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Spring ’24 Application To The Major

Please note, if you are a transfer student applying directly to the major, this page does not pertain to you. Please see the information here: https://cs.unc.edu/academics/undergraduate/

 

The demand for concentrating in a Computer Science program has grown significantly at UNC over the past decade. In order to maintain the quality of educational experiences Carolina students studying Computer Science deserve, we must restrict the number of students majoring in computer science relative to our faculty size’s ability to sustain the programs. 

Those wishing to concentrate in Computer Science must be admitted to a major program (BA or BS). Students who are currently enrolled in, or have credit for, COMP 210: Data Structures AND (COMP283: Discrete Structors OR MATH381: Discrete Mathematics) will be eligible to apply. These courses represent prerequisites for COMP211 and COMP301, the next courses in the computer science introductory curriculum. This page contains information about the Spring ’24 application. Students who are admitted to the program will then continue through the introductory course sequence with COMP 301 and COMP 211 and will have access to upper division electives to complete their degree programs.

Eligibility

Students who are currently enrolled in, or have credit for, COMP 210: Data Structures AND (COMP283: Discrete Structors OR MATH381: Discrete Mathematics) are eligible to apply. Students with transfer credit or placement exam credit for COMP 210 and one of COMP283 or MATH381, may also apply. Students must meet other prerequisite and grade requirements to apply as required by the curriculum.

Timeline for Spring ‘24 Admissions to CS Programs

  • February 15th, 2024 – Applications Open
  • February 22nd, 2024 – Applications Open
  • March 28th, 2024 – Application Must Be Started on, or before, this Date
  • March 30th, 2024 – Applications Due
    • Applications MUST be started by March 28th in order to have time to complete
    • The application system will allow a small grace period on applications started before March 29th to submit through April 1st.
  • June 20th, 2024 – Decisions Communicated

Application

Students will apply via (a) a standard application requesting biographical information and (b) an essay. The admissions committee will additionally seek academic records through the close of the semester, course data from required departmental courses, and any other information available on contributions within the computer science department or community.

The application process is managed through the University administered Slate system. Students must request the application through Connect Carolina and will then be sent a link to the Slate application via email. The steps to make an application request are:

  1. Open Connect Carolina
  2. Go to Student Center
  3. In the left-hand sidebar under “My Academics”, look for the dropdown at the bottom of the list of options. Select “Apply for Major/Minor Change” in the dropdown, and click the continue arrow button.
  4. Select Computer Science for 2024 Summer II. Note this just means that your major change will go into effect for Summer II. It does not mean you have to register for summer school. This is by design so that accepted students have their major changed as soon as possible. Agree to Intent to Apply. Submit.
  5. Wait at least one business day (meaning Monday if you make the request on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday) to receive an e-mail with a link to the application. If the e-mail does not arrive, contact UNCSlateSupport@unc.edu for help.

NOTE: The application will seem to only provide the ability to select BS. Go ahead and do so even if you intend to do the BA. There is only one application for both degree programs and we do not make any distinction between the two for purposes of admission. Once admitted, you’ll be able to change your degree intent to either the BS or BA as you wish.

Review

With the aim of fostering the development of an energetic, creative, diverse community of computer scientists at UNC-Chapel Hill, the admissions committee will perform a holistic review of each candidate’s application. This review will consider the strength of the applicants’ coursework to date, alongside their essays, extracurricular activities/special talents, potential contributions to the computer science community, and any special circumstances. The goal will be to consider each applicant as a whole individual, not merely as a class rank or GPA, and assess their potential to contribute to the department’s community and help achieve its mission.

Review Committee

The Computer Science Undergraduate Program Admissions Committee will be chaired by a computer science faculty member. Members of the committee may include faculty, staff, and graduate students.

Decisions

Admitted students will be allowed to register into at least one and possibly both introductory sequence courses COMP 211 and COMP 301 in the semester of their admittance. These courses are required in the introductory sequence and are prerequisites to all upper-division courses.

Non-admitted students will not be able to enroll in additional COMP courses required of the degree programs and may only reapply one time in the next admissions cycle.

Applying For Other Degree Programs In The Professional Schools At The Same Time

Students are able to apply for other application-based majors in the professional schools (i.e., Data Science, Information Science (SILS), Business, Biostatistics (Public Health), Journalism, etc.) at the same time as applying for the CS program. Your application to other programs or accepting admission to another program will not affect your chances of being accepted in the CS program.

However, the system can not process more than one accepted program in a semester and programs associated with a professional school must be your primary major. This means that if accepted into both a professional school program and the CS program, you should accept the professional school program through the system and then request that professional school associated with your now primary major to add the CS major as a second major. The department can help you sort this out once acceptance decisions have been made and communicated.