computer Science in particular, requires you to take more maths and science courses in your later years in uni, which I’m not disappointed about as I also love math and science. I want to pursue a B.S. rather than a B.A. because from my research and snooping around, a B.S. shows that you’re a more challenged and logically intuitive person with all the math and science course loads, as compared to a B.A., and therefore makes you more competitive and more likely to get hired. But at the same time I also have many interests, like in art. I happen to love to make art and draw a lot, and so I also want to pursue a minor in art to improve my skills with the drawing courses and such. In addition, I plan to, at some point, move to Japan, so I want to fit in doing at most 2 Japanese language courses during my semesters.

Normally for all this to happen, I’d have to pursue a B.A. instead, but in this case I want to pursue a B.S… Would this all work out? Also, I wouldn’t mind taking summer courses as well. If anyone who goes to UMN knows how to work this out, do also answer please!

Thanks :slight_smile:

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For most majors, you will have some schedule space for out-of-major courses. Go through the degree requirements and see how many courses/credits they will consume and how much you have left for free electives.

It will likely take a lot more than two semesters of Japanese language courses to have good Japanese language proficiency, unless you already have some skill at the language and start in higher level courses.

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@ucbalumnus Thanks for the input! :smiley: So my math teacher is offering one of her yearly foreign travelling field trips, and this time, she’s planning to take us to Japan by next year through EF, which gives me an opportunity to begin picking up on Japanese this summer till next year so I can “immerse” and further learn the language when I go (parents are totally letting me go to be more “independent”). Do you think that by this, I can test out of beginner’s Japanese when I get to Uni?

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@theabstracture University of Minnesota- and I say this as an instate resident- doesn’t have the best financial aid. Academically, you can make your own major so I wouldn’t worry too hard. MN accepts dual enrollment credits as well. Have you thought about other colleges?

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@arinuma I’m planning to dual enroll in English Comp 1 and 2 senior year at my local cc. And I’m also planning to apply to Northeastern in Boston (near family in Massachusetts), and the University of Washington’s computer science program (as it is also one of my top schools to aim for), but right now, I’m mainly focused on getting into the UMN CSE :smiley: As for the financial aid thing, I’m taking the time this summer to intensely study for the PSAT in hopes of getting a merit scholarship, and get more leadership experience to put towards applying for the Gates Scholarship. So I got everything planned out, and have hope that everything works out :smiley: