Undergraduate FAQ

Appointments can be made by coming by the office or calling the front desk at 512-471-9509. We do not schedule appointments by email. You must include your EID in all communication, by phone, voicemail, or email, for our office to assist you.

The CS advisors offer advising in the following areas: Advising bar removal, Degree plans, Initiation of degree audit, Registration advising, and Registration for departmental courses. The advisors provide approval for the following online applications: Appeals and Petitions for Degree Modification, Course Substitutions, and Repetition of a Course.

Faculty members are a valuable resource for students. Most faculty are willing to meet with students throughout the academic year to discuss any of these areas: Career Opportunities, Course Selection, Graduate School, Professional Development Opportunities, Research Opportunities, and Specific Areas of Interest. If you are interested in speaking with a faculty member, you may try to reach them during their office hours or by email. Please visit the faculty homepages for contact information.

We are located in the new Gates Dell Complex building next to POB, GDC 2.702.

Advising for the next semester begins after the 12th class day, and is available on an ongoing basis, not just during registration. Only entry-level students and students who are on scholastic probation receive advising bars, and must meet with an advisor in person before they can register for classes. CS majors who have been promoted from entry-level and who are in good academic standing do not receive advising bars and are not required to see an advisor before registration. Advisors are available all year to assist with degree planning and course selection, help students who are struggling academically, provide information about UT's numerous resources, and help students facing non-academic problems.

Withdrawal from The University is done after a student has completed registration for a semester or summer session, and then decides not to attend any classes that semester or session.

The registration system will not permit you to withdraw by yourself. You must do this in the CNS Dean’s Office. If it is not possible to come to the office, please call (512) 471-4536. During the first four weeks of class there is a pro-rated refund for withdrawing from school. A full refund, less $15.00, is ONLY given if a student withdraws prior to the first day of class. Failure to properly withdraw results in failing grades in all semester coursework. Leaving UT without a formal withdrawal is the same as failing all classes and has the same consequences.

After the final deadline, students may not drop or withdraw unless there are serious non-academic circumstances, which occurred after the Q deadline date. Appeals will only be considered for documented, non-academic reasons. Contact the CNS Dean’s Office, WCH 1.106, (512) 471-4536 for non-academic issues. You must include your EID in all communication, by phone, voicemail, or email, for our office to assist you.

This is dependent on what class you are taking.

For all CS, math or science courses required by your degree, you must make a C- or better. This means that if you make below a C- on any of these classes, they will only count as electives and will have to be retaken for a grade of C- or better to count for your degree.

If you are taking a core-curriculum course, foreign language course, or elective (i.e. UGS, GOV, HIS, Social Science, RHE, etc.), you must make a D- or better to fulfill that degree requirement. If you make less than a D- on a core-curriculum course or elective, it will not count and you will need to retake the course or choose another option (if you area allowed a choice, such as Social Science or elective courses).

You should seek out help by reaching out to your professor, TA's, and other tutoring resources such as the Sanger Learning Center. If you feel that you cannot make the grade necessary for your degree, you should schedule an appointment with your academic advisor by calling 471-4509 to get the necessary forms for a Q-drop in the course. The Q-drop deadline is 2/3rds of the way through the semester so you should check the Registrar's calendar to be aware of this deadline and give yourself adequate time to get the signatures necessary on your form before that date. If you are experiencing difficulty due to non-academic reasons, you should make an appointment to visit the CNS non-academic counselors by visiting WCH 1.106 or calling 471-4536. Non-academic Q-drops that are approved by non-academic counselors do not count against your Q-drop limit.

You should not take a course pass/fail if you need that class to fulfill a degree requirement. Courses taken pass/fail count towards your total number of residence hours and elective hours, but nothing else. They do not count towards your GPA (unless an F is earned) and do not fulfill prerequisite requirements. This means you should NOT take any CS courses as pass/fail unless you are using them for only elective requirements. Only electives should be taken pass/fail, unless you plan on repeating the course later for a letter grade. College of Natural Sciences students may only count 16 pass/fail hours toward their degree (All BA Degree and B S/BSA degrees prior to 14 -16 catalog) , and may only take two courses pass/fail per semester. You may not take a class pass/fail unless you have 30 hours completed. You may select this option when you register for the course, or you may go by the CS Advising Center in GDC 2.702 or the CNS Dean's Office in WCH 1.106 by the Q-drop deadline to change your grading to pass/fail.

