A student admitted to the university with the intention of majoring in computer science is not automatically accepted into the major; admission into the computer science major is competitive and will be based on the student's grades in Computer Science courses and cumulative gradepoint average. A formal application for admission into one of the three computer science emphases will be considered only after a student is taking courses at NIU. The following explains the procedures.
In order to change your status from Pre-Computer Science to a declared CSCI major or minor, your are first required to attend one Pre-Computer Science Major/Minor Meeting, usually in the semester you are enrolled in CSCI 240. If you are a transfer student, you should attend the meeting during your first semester at NIU. You must register for the meeting in advance at the main Computer Science office, Psychology-Computer Science Building Room 460, preferably during the second week of the semester.
During this informational meeting, which lasts approximately an hour, the Undergraduate Advisor will explain departmental procedures and you will have the opportunity to ask questions about major and minor graduation requirements. As a result of the meeting, the Undergraduate Advisor will create a course plan for you that will later be mailed to your address. The meeting itself does not constitute your formal declaration into the major; however, the mailing you receive following the meeting will indicate when you should submit the official declaration application.
Once you have attended the mandatory meeting described above, and have received a copy of your meeting paperwork noting the semester in which you should be eligible to declare, you should pick up a yellow declaration application from the main office at the beginning of your semester of eligibility. Be sure to pick up the application early enough that you can submit it to the department during the 3rd-6th weeks of spring or fall semesters and 2nd-4th weeks of the summer term. Keep in mind that you need to fill out the application completely to avoid delay in the declaration process.
If we receive your application in the department by the appropriate deadline, you will receive a response in the mail, to the address you indicated on the application itself, before the end of the term in which you submitted it. Normally, the response will state that your application is deferred for reevaluation after the end of the semester, so that we can see this semester's grades before making a decision. That doesn't mean you have been denied, only that we're waiting for your current grades..
Unless you are immediately accepted (which happens only rarely), you will still have Pre-Computer Science status at this time, which allows you to register for 200-level courses but requires a permit from the department to register for courses numbered 300 and above. When registration opens for the upcoming semester, you should register for all 200-level computer science courses on your plan, as well as all non-computer science courses. You will need to wait until you receive your final response from the department, after grades are posted, to receive permits for 300- and 400-level computer science courses. You need not worry about getting into these courses, because the department will help you to register for the computer science courses that are appropriate for you, even though it may seem to you like we're waiting until the last minute to do so.
To maintain its limited enrollment status, the Department of Computer Science keeps a careful record of approved course plans for each major or minor’s schedule of study, from official declaration to a student’s graduation from Northern. We do our best to verify each semester that students are registered according to their individual plans, and we send out notices to those who are improperly registered or who risk complications due to issues with grades or overall GPA. This ensures that students continue to make efficient registration choices toward graduation as they progress through their studies. It is each student’s responsibility, then, to fill out and submit a Request for Action (“green form”) with a “change of plan” to the departmental office as soon as possible with any deviations from his or her approved schedule, including the addition or deletion of elective courses. Though this can seem a hassle for some, it saves students from tacking on an additional semester at the end of their time at Northern due to missing requirements or misunderstandings.
Once admitted to the major, students eligible to continue at Northern must maintain a 2.0 NIU gradepoint average in Computer Science courses. Students gaining admission must successfully complete all remaining requirements for their particular emphasis as listed in the Undergraduate Catalog that they have elected and for which they are eligible.