If I take “The Beauty and Joy of Computing” would I be behind a semester in graduating? I never took any computer science courses and think this class is good for me to get a better understanding but I don’t want to be behind.
What school and what major?
You mean CS 10 at UCB?
What class level are you (frosh, soph, …) and what is your major or intended major?
If you will be a frosh undeclared L&S student considering a major in CS, you will not be behind in terms of graduating in 8 semesters if you take CS 10 in the fall and CS 61A in the spring. For any possible major it can depend on how carefully you choose your courses overall with consideration of prerequisite sequences.