Computer Science Department Welcome to the Computer Science Department Advice and answers for Post-Baccalaureate students interested in Computer Science

Agenda As a Post-bac, you have options! Bachelors or Masters…what’s the difference? Bachelor Degree Requirements Master Degree Prerequisites Planning your Post-bac program of study Admissions to the Computer Science Dept. Prior Credits and Experience Q&A

Bachelor’s or Master’s? Bachelor’s Degree: May be quicker Performance Broad Study Master’s Degree: May be quicker Performance Area of Focus

Path #1: Second Bachelor’s degree in CS Broader topical coverage than Master’s program Begin any term Must complete all undergraduate major requirements; CS credits and additional courses (Math, Science, etc.) Must maintain a C or better Completed in as little as four years

What Makes us Unique Many of our masters students do not hold Computer Science undergraduate degrees We value diverse academic backgrounds We offer pathways for students to complete the necessary coursework that prepares them for our graduate program We don’t require any prior computer science experience in order to pursue these pathways

Path #2: Traditional Grad Prep Track Begin any term Must maintain a B or better Completed in as little as 18 months plus required time for Master’s program

Path #3: New Beginnings: Accelerated Grad Prep Track Cohorts begin fall term Highly accelerated, full-time program Completed in 9 months (June-March) plus time required for masters

Planning to get a Bachelor’s in CS? Must complete all required UG courses including: WR 227 Technical Writing MTH 251, 252 Calculus I, II ECE 341 Computer Hardware Approved Science and Math Electives Upper Division CS Electives CS 469, 470 Software Engineering Capstone Courses taken for the first undergraduate degree can be used to satisfy free electives and general University requirements.

Planning to get a Master’s in CS? You don’t need a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science in order to do the Master’s Program. We offer two options for graduate preparatory course work for Non-CS degrees. Grad Prep (traditional Post-bac Track) New Beginnings (Accelerated Post-bac Track)

Traditional Grad Prep Track 15% of the graduating class of 2015-16 22% of the graduating class of 2016-17 Begin taking classes any term Must complete (or demonstrate mastery) of most undergraduate computer science coursework. Consists of Programming, Languages, and Theory 44-48 credits

New Beginnings Highly accelerated: 9 month cohort (June-March) No prior programming experience is required 30+ hours a week out of class Students are not allowed to work off campus Not a vocational training program

New Beginnings Admission to New Beginnings is required and competitive. Applicants are expected to have: Required Qualifications: GRE Scores are required: A Quantitative score in the 70th percentile or above and a Verbal score in the 50th percentile or above Preferred Qualifications: At least a year of mathematics beyond pre-calculus An undergraduate GPA of 3.5 of better

Master’s Degree in Computer Science (45 credits) Core (9) CS 584 Algorithms & Design Analysis CS 558 Programming Languages CS 533 Concepts of Operating Systems Track (9) Databases Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Languages Security Software Engineering Systems Theory Electives (27) Additional 500-level CS courses 15 credits can be outside of CS

Where do I Begin? We have multiple entry points to our post-bac programs for second bachelor’s and grad prep students No prior programming experience? Start with CS 161 Some programming experience? Start with CS 162 How should I know if I am ready for CS 162? There is a self-placement available from our office to help you determine if you should begin at CS 161 or CS 162

Portland Community College You may begin your Post-bac study at a community college, such as PCC. All lower division courses for the Grad Prep and second Bachelor’s (including non-CS major requirements) can be completed at PCC. PLEASE NOTE: PCC requires you to start with CS 140U, CS 160, CS 161, and MTH 111. PCC’s CS Advisor: Michele Maxwell (Michele.Maxwell@pcc.edu)

Keep in Mind… Advanced courses in Computer Science build on earlier courses. You must successfully pass or demonstrate mastery (through CPL) in order to move forward in our programs. A weak preparation in one class can lead to issues throughout the rest of your programs.

IMPORTANT For many Reasons Scheduling is IMPORTANT For many Reasons We enforce prerequisites! Consider this when planning your program of study Departmental Admissions is required in order to complete upper division CS courses Planning to do the master’s? You must have all grad prep courses completed before you start.

Departmental Admissions Grad Prep or Second Bachelor’s? Same application and deadlines. Different requirements. Admissions takes places twice a year: Fall term (April 15th deadline) and Winter term (October 15th deadline) All lower division CS courses should be completed and mastered before the term you are applying to Documented by grades or Credit for Prior Learning (CPL)

CS 202 Programming Systems If you did not complete CS 202 at PSU, you’ll need to demonstrate acceptable proficiency in programming through one of our Proficiency Demonstrations. This examination is part of the midterm and final if you complete CS 202 at PSU. Plan Ahead! Proficiency exams are scheduled only twice a year! This a departmental admissions requirement.

Departmental Admissions for 2nd Bachelor’s Degree CS courses: 162, 163, 201, 202*, 250, and 251 with an overall GPA of 2.0 (all attempts will be considered) MTH 251 & 252 (Calculus I and II) An approved Lab Science sequence Required courses outside of CS must be completed with a minimum grade of a C-

Admissions for Grad Prep Departmental Admissions for Grad Prep CS courses: 162, 163, 201, 202*, 250, and 251 with a 3.0 GPA (all attempts will be considered) Must complete all Grad Prep courses with a minimum grade of a B (for department and graduate admissions). Recommended: Take the GRE while completing the lower division Grad Prep courses. All A’s in the Grad Prep will not guarantee you admission to the graduate program if you do not meet with the minimum GRE scores Quantitative: 60th percentile Verbal: 25th percentile

Prior Credits and Experience Determine if your prior courses match our requirements. https://transferology.com/school/pdx Request transfer evaluation upon Post-bac admission Additional evaluation through course’s department may be required Some courses can be waived through documented professional experience.

Thank You!