For the 2014-16 catalog, College of Natural Sciences BA students may only count 16 pass/fail hours toward their degree, and may only take two courses pass/fail per semester. BSA and BS students may only count 6 pass/fail hours toward their degree, and may only take two courses pass/fail per semester.

If you earn a 60 or better in a pass/fail class, you will receive a CR on your transcript. This will not factor into your GPA. If you earn less than a 60, you will receive an F on your transcript and this will count as a 0.0 factored into your GPA.

Yes, you can use a One-Time-Exception Q-drop once in your undergraduate career. This drop counts as one of your 6 allotted Q-drops. You can find more information about the OTE drop on the CNS website. You can pick up the form in the Dean’s office in WCH 1.106 or in the CS Advising Center. The form is due by the last class day of the semester. If you are dropping a class because of non-academic reasons, you should make an appointment to visit the CNS non-academic counselors by visiting WCH 1.106 or calling 471-4536. Non-academic Q-drops that are approved by non-academic counselors do not count against your Q-drop limit (6 total).

The College of Natural Sciences uses the UT calendar for purposes of registration, adding and dropping courses, and withdrawing from the university.

The general schedule for each semester is as follows:

* Class days 1 – 4, add via the online Registration system
* Class days 5 – 12, advisors may add students within the departmental classes (at their discretion)
* Class days 1 – 12, drop via the online Registration system
* Class day 13 on, adds or drops can be initiated in the CNS Dean's office (WCH 1.106); classes dropped after the 12th class day show up on your record as a Q-drop (a drop without refund or penalty). You are allotted 6 Q-drops in your entire undergraduate career.

If you drop a class up to the 12th class day, you will receive a tuition refund, if necessary, and classes do not appear on the permanent record. Not attending does not automatically drop you from classes or withdraw you from UT; you need to do that yourself. Always double-check your final schedule before the 12th class day.

Important dates for Fall 2014:
August 25: Add-drops for students who have registered and paid their tuition
August 27: Classes begin
September 2: last day to add-drop classes on your own through the registration system online
September 12: Last date to drop a class for a possible refund and without a Q
November 4: Q-drop deadline - last day for students to drop a class with a Q on their record, last day to apply to graduate or walk in May ceremony
Oct 27 - Nov 7: Registration for Spring 2015 semester

You can find more important Spring 2015 dates on the UT calendar

• If it is before the 12th class day, you can drop courses on your own in the Registration system. You will receive a tuition refund, if necessary, and classes do not appear on the permanent record. Not attending does not automatically drop you from classes or withdraw you from UT; you need to do that yourself.
• If it is after the 12th class day, but before the Q-drop deadline (which you can find on the Registrar's calendar), in order to drop a course for academic reasons, you will need to pick up a Q-drop form from either the CS Advising Center (GDC 2.702) or the CNS Dean's Office (WCH 1.106). You will need to (1) sign the form, (2) get an advisor's signature, and finally, (3) turn it into the CNS Dean's Office (WCH 1.106) before 5:00pm on the Q-drop deadline.

Each undergraduate is allowed 6 academic Q-drops in their undergraduate career. This will show up on your record as a Q, rather than a grade and you will not receive credit for this class.

If you are dropping a class because of non-academic reasons, you should make an appointment to visit the CNS non-academic counselors by visiting WCH 1.106 or calling 471-4536. Non-academic Q-drops that are approved by non-academic counselors do not count against your Q-drop limit.

Be sure to check with financial aid and scholarships to ensure that you will not have an issue if your drop puts you below full-time hours for the semester.

You will need to consult the Admission’s website to find out more information about the requirements for admission to The University of Texas at Austin and the Computer Science department. They will evaluate any transcripts from other institutions and decide how they transfer into UT. Information about Computer Science's degree programs, course offerings, faculty, and research areas can be found on our department's web site. If you are admitted, you will be advised during your orientation session.

