UCB Computer science BA and BS differences

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>I'm a bit confused about these programs. I'm deciding on what classes to take in CCC that would take care of the most pre requisites for getting into UCB under computer science. But the two programs for BS and BA have very few pre reqs in common. </p>

<p>in UCB's website they say "An interest in hardware suggests the EECS route; an interest in double majoring (for example, in math or cognitive science) suggests the L&S route. There is no difference in the CS content between the two programs. The difference is in what else you take: mainly engineering, or mainly humanities and social sciences. " </p>

<p>Undergraduate</a> L&S CS Students | EECS at UC Berkeley</p>

<p>What catches my eye is the bit about double majoring. I have no real plans to double major (Unless the second major wouldn't add any extra time to my graduation) and also have no real interest in hardware/engineering, my focus is on programming and theory. A software engineer is the only kind of engineer I'd like to be. </p>

<p>If necessary I'll muster the extra dedication to get through EECS and I won't complain (Specially since neither is a guarantee to even get into) but I also don't wanna spend time studying engineering when my focus should be theory and software. </p>

<p>So finally to my question; What are the advantages of each degree and what classes would I be taking if I enrolled in L&S as opposed to EE? Would going into BA mean I HAVE to double major?</p>

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<p>No, you don’t have to double major. For software, EECS and L&S are pretty much the same. EECS is ABET accredited, but that only matters in really niche areas (like patent law).</p>

<p>The requirements are a bit different:
EECS worksheet: <a href=“http://coe.berkeley.edu/students/current-undergraduates/curriculum-degree-checks/EECS%202010-2013.pdf[/url]”>http://coe.berkeley.edu/students/current-undergraduates/curriculum-degree-checks/EECS%202010-2013.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
EECS Breadth requirements: [Humanities</a> and Social Science (H/SS) Requirement Explained ? UC Berkeley College of Engineering](<a href=“http://coe.berkeley.edu/students/current-undergraduates/requirements/hum-ss-requirement/requirements.html]Humanities”>Humanities and Social Sciences - Berkeley Engineering)</p>

<p>L&S CS requirements: [Undergraduate</a> L&S CS Students | EECS at UC Berkeley](<a href=“http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/csugrad/index.shtml]Undergraduate”>CS Major Information | EECS at UC Berkeley)
L&S Breadth: [Office</a> of Undergraduate Advising: 7 Course Breadth](<a href=“http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/requirement/7breadth.html]Office”>http://ls-advise.berkeley.edu/requirement/7breadth.html)</p>

<p>In terms of which CS classes you take, it’s essentially the same. So the other requirements (like breadth requirements) may carry more weight.</p>

<p>Another big difference is admissions/enrollment. If you apply L&S CS and get in, you enter as undeclared L&S. Then you need to complete pre-reqs with a Berkeley GPA of 3.0+ (might change) and the petition to be a CS major. If you apply to EECS and get in, you are EECS, declared, good to go, in your major. So, in that regard it’s a bit less stressful to be EECS.</p>

<p>I think L&S is also typically considered easier to get into during admissions, I don’t know how true that is.</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>The following courses are common for EECS and L&S CS:</p>

<p>Math 1A, 1B: calculus
Math 54: linear algebra and differential equations (may be two courses at some CCs)
CS 61A: structure and interpretation of computer programs
CS 61B: data structures
CS 61C: machine structures
CS 70: discrete math and probability theory
English R1A, R1B: English composition
EE 20N: signals and systems
EE 40: electronics (note: L&S CS requires only one of EE 20N or EE 40 to graduate)</p>

<p>Now, the issue is, it is hard to find the courses other than Math 1A, 1B, 54, English R1A, R1B, and maybe CS 61B and EE 40 at CCs, so you may have to take some of the courses as “catch up” after transfer.</p>

<p>For EECS, you also want to take:</p>

<p>Math 53: multivariable calculus
Physics 7A, 7B: mechanics, wave motion, heat, electricity/magnetism
one other science course (commonly Physics 7C or Chemistry 1A, but Biology 1A or 1B is acceptable)
two more humanities and/or social studies courses</p>

<p>For L&S CS, you also want to take:</p>

<p>IGETC or L&S breadth courses</p>

<p>Note that many of the same courses specified for EECS can also apply to IGETC or L&S breadth for L&S CS.</p>

<p>What you may want to do is compare the listings on [Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org) for your local CCs to Berkeley EECS and L&S CS.</p>

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<p>I had noticed the lack of articulated courses in almost every cc listed in Assist.org. Everyone seems to have math covered but very few offer any of the rest and none offer all of em. I’d just assumed (As you said) there would be some catch up if I get accepted. </p>

<p>But if I understand you correctly, by taking the pre reqs for EECS (Which is much easier to find equivalents for, in ccs), would I then be able to apply for L&S AND EECS? Since some of EECS pre reqs can count as IGETC?</p>

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<p>“Then you need to complete pre-reqs with a Berkeley GPA of 3.0+ (might change) and the petition to be a CS major. …”</p>

<p>If it needs a petition, does that mean I could still get denied to my preferred major even if I get the required GPA in my pre reqs at UCB?</p>

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<p>You can only apply to one major… even though both are CS, you have to choose between applying to EECS or L&S. Berkeley doesn’t do alternate majors, not for admissions.</p>

<p>Also, EECS and L&S should be about the same in terms of finding pre-reqs at CC… 61ABC are still hard to find, as are the EE classes. But EECS expects you to be taking a lot of maths/physics while L&S wants IGETC/breadth. Keep in mind that not having the EE/CS pre-reqs won’t hurt you too much… most transfers cannot find these, or will only complete 1 or 2 of them at their CC. But you should definitely do as many pre-reqs as you can, and having the rare ones looks good on your application.</p>

<p>I’m not super familiar with the L&S policies, the way I understand it is that if you meet the requirements you can declare without a problem.</p>

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<p>If you can get to Laney College in Oakland, you may be able to find CS 61A there. If you can get to Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, you may be able to find CS 61C there. Both also offer courses for CS 61B.</p>

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<p>Thank you guys! You helped me out alot :D</p>

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<p>helped me a lot too lol</p>

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<p>IS CS70 offered at a community college?</p>

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<p>Does UCBAlumnus’ post (above) on 12/3/13 answer your question (specifically, use the Welcome to Assist link he provided).</p>

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<p>Well I can use Assist, but it would rather take a long time and there maybe other colleges I don’t know about. Does anyone know which specific college that has CS70? Thanks!</p>

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<p>Unfortunately, [Welcome</a> to ASSIST](<a href=“http://www.assist.org%5DWelcome”>http://www.assist.org) does not appear to have a “search for CC courses that articulate to ____”, so you need to go through the listings manually, or write a computer program to web scrape the articulation listings.</p>

<p>CS 70 includes both discrete math and some calculus-based probability theory, making it less likely that (a) a CC will have a single course that matches up to CS 70, and (b) a CC will have a combination of courses in discrete math and introductory statistics that covers the CS 70 material (since few CCs offer calculus-based introductory statistics courses).</p>

<p>If you want a preview of the CS 70 material while you are still at CC, you can take a discrete math course (preferably one that articulates to Math 55) and an introductory statistics course. Or look at the CS 70 course materials: [CS70</a> Home Page](<a href=“http://www-inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs70/archives.html]CS70”>CS70 Home Page)</p>