Things You Need to Know to Be Successful
in the Department of Computer Science
Important information from Penny McIntire, Undergraduate Advisor
Contents
Advising
- For all things Computer Science– Penny McIntire, 815.753.0378,
pmcintire@niu.edu
. Please add both
pmcintire@niu.edu as well as my alias,
mcintire@cs.niu.edu , to your address book so that email from me doesn't end up deleted as spam. Feel free to call the department to schedule an appointment with me when you need help in scheduling your computer science classes. Early in your senior year, you should schedule a graduation check with me, to make sure you will be satisfying all of your computer science graduation requirements in time.
- For all other advising issues (Gen Eds, university electives, other graduation requirements, etc.)–The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Zulauf Hall, 815.753.0114. Late in your junior year or early in your senior year, you should schedule a graduation check with an LA&S advisor, to make sure you will be satisfying all of your university and college graduation requirements in time.
- Although all of your advisors will do their best to steer you toward graduation, it is still your responsibility to read and follow all requirements of your catalog. You should also periodically check your Degree Progress Report in MyNIU.
Overview of Graduation Requirements
Note: Any requirements mentioned below are superseded by your official
Undergraduate Catalog. You are responsible for reading and following all requirements of your catalog.
- At least 120 credit hours. Distributive Studies (Gen Eds) plus all Computer Science requirements will not add up to the required 120 hours. The remaining hours are “university electives,” which means you can choose them from any department on campus, as long as you make sure to complete…
- 40 hours of upper-division credit (i.e., 300-400 level classes). Again, Distributive Studies plus CS requirements alone may not quite satisfy this requirement.
- Math courses, depending upon emphasis and catalog year.
- STAT 301 or 350, depending upon emphasis.
- Applied Emphasis: 9 hours of specific courses in the College of Business.
- Theoretical Emphasis: 32-33 hours of MATH, STAT, and PHYS courses.
- No more than 50 hours of CSCI classes, including transfer coursework. Counted in this total are CSCI 205 and 210, transfer CSCI classes that didn’t articulate as one of our required courses (e.g., CSCI T001, CSCI T002, etc.), and additional electives with us (CSCI 275, 400-level CSCI electives, etc.). Students are allowed to take more than 50 hours of CSCI credit, but the additional hours will not count toward the required 120 hours.
- No more than 66 academic credit hours plus 4 physical education credit hours from community colleges can count toward the 120 hours needed to graduate. That means a student needs to take a minimum of 56 credit hours at four year institutions, including NIU. Keep in mind that MyNIU will show all community college credits, even those above the limits, and those hours will be included in total credit hours. It's up to each student to realize that hours above the limits will not actually count.
- Students may not interrupt their last 30 hours before graduation by transferring in classes from another college (the so-called “30 hour residency rule”) unless they get prior permission from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Zulauf Hall, 815.753.0114.
- Students must maintain 2.0 NIU GPA overall to remain at the university as well as maintain a 2.0 GPA in all CSCI classes taken at NIU in order to remain a computer science major. Both GPAs must be a 2.0 or above at the time of graduation. Be aware that MyNIU may not reflect your accurate GPA, since it discounts any prior attempts at a course as of the time you register for a repeat of that course. Thus, you should not place complete faith in the GPA shown in MyNIU if you are currently enrolled in a repeat of a prior class.
- It is your responsibility to read and follow all requirements of your catalog. You should also periodically check your Degree Progress Report in MyNIU.
Declaring the Major and Computer Science Study Plans
Please read
www.cs.niu.edu
>
Undergraduate Programs
>
Declaring the Major
very carefully. Students who fail to follow the procedures for declaration, registration, and change of plan risk being removed from the major.
Catalog Year
When I make up a plan for a student, I note which catalog year seems to allow the speediest graduation, that I think the student seems to be eligible for. It is each student’s responsibility to make sure that he or she is indeed on that catalog and, if not, the student should petition Registration and Records to change to the recommended catalog. If not allowed to change, then the student must notify me ASAP so that I can change the plan to match the catalog. It is absolutely critical that each student understand how the various catalogs could affect his or her graduation date; see our website
www.cs.niu.edu
>
Undergraduate Programs
>
Choosing a Catalog Year
for more details. Each semester, I encounter students who are risking their intended graduation date because they have failed to follow through on catalog issues.
Registering for Classes
Fully declared majors should be able to register for most CSCI courses without any special permission from the department. Premajors, on the other hand, will need to ask the department to register them for any courses numbered 300 and above. I routinely grant premajors permission for those courses, but I will need to see their CSCI grades for the current semester before doing so. Thus, premajors should wait until finals week to fill out a “green form” at the front window of the department, specifying the desired course and two or three preferred section numbers.
We cannot respond until a day or two after the current semester's grades are posted. If your current grades are acceptable (“C”s or better), we will register you in the courses you have requested, if they are appropriate for you. Even if you see on MyNIU that we’ve registered you, you must still call in to the department (815.753.0378) to get your response from the green form. Failure to do so may mean that you miss out on advice about other issues that I may have noticed, issues which could in turn end up delaying your graduation.
Applying for Graduation
The application deadline for graduation is approximately six months prior to the month in which you intend to graduate. Obtain specific deadlines and apply for graduation through
Registration and Records.
Last updated: September 2, 2008