Generally speaking, students should plan on a minimum of 2 & 1/2 to 3 years to complete the undergraduate C S degree program. However, depending on how any existing university credits would apply to our degree program, a student might be able to complete their course work in a shorter time frame. Regardless, all UT degrees require a minimum of 60 in-residence (taken in a UT classroom) hours.

You can apply for readmission through the UT Admissions web site. You will need to submit as a part of your application transcripts of any course work (both online and in class) that you might have completed since your time at UT, and you will need to have maintained at least a 2.5 GPA in that transfer work.

No. Both grades will remain on your transcript and both will be averaged into your GPA. Students in the College of Natural Sciences are not permitted to repeat a course for which they have already earned a C- or better. In addition, no student may enroll in the same Natural Sciences course more than twice without permission from their advisor, therefore students taking a Natural Sciences course for a second time need to be aware it may be their last chance to pass that course.

University policy states that you may NOT for any reason retake a course if you have made a C- or better.

Even if a student makes below a C- in a course and must retake it, no student may enroll in the same Natural Sciences course more than twice without permission from their advisor. Therefore, students taking a Natural Sciences course for a second time need to be aware it may be their last chance to pass that course. You may only repeat a CS Entry-Level course (CS 312, CS 311, CS 314) one time, no exceptions. Students may fill out a third time repeat appeal to take a CNS class for a third time that will have to be approved by an advisor. These appeals will not be approved for Entry-Level CS courses unless there is documented non-academic drop for one of the attempts for a given course.

In order for credit by exam or AP credits to count toward a degree or as a course prerequisite, students must first claim the credit on the Testing Services website. Do not claim any credit before speaking with your academic advisor. Your academic advisor can help you determine which credits you should claim for progress in your degree.

Steps to Claim Credit

1. Start on the Student Testing Services page.

2. Read the Placement Versus Credit information.

3. Click on View Scores and Claim Credit, and log in.

4. Claim your credit.

Important

• There is a fee of $10 per credit hour for claiming credit. For example, three credit hours would cost $30. Payment options are available.
• Claimed credit-by-exam will not affect your GPA.
• If you take a course in residence for which you have already earned credit-by-exam, whether you have petitioned or not, you will NOT be able to claim the credit.

View a full list of classes, see the testing schedule, and register for these tests on the Student Testing Services website. Be aware, that if you are planning to test out of a course that is a prerequisite for a course you are planning to take next semester, your scores will need to be in by the time you register for the course.

Do not claim credit until you have been at UT for at least one semester and/or have talked with an academic advisor. A student can claim credit for an exam at any time prior to his/her senior year. A student may also elect not to claim any credit.

To get involved in the FRI program, you can get more information and apply through their website. Otherwise, you would need to speak to someone in the FRI program if you are a current student not already involved in FRI to gain access to these courses. It is at their discretion if they have availability for non-FRI students in their courses

In the course schedule, any upper division course that says "Contains a Substantial Writing Component" will fulfill the upper division writing component requirement. Every course schedule lists all the writing component courses offered that semester from every academic department, including Computer Science (click on the "Writing Courses" link in the sidebar). Writing component courses can overlap with other degree requirements.

Courses with the last two digits between 20 and 79 (ex: CS 429, CS 378) are upper division courses. Those with the last two digits lower than 20 are lower division (ex: CS 314). Those courses with the last two digits greater than 79 are graduate courses (ex: CS 380C).

We automatically promote our students into the BS degree plan, but you can email our advising office to request to be changed to the BSA degree plan. You can also see a list of the differences between the BS and the BSA on our website. You must include your EID in all communication, by phone, voicemail, or email, for our office to assist you.

The Bachelor of Science in Computer Science has several options for fulfilling the foreign language requirement including culture courses, and students in those degree plans should look at the course completion checklists for their options. The Bachelor of Science and Arts (BSA) allows foreign language and foreign culture courses to count in the "Language, Arts and Culture" area. The Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science requires fourth-semester proficiency in a single language, no exceptions. Always talk to your advisor about any questions you have regarding your degree option and language requirements.

