Undergraduate Degree Options

Computer Science Major for Students in the College of Arts and Sciences

Students in the College of Arts and Sciences can add Computer Science as a second major. College students will receive one degree from the College of Arts and Sciences. This major will appear as second major on your college transcript.

To major in Computer Science, College students must take the following 12 required courses (All courses must be taken for a letter grade):

• CIS 1100 – Introduction to Computer Programming
• CIS 1200 – Programming Languages and Techniques I
• CIS 1210 – Programming Languages and Techniques II
• CIS 1600 – Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science
• CIS 2400 – Introduction to Computer Architecture
• CIS 2620 – Automata, Computability, and Complexity
• CIS 3200 – Introduction to Algorithms
• Project elective*
• Project elective*
• CIS elective**
• CIS elective**
• CIS elective**

Course descriptions can be found here.

To apply: The application for a second major is available here.

Requirements: Students who wish to apply must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above and a B in CIS 1200 (formerly CIS 120). In addition, students must apply before the fall semester of junior year. Applications will not be processed unless the above requirements are met.

Inquiries: cis-undergrad-advising@seas.upenn.edu.

Please note: Students may count at most 1 c.u. of 1XXX credit towards their CIS Electives.

*Project electives include: CIS 3410, CIS 3500, CIS 3710, CIS 3800, CIS 4120/5120, CIS 4410/5410, CIS 4480/5480, CIS 4500/5500, CIS 4550/5550, CIS 4600/5600, CIS 4710/5710, CIS 5050, CIS 5530, ESE 3500 and NETS 2120.

**A CIS Elective is any CIS or NETS engineering course except the courses listed HERE under CIS. Additionally, the following course may be used to satisfy a CIS Elective requirement: ESE 3500. For further clarification, see the Undergraduate Student Handbook.

Double Counts: CIS Second Major students can double-count courses toward their second major requirements and their primary major. However, students should always confirm with their primary/home major whether there are any limitations as to which or how many courses can double-count.