<p>I just finished my sophomore year as a history major and long story short, I've been considering switching to computer science or actuarial science. </p>
<p>The thing is though, it might take me one more year to graduate if I make the switch to computer science. I could graduate in time with a B.S in Math and then go for an M.S in compssci.</p>
<p>Which do you guys think is better, sticking around for 1 more year of undergrad or finishing with a B.S in math and then going for an M.S in compsci?</p>
<p>BTW do I really need physics to do well in compsci?</p>
<p>Can you major in math and take courses or a minor in computer science? If you take the most important CS courses (e.g. the introductory courses, operating systems, computer networks, software engineering, and algorithms / complexity), then you should have fairly good coverage of the concepts most commonly used in industry computer software jobs.</p>
<p>Physics is not commonly used unless you are writing software with physics or engineering applications, or designing computer hardware at the semiconductor electronics level.</p>
<p>I was in the same predicament as you and decided on doing a math major (concentration in computational science) and a computer science major. However, my decision is influenced by the fact that I was never sure if software development/engineering was the career path I wanted. If I were focused on a specific path then my choice may have been different.</p>
As far as I know, many schools ask CS students to pick a science concentration. You don’t need to do physics concentration. I can’t tell you. You have to find that out from your CS department.</p>
<p>The real question is: what is pushing you to shift from a liberal art major to a computational major? </p>
<p>It isn’t all that easy to get into a graduate program from a different major. It is very doable and very very very very very possible. Have you done any programming yourself? CS is not all about programming. At its early stage it is about programming, but later on you have to take more theoretical classes (although many of them require programming anyway).</p>
<p>So are you doing a double major in math and compsci right now?</p>
<p>ucbalumunus,</p>
<p>If I do a math major I’ll have space to take 3 other courses, which is probably not enough for computer science minor. But I MIGHT be able to do my cognates in computer science.</p>
<p>jwxie,</p>
<p>I was studying history, because I was consumed with going to law school. I heard that you should major in something easy, because GPA is everything in law school admissions. But I had unrealistic ideas about law school and the practice of law in general as I have recently found out, and now I’m deciding to make the switch to something more quantitative because I’ve always enjoyed math. Actuarial Science and Computer Science are 2 fields that interest me.</p>
<p>And also, I have no programming experience whatsoever</p>
<p>I’m doing a single major in math with a minor in computer science. At my school the math dept has a concentration in computational science, which is not the same thing as computer science, but is related to high powered computing and numerical analysis to solve scientific problems. </p>
<p>I could easily graduate on time with a math major and computer science minor, but I don’t have a traditional mindset in regards to what I want out of my education. Ill be doing a program in innovation and entrepreunership in addition to taking a broad range of interdisciplinary courses (history, philosophy, economics).</p>
<p>It sounds like we are at similar points in our academic careers though, so you have any more questions just let me know.</p>
<p>What are your plans with your major? Do you plan on going into computer science for graduate school? That’s what I was considering too, bachelors in math and then apply to MS programs in compsci.</p>
<p>If your plan is similar, have you researched into it and figured out what compsci courses you need to apply to MS programs as a non-compsci major?</p>