They CAN be, but they do not have to be. Students have the option of fulfilling one of their writing component requirements with a lower division course. Advisors strongly recommend that Computer Science majors take one lower division writing component course (such as UGS 302/303) during their freshman or sophomore years. We offer several upper division CS courses with writing components with limited space availability that you can choose to take as well.

Please refer to our Curriculum Changes FAQ.

If you are planning to change your major to Computer Science (or add a second major), please follow the instructions on the Internal Transfer page.

Non-CS majors should plan to register for CS Elements courses only.

No, only majors-leve science classes can count for both the BSA, BA, and BS degree plans in the College of Natural Sciences. Also, CNS students cannot use any Astronomy classes to fulfill their science requirements.

No, these classes cannot count in place of CS 313K or CS 311. The only exception to this is if you took these classes prior to Spring 2012. If so, you should make an appointment with your academic advisor by calling 471-9509 to ensure this is counting. You must include your EID in all communication, by phone, voicemail, or email, for our office to assist you.

No. CS 429 provides the foundational material for upper division classes. Instead of taking upper division classes, students are asked to focus on their math requirements (calculus, M 340L, SSC 321, etc.) in this semester with CS 429. The only exception to this would be an FRI (CS 378) course. You would need to speak to the FRI department if you are not already involved in the FRI program to gain access to these courses.

Undergraduates may enroll in graduate courses for undergraduate credit, assuming they meet certain conditions.

1. The undergraduate student must be eligible to take upper-division courses and must fulfill the prerequisite for the course (except graduate standing).
2. The student must have a university grade point average of at least 3.00.
3. The student must receive the consent of the course instructor and the graduate advisor for the department in which the course is offered. Some colleges and schools may also require the approval of the dean's office. Individual departments may impose additional requirements, or bar undergraduates from enrolling in graduate courses altogether.
4. An undergraduate student may not enroll in a graduate course that has fewer than five graduate students enrolled.
5. A graduate course taken by an undergraduate is counted toward the student's bachelor's degree in the same way that upper-division courses are counted, unless the course is reserved for graduate credit. Courses reserved for graduate credit may not also be used to fulfill the requirements of an undergraduate degree.

An undergraduate student enrolled in a graduate course is subject to all university regulations affecting undergraduates.

Undergraduate students may not take courses in the School of Law.

To request to take a graduate course for undergraduate credit, please complete a Registration in a Graduate Course for Undergraduate Credit form and turn it into the CS Graduate Office (GDC 2.726) by the 12th class day in a long-session semester or the fourth class day in the summer session.

An undergraduate may enroll in a graduate course for graduate credit under the following conditions:

1. The student must have a 3.0 overall UT grade point average.
2. The student must have completed 90 undergraduate hours.
3. The student cannot register for more than 15 semester hours in a long semester or for more than twelve semester hours in the summer session.
4. Courses reserved for graduate credit are limited to a total of twelve semester hours.
5. A student who has previously earned a bachelor's degree may NOT reserve courses for graduate credit.
6. Only graduate courses may be reserved for graduate credit.
7. Courses reserved for graduate credit may not also be used to fulfill the requirements of an undergraduate degree.
8. The grade earned in the graduate course will not be included in the student's graduate grade point average.

To request to take a graduate course for graduate credit, please complete a Reservation of Course for Graduate Credit form and turn it into the CS Graduate Office (GDC 2.726) by the 12th class day in a long-session semester or the fourth class day in the summer session.

The College of Natural Sciences does not award minors, however there are a multitude of certificates that students can earn. Outside of the College of Natural Sciences, there are several minor and certificate options for students to gain experience in another area and get recognition for it. Many of our students choose to do the Business Foundations Program and Bridging Disciplines Program, but you are welcome to do any minor or certificate certificate that UT offers that you qualify for.

If you want to take enough courses to have the equivalent of a minor (typically 12 hours, 6 of which are upper division), you can do that and claim to have the equivalent of a minor on your resume, but this will not be reflected on your UT transcript.

An upper division elective is ANY upper division course that you take to help reach your required total of upper division hours but that does not fulfill any other specific degree requirements. This is your chance to take something different and personally interesting to you. Search through the course schedule to see what's offered, and be sure to notice if the course is restricted or has specific prerequisites. Upper division electives can be taken pass/fail. This is different from a CS Upper Division Elective (this is any CS upper division class needed to fulfill your CS degree requirements).

