Faculty Recruiting Support CICS

Transfer Students

Transfer students interested in Computer Sciences should apply directly to the University through the Undergraduate Admissions Office. Transfer students admitted to the University but not directly to the computer science major may apply to the CS Major using the application procedure as described on our web pages.

Guidelines for evaluating work taken elsewhere

Some students entering the University will have already done work that can be applied to computer science requirements. Advanced experience in high school or at another college or university might make you eligible to waive some introductory course(s).

Exemption from university general education requirements can only be granted by the Undergraduate Admissions/Registrar's Office.

Exemption from courses in other departments required by computer science is generally granted at the discretion of the other department involved. Students who wish to start with a more advanced calculus course (MATH 132 or MATH 233) must follow the Math Department's procedures for receiving credit or exemption for Calculus I (MATH 131). Contact the Math Department for specific details. The College of Information and Computer Sciences will accept these credits/exemption as the equivalent of the required math courses. Similarly, students given credit for a Lab science course which is deemed to be equivalent to one of the required Lab science courses will be viewed as having met that CS Lab science requirement.  The relevent department will authorize the Registrar's Office to document the equivalency on the transcript.

The most common exemption is for introductory programming. The first course in the introductory programming sequence is CICS 110: Foundations of Programming. This course in intended for students with little to no prior programming experience. Students receive course placement into CICS 160: Object Oriented Programming, if:  they have an Advanced Placement score of 4 or 5 on the Computer Science A exam, or by transferring equivalent coursework from other institutions using the Transfer Credit Evaluation (TCE) process.  In all cases, a student placed above CICS 110 should consult with the Chief Undergraduate Advisor (cua@cs.umass.edu) for questions.

Credit for Equivalent CS Courses at Other Schools

Matriculated transfer students will have their records evaluated by the admissions office for the initial transfer credit evaluation.  Accepted transfer credit may be verified by the Undergraduate Program Director through the Transfer Credit Evaluation (TCE) process to determine which courses fulfill CS requirements.  The College of Information and Computer Sciences has a Residency Requirement that requires a specific number of upper-level (300+) courses to be taken at UMass Amherst. This varies between the BS and the BA degrees.

As a guide, we provide a listing of course equivalencies between UMass Amherst and other colleges in Massachusetts and the surrounding area. We believe this information is accurate, but must be verified using the TCE process on a case-by-case basis. Incoming matriculated transfer students should complete the Transfer Credit Evaluation (TCE) form as soon as possible so that equivalencies may be determined before Advising/Registration for their first semester here at UMass.