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FAQS for CS Students

Admissions

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The CS Department does not directly admit students to our undergraduate programs. All students apply centrally and, if they are offered and accept a place, they pick their majors at a later point.

All undergraduate admissions/transfers are handled by Admissions: you can contact the admissions team at admission@emory.edu. Please do not direct undergraduate admissions questions to the CS Department as we will not be able to advise.

Declaring a Major/Minor

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Students can declare during or after the second semester of their freshman year. 

No, there are no special requirements. However, students who declare in their junior and senior year are reviewed to ensure that they are on track to meet all the requirements for their program of choice in time for graduationn. 

Students can declare a major/minor through OPUS under the Course Planning and Enrollment tile. This form will display the student's current academic plan, and students may request to add, remove, or change a major, minor, or concentration from that page. 

These requests are subject to departmental review. Declarations are usually reviewed and processed twice a month. Once approved, students receive a welcome email from the department. 

If you have any questions about the form or the process, please contact OUE.Records@emory.edu. 

No, you may declare at most one major or minor from those listed here on the CS website. 

Yes, students can change their declaration (for example, from the CS BS to the CS BA) at any point using the same process in OPUS. 

Enrollment/Course Registration

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If you would like help/advice, please reach out to your major/minor advisor. It is a good idea to touch base with them every semester to ensure a smooth path to graduation. If you are not sure who your advisor is, please email our UGC at bnflood@emory.edu. 

 

NOTE: CS major/minor advisors cannot advise on OUE requirements, please see your OUE advisor with any questions of that nature. 

No, students are not permitted to enroll in courses if they have not completed the prerequisite course(s). This includes taking the prerequisite course(s) concurrently. This is a hard rule as prerequisite courses provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the class. 

Once you have enrolled in the summer course, please write to our UGC at bnflood@emory.edu and she will generate a permission code to facilitate enrollment. As long as you successfully complete the summer course, you will be able to take the fall course. 

Before pre-registration starts, our UGC circulates an email to all CS majors and minors with the schedule for permission code distribution. If you have not received this email, please reach out to Ms. Flood at bnflood@emory.edu. Please double check on Atlas to ensure that you have completed the prerequisite course(s) before requesting a code. 

NOTE: Permission codes will NOT facilitate enrollment outside of a student’s scheduled pre-registration period or A/D/S. 

No, permission codes do not guarantee seats. If a course is full, your code will add you to the waitlist. 

No, there is no overloading permitted. All undergraduate courses have waitlists for when enrollment requests exceed course capacity. These lists will automatically enroll students into the course as seats open up throughout the add/drop/swap period. This is a hard rule that cannot be overridden by the course instructor. 

The only undergraduate students permitted to enroll in a graduate course are: 

  1. Those in the Honors Program
  2. Those in the 4+1 BS/MS program 

Honors students are polled for their course preferences by our DUR, Dr. Fossati, and enrolled manually by our UGC before the semester starts. 4+1 students will receive an email from our UGC to facilitate enrollment. 

No, Emory College does not permit audits. 

No, we cannot swap students from one section to another manually. The waitlists include a swap/if feature that will automatically enroll a student in a waitlisted class if a space opens up while maintaining the student’s original space to ensure that they are not stuck if they don’t get a seat in their preferred section. Instructions can be found here. 

No, individual instructors do not have control of their enrollments. If you have special circumstances, please reach out to our UGC at bnflood@emory.edu. 

CS Major Programs

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No, no prior CS experience is required to take a CS major. Our courses and programs have been carefully designed to cover all of the elements required to successfully complete an undergraduate degree. 

Although the BA and BS programs have different objectives, both emphasize the principles of computer science and underlying quantitative foundations. The department is home to a wide range of modern computing equipment and student laboratories, and all undergraduate programs include intensive immersive experiences in computer programming, system building, and contemporary topics in big data and artificial intelligence. 


Computer Science BS vs Computer Science BA: 

  • The CS BS program is more intensive and requires more hours than the BA. It leans more towards the technical side. 
  • The CS BS is an ideal choice for students who wish to advance to graduate level and/or more technical roles after graduation. 
  • The CS BA is broader in scope and is a good choice if a student would like to take a second major. 

Our programs use a mixture of Java, Python, and C.

No, you may declare at most one major or minor from those listed here on the CS website. 

Yes, a CS major or minor can be combined with a Math major or minor. The only exception to this rule is the Math/CS combined major.

No, due to crossover in content, the Math/CS major cannot be combined with another Math major/minor. 

The minimum GPA requirement for all CS majors is 2.0. 

Yes, students may repeat a course for a better grade. The higher of the two grades will be used to calculate the CS major GPA. 

No, all classes counting toward the degree must be taken for a letter grade.  

Yes, an S grade can be used as a prerequisite. 

No, CS 323 was specially designed for the AI minor, and it cannot be counted towards any of the CS majors. 

Yes, students can count more than one CS 485 towards their elective requirements provided the topic/subject is different. 

Yes, students can use 3 credits of CS 497R (typically taken over 3 semesters) to replace a CS major elective. This requires a Degree Tracker substitution which can be requested from our UGC at bnflood@emory.edu once the third research credit has been successfully completed. 

Enrollment in graduate courses is restricted to undergraduate students in the Honors and 4+1 Programs. 4+1 students may double count a maximum of two courses (6 credit hours) between their BS/BA and MS programs.

Students in these programs will require a Degree Tracker substitution which can be requested from our UGC at bnflood@emory.edu. 

There are no double-count restrictions on the CS side. However, we strongly recommend that students reach out to the other department in question to confirm their rules.

If your Degree Tracker is not accurate, please write to our UGC at bnflood@emory.edu and request a review. Our UGC can help with any amendments. 

NOTE: The CS Department cannot advise on GERs, please reach out to your OUE advisor with any concerns about GERs on your Degree Tracker.