Every student registered for a calculus class at UT will need to take a placement test. The College used to use the ALEKS placement test for calculus classes. The ALEKS test will be used through Summer 2013. Starting Fall 2013, the college will use their own placement test. More information on the new placement test will be posted online closer to Fall.

Every CS student begins as Entry-Level until they complete the requirements to be promoted into the Upper Division Sequence.

Promotion Requirements:

The Upper Division Sequence describes the set of courses normally taken in the last three years of undergraduate study, in which students put to use the tools and concepts learned in Entry-Level courses. Student’s records will be reviewed following the posting of grades at the conclusion of summer and after each long semester. Students who meet the requirements for promotion will be automatically promoted into the major.

*Please note: University policy states that you may NOT for any reason retake a course if you have made a C- or better. That is true of our Entry-level courses as well.

I didn't get promoted, now what?

If you fail to meet the CS entry-level requirements, and you are ineligible to repeat an entry-level course, your admission to UTCS will be denied, and your major will be changed to CNS Undeclared. The Department of Computer Science takes the success of their students very seriously. The faculty made the decision for the entry level GPA based on the analysis of data regarding the success rate of students in our program and these requirements will be strictly enforced.

If you wish to appeal this decision, instructions will be provided to you through a Secure Academic Note (SAN) once all promotions have been completed. You will be notified of the outcome of your appeal within the first 12 class days of the semester.

Here are some important things to remember:

1. You must have an extenuating circumstance to appeal. For example - a medical issue or something similar that had a negative impact on your GPA. This issue will need to be documented by a physician or a nonacademic counselor.

2. If your appeal is approved, the department will assist you with adding CS courses on or after the FOURTH day of classes.

Grades for Entry-Level courses not taken at The University of Texas at Austin will be used in the calculation of the Entry-Level Sequence GPA. The Entry-Level CS GPA is computed over all Entry-Level courses taken. If you make below a C- on an Entry-Level course, you are permitted one additional attempt at the course. In this case, the highest grade achieved in the course will be used to calculate the Entry-Level GPA. Please keep in mind that dropped attempts are included in the "2 attempt" requirement. This includes a "withdrawl" which shows on a transcript as a "W." Also, once a student is enrolled at UT Austin, they may not take entry level C S courses and have them count toward their requirements. At this point, all C S entry-level courses must be taken in residence at UT Austin.

No. All Programming and Computation courses, and any approved equivalents counting towards the certificate, will need to be taken for a letter grade. You will need to receive a C-, or better, in order for the course(s) to count towards the Elements certificate.

Please visit the Programming and Computation Certificate website to see if the course has already been pre-approved. If a course substitution is "Approved through" a specified semester that means an approved course taken on or prior to the listed semester is a valid course substitution.

Please visit the Programming and Computation website for the most up-to-date information. If you have further information after browsing through the website, please email us. You must include your EID in all communication, by phone, voicemail, or email, for our office to assist you.

CS majors CANNOT take Programming and Computation courses for any degree requirements, including electives, and are restricted from registering for these classes. Current CS majors will be dropped from these classes upon review of the rosters.

Students apply for graduation during their final semester at UT before the mid-semester deadline (same as the Q-drop deadline).

August graduates who want to walk in the May ceremony, and are within 12 hours of graduation after their Spring semester, should complete the Application to Participate in Commencement Ceremony (Walk Application) during the spring semester, and then complete the Graduation Application during the summer semester.

Students completing their UT degree requirements at another institution must apply to graduate "In Absentia."

You will need to fill out a CS Honors Course Request Form. Approval will be at the discretion of the faculty, based on merit and space availability.

Your application to Turing Scholars is due at the time of your UT application. You can get more information about the program and admissions requirements on the Turing Scholars website.

Admission to Turing Scholars is on a rolling basis for CS Entry-level students. You can get more information about the program and admissions requirements on the Turing Scholars website.

If you wish to change majors out of Computer Science and into another major within the College of Natural Sciences, set up an appointment with an advisor for the major you wish to declare. Any CNS student who has completed more than 45 semester hours of college credit must have a university grade point average of at least 2.00 to be eligible for transfer to another college or school within The UT.

