College of Engineering Computer Science FAQ

First-time, first-year entrance requirements are unchanged from when the major was offered in the College of Arts and Sciences. They are the same requirements as the College of Engineering entrance requirements with two exceptions:

1. Physics and chemistry requirements are waived (however, students still need three units of high school science).
2. ACT (enhanced) score of 20 or higher (or equivalent SAT).

Transfer students must have a 2.5 cumulative GPA and be Calculus I-ready to be admitted.

Students who lack entrance requirements for the computer science program:

• May be admitted based on ACT scores, high school rank and credits
• May be admitted with pre-engineering status in the Exploratory and Pre-Professional Advising Center

You will need to meet the College of Engineering and department GPA and calculus-readiness requirements and policies for that engineering major. Your academic advisor can help you determine eligibility and the impact on your plan of study if you would like to switch to another major.

You may declare a major in computer science, but it will not make you eligible for another major in the Collge of Engineering. A student who wants to declare an engineering major, regardless of which major from which they are transferring, will need to meet the College of Engineering and department admission standards (GPA and calculus-readiness) for that major.

If you want to change your major to computer science, you will need to meet the admission requirements at the time of the requested change. If you do not yet have a college GPA, you will be treated as a new admit and be subject to the college entrance requirements or transfer student requirements.

No. However, current students who have already declared a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science will be allowed to complete their program in the College of Arts and Sciences. Beginning in catalog years 2021-2022, students will no longer be able to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science.

No. The number of credit hours for the major is the same in the College of Engineering as it was in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Yes. This requirement is fulfilled by the completion of the 6-credit-hour second-year sequence in a single foreign language. A student who has completed the fourth-year level of one foreign language in high school is exempt from the language requirement, but encouraged to continue their language studies.

There are two changes to the major curriculum beginning with catalog years 2021-2022:

1. Students now have a specific technical communications course requirement to satisfy, JGEN 200 or BSAD 220H
2. The CDRs required by the College of Arts and Sciences have been replaced with breadth requirements that include six (6) hours in arts, humanities and social sciences, three (3) hours of which must come from courses certified as “Diversity in U.S. Communities” courses

Yes. Computer science majors in the College of Engineering are still required to declare a minor or another major. Students may choose a minor from the many minor options the university offers.

Historically, many students completed a mathematics minor by completing the computer science math requirements plus one additional upper level math course (typically MATH 208). However, effective in catalog years 2020-2021, the mathematics department changed its minor requirements to now require two additional upper-level courses, rather than just one additional course.

Students should consult with an academic advisor for questions about minors.

No. The science requirements for both programs are the same. Students majoring in computer science (or software engineering) are required to complete 12 hours of science courses intended for science and engineering majors, including at least one science lab. Students may choose from a variety of science areas including chemistry, physics, astronomy, biological sciences, earth and atmospheric sciences, or anthropology. Neither computer science nor software engineering majors are required to take physics or chemistry as part of their degree program.

The College of Engineering course repeat limit, the course withdrawal limit, the minimum GPA rule, the transfer course credit policy, and the graduation with distinction policy will apply to Computer Science majors in the College of Engineering. These policies are different from the corresponding policies in the College of Arts and Sciences. For details, refer to the section “D. Academic Programs & Policies” on the College of Engineering Undergraduate catalog page at https://catalog.unl.edu/undergraduate/engineering/.

• The grade rules policy for computer science majors differs from the College of Engineering policy. Students majoring in computer science are required to earn a grade of C or higher in all major and minor courses (i.e., all CSCE courses).
• Pass/No Pass rules: For students majoring in computer science in the College of Engineering, of the 120 credit hours in the major, 6 (six) credit hours of CSCE courses may be taken Pass/No Pass, and 18-24 credit hours of ACE and ancillary courses may be taken Pass/No Pass. However, a maximum of 24 credit hours of Pass/No Pass course work may be counted towards the degree.

Yes. At the end of their sophomore year, computer science majors in the College of Engineering will be evaluated for professional admission. The criteria are:

1. A grade of “P” or “C” or higher in CSCE 310 or RAIK 283H
2. An overall GPA of at least 2.5 (semester and cumulative)

The change will have no impact on you if you stay in your current degree program through the College of Arts and Sciences. If you are interested in changing your degree program to the College of Engineering, you should meet with a computer science advisor to review the potential impact on your plan to graduation.

There are a few policy differences and a few major requirements differences. The main differences include:

1. Students must earn a 2.5 gpa to remain in good standing in the College of Engineering.
2. Students will go through a professional admissions process after 43 hours.
3. Students will be required to take JGEN 200 for their ACE 1 requirement.

You should become familiar with the policy differences and the major requirement differences. A computer science advisor can help you determine what impacts these differences will have on your plan to graduation.

1. You must meet with a computer science advisor to review the degree audit and a plan to graduate.
2. You must change your catalog year to the 2021 catalog year or beyond.

This change will not affect students with a minor in computer science or software development.

This change will not affect students with a major in computer engineering or software engineering.

Yes. If you were admitted to UNL prior to the fall of 2021, you can continue your current computer science studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. However, if you do change your catalog year to 2021 or beyond, you will not be able to continue your studies through the College of Arts and Sciences.

You should first consult a computer science advisor. The advisor can help you determine an appropriate timeline.

Students in the UNL Honors Program will see little impact from the move to the College of Engineering. There will be a slight difference in graduation with distinction, but this will not affect the University Honors Program requirements in general.