To change into another college, you should look at the website and follow the specific instructions, or contact the dean's office of the college into which you wish to be admitted. Some colleges (including Business, Communications, and Engineering) require new students to attend an internal transfer information meeting before they can speak to an advisor.

You can find more information about majors offered and internal transfer requirements on the UGS Wayfinder website. If you think you want to change majors but aren't sure to what, make an appointment to meet with an advisor in by the Center for Strategic Advising in Jester A115.

Internal transfer describes the process of a currently enrolled undergraduate student at UT Austin moving from one college to another or within the College of Natural Sciences from one major to another.

You should follow the steps on our Internal Transfer Admissions page.

Our computer science courses are restricted to CS students. Students hoping to minor in computer science should complete our Elements of Computing Program. The 18-hour certificate option will be recognized on your official transcript.

The College of Natural Sciences does not award minors. There are several certificate options that you can look into on the UGS website to gain experience in another area and get recognition for it. Many of our students choose to do the Business Foundations Certificate Program, Bridging Disciplines Program, Game Development Program, and Information Security Certificate, but you are welcome to do any certificate that UT offers that you qualify for.

If you want to take enough courses to have the equivalent of a minor (typically 12 hours, 6 of which are upper division), you can do that and claim to have the equivalent of a minor on your resume, but this will not be reflected on your UT transcript.

We get this question often from prospective students, so we asked our ambassadors, experienced CS students to answer:

"As far as computers go, every CS student has access to the computers in the 3rd floor and basement labs of the Bill and Melinda Gates Computer Science Complex for their programming and general purpose needs as well as the computers around campus in the libraries and other computer labs for general purpose use. The computer labs in Gates are open 24/7 for student use. Therefore, the type of computer that you should buy in preparation for coming to college should be one that you are comfortable using. There is no departmental preference between Windows, Mac, Unix, or Chrome operating systems. In terms of hardware, few classes will actually stress your computer to the point where processors overheating becomes an issue and for CS classes that require a lot of computing power for simulations or graphics, most students use the computers in the labs. Most computer science classes do not allow students to take notes on laptops during class, so laptop use in class would likely only be for non-CS courses and would probably consist of note taking. [For example, a student recalls using a laptop with a processor that was 2 or 3 steps behind the i3 as well as one with an i3 processor and had no laptop related problems.]

While having a laptop in college is not a requirement, I definitely recommend that students bring one just in case they need to use a computer while in their dorm room. As for the type of computer, the best, short answer that I can give is for you to bring the laptop that you are most comfortable using, because you won't have to do anything on your personal computer remotely that you wouldn't be able to do on a lab computer (besides take notes in class). It is definitely common for students to have basic laptops for general purpose use. For example, a student might primarily use their laptop for note taking and occasionally remote accessing to one of the CS machines at UT to do programming. If a student requires the use of a certain software or needs to be on the network (and etc), they typically choose to work in the labs. There are students who have more advanced laptops and even desktops, but it's definitely not required and most people use these more advanced systems for personal use such as gaming, not because it's a requirement of the major. This is why we suggest prospective students to buy whatever laptop they feel comfortable working on and has the capability to do what they would want to do outside of class."

An undergraduate may be eligible for a tuition rebate of up to $1,000 if, at graduation, he or she has attempted no more than three semester hours beyond the minimum number of hours required for the degree. Credit by exam hours could make you ineligible. Discuss this with your advisor before claiming credit. You must apply for the tuition rebate by 5pm on the official date of graduation.

To be a full-time student during the fall or spring semesters you must register for and be enrolled in a minimum of 12 hours at UT. During the summer semester, you must register for and be enrolled in 9 hours at UT. Full-time status is usually necessary to receive financial aid, live in on-campus housing, compete on a University athletic team, be covered under parents’ health or car insurance or be an international student. If full-time status becomes a hardship for non-academic reasons, please make an appointment see a non-academic CNS counselor by visiting WCH 1.106 or calling 471-4536.

Advisors CANNOT add students to a course that is already full. Students may add themselves to the automated wait list option if available, and keep trying to add the course during all the add/drop access periods. Being on a wait list is not a guarantee for getting into a class, and advisors have no way of predicting your chances of getting a class via the wait list; therefore, it is necessary to have an alternative class planned as a back-up. Students may also attend a course on the first day and request permission from the professor to be added after the 4th class day, however, doing so does not guarantee registration for the course. Students should continue attending all their other classes, in the event that permission to add the closed course is not granted.

All entry-level students and students who are on scholastic probation receive advising bars, and must meet with an advisor before they can register for classes. You can find more information on the Registration page. You can call the front desk at 512-471-9509 to make an appointment with your advisor. You must include your EID in all communication, by phone, voicemail, or email, for our office to assist you.

Students may take a maximum of 17 credit hours in the fall or spring semesters. During the summer, a student can take up to 14 hours with no more than 8 hours in either summer session.

To request more than 17 hours, fill out the Request to take more than 17 hours in the Fall or Spring or the Request to take more than 14 hours in the Summer and turn it into the CS Advising Center during your registration period or before the 12th class day. After a decision is made, you will be notified by email to check your status. Please note that if approved for more than 17 hours, you may not add the additional hours until the first day of classes as long as space is available.

Students whose cumulative UT GPA is less than 2.00 are placed on scholastic probation by The University. In CNS, a student on probation must fill out a CNS Grade Contract every long (Fall/Spring) semester his/her GPA is less than 2.00. A student who completes the requirements of the Contract will be allowed to continue in the College. If a student does not meet the requirements, he/she will be dismissed from The University. The exception to this policy is when a student earns 12 hours of failing grades in his/her first semester. This results in an automatic dismissal after the first semester.

Students dismissed for the first time are automatically eligible to return to The University after being away for one long semester. However, if attending another college or university, students should contact the Office of Admissions at UT about the GPA requirement to be able to return to UT. A second dismissal requires permission from the CNS Dean’s Office to return to The University. A student dismissed for the third time may not apply for readmission.

The steps you need to take to find out more information, apply to, and attend a study abroad program can be found on the CS Study Abroad page. You will need to talk to both the study abroad office and your CS academic advisor to ensure that the program you choose works for your degree and academic progress.

Many students transfer academic credit from other colleges. Speak to your advisor if you plan to take courses at another institution. Information about how coursework transfers to UT from schools in Texas can be found on the Automated Transfer Equivalency website.

Students transferring courses from out-of-state schools should talk to an admissions counselor in the Office of Admissions, MAI 7. Any courses completed at another educational institution MUST be transferred to UT.

Students must receive a C or better in any transfer courses to count towards their degree. Transferred coursework does not count towards your UT GPA, but rather counts as credit on your transcript.

All you need to do to have the credit on your record is to request an official transcript from the college or university be sent to UT Austin and admissions will post those credits automatically to your record. Please be aware that this process can take time in order to go through all the processing steps.

Students may not take C S entry level courses out of residence once they have started their first semester at UT Austin. At this point all entry level courses must be taken at UT Austin.

You may ONLY take math and science classes outside of UT during the SUMMER semester. You cannot take them during Fall, Spring, Winter, Minimesters, etc. You should check the Automated Transfer Equivalency and check with your advisor if you are planning to transfer courses in required for your degree.

If a student chooses to have concurrent enrollment in math and science courses in at any time other than the summer semester, those courses will not apply to the student’s degree in the College of Natural Sciences and the Department of Computer Science.

Concurrent enrollment is not permitted during the semester in which a student expects to graduate.

You do not need to officially inform UT that you are taking the courses (though you may want to check with your advisor that they will count correctly). You only need to send the official transcript from the college or university to UT.

If you are a student in the College of Natural Sciences, you CANNOT take any math or science courses required for your degree at a community college during the fall and spring semesters. You may take courses such as English, Social Science, History or Government, but you must still be enrolled in at least 9 hours at UT. You may take courses via UT correspondence or UT Extension during the fall and spring semesters while also enrolled at UT. During the summer, students may take any classes at other institutions without any UT hour requirements. You should check the Automated Transfer Equivalency and check with your advisor if you are planning to transfer courses in required for your degree.