Advising for CS Majors

Information Resources:

• CS Major requirements (catalog)
• HMC Common Core
• CS Course Precedence Diagram
• Overload Policy
• List of Frosh Aerobic PE Courses
• H&SS Advising Handbook (General HSA Advising)

General Comments:

• Mailing Lists
  • All HMC CS Majors are automatically subscribed to the cs-majors-XX-l@hmc.edu mailing list, where XX is the year of your graduating class (13, 14, 15, ...). As with auto-generated course mailing lists, messages go to your hmc.edu email account.
  • General CS announcements go to cs-info-l, which forwards to all the CS major lists, and some off-campus lists.
    
    
• The Common Core:
  • You must attempt all Common Core courses within your first 5 semesters.
  • However, first-year courses have a shorter 4-semester deadline to complete.
  • If you test out of BIO 52 but are required to take a replacement biology course, that course must still be attempted within the first 5 semesters.
  • Try to finish in 4 semesters if possible. Sometimes there are schedule conflicts between required Core courses and CS or Math courses, and petitions to delay finishing the Core make the Scholarly Standing Committee unhappy.
    
    
• CS Classes:
  • All required CS courses are offered every semester. Sometimes they're offered at Pomona, but these are considered equivalent. You can also take upper-level CS electives at Pomona and CMC.
  • It is common for required courses (e.g., CS 81, 131, 140, 105) to offer two sections in the Fall and one in the Spring, or vice-versa. It's much easier to get into these courses in the semester with two sections!
  • When taking the Computer Science GRE, it helps if you've finished the required CS courses.
    
    
• Colloquium:
  • You need four semesters of CS colloquium, CS 195.
  • The colloquium requirements must be fulfilled in the Junior and Senior years. (You're welcome to attend some or all of the talks earlier in your college career, but only for your own fulfillment.)
  • One semester of colloquium is waived for each semester spent studying abroad.
  • If want to take a course that conflicts with the colloquium time slot, you can attend another department's colloquium series instead; you must let the CS department know first, though, and should still register for CS colloquium.
    
    
• Computer Engineering/Hardware Electives
  • Prof. David Harris has provided the following recommendations for CS students interested in hardware aspects:
    • E85 covers digital design and computer architecture. The first half focuses on digital design, including combinational and sequential logic design and Verilog, while the second half covers assembly language programming and microarchitecture. Many CS majors find that there is some overlap with CS60 and CS105, especially in the second half of E85, so it is possible to take just the first half of E85 under the course number E85A if you prefer to focus on the digital portions and Verilog. If you are interested in hardware, this is a great place to start.
    • E155 is the embedded systems laboratory, offered each fall. Students learn to program FPGAs and microcontrollers using Verilog, assembly language, and C, then do a final project building a real system. We have CS majors in the course every year, and their different perspectives enliven the class and lead to some great projects. E155 has a prereq of E85 or CS60 and E85A. Sometimes, CS majors who have taken CS105 take E155 without E85A. If you are interested in this path, you should borrow the E85 textbook (Digital Design and Computer Architecture) and study Verilog and combinational and sequential logic design over the summer. Expect that you'll hit a few places where you need to work extra hard to catch up, but as long as you're willing to put in the work, you can follow this path.
    • E158 is the integrated circuit design course, offered each spring. Students learn to design and build their own chips. This course has a prerequisite of E84 and E85A. The important part of E84 is the ability to analyze RC circuits and basic familiarity with transistors. CS majors who are willing to do a little extra reading to catch up can take the course without the E84 prereq.
      
      
• Clinic:
  • A minority of CS majors take CS 121 as a sophomore and clinic as a junior, often followed by a research project as a senior.
  • However, there is some recent thought that grad-school bound students might be better off doing an independent research project as a junior (if they haven't done summer research); grad schools are very interested in hearing about your research ability, and it's hard for a professor to say much when writing a letter of recommendation just a few weeks into a research project.
  • Students cannot do a senior thesis instead of clinic. Doing research and clinic is permitted, of course.
    
    
• Double Majors:
  • Double majors (CS and Physics, CS and Economics, CS and Math, ...) have the same CS requirements as anyone else in the CS major.
    • Consequence 1: Although the CS department believes in the value of a broad education, it also believes that the CS degree certifies a certain level of experience and accomplishment. The CS department will not waive requirements just to make it easier to double major. (For example, you have to complete CS Clinic to get a CS degree; signing up for a Physics clinic or a Math thesis won't suffice.)
    • Consequence 2: There aren't any extra requirements or restrictions for double majors. If a course satisfies a CS requirement, it doesn't matter whether it is being used to satisfy another major's requirement.
  • One small restriction: the CS major cannot be combined as a double major with the joint CS/Math major.
  • Be warned that the CS department cannot control the policies of other departments. For example, the Department of Mathematics apparently forbids counting a course as a Math elective if it also fulfills a CS requirement.
    
    
• Humanities
  • All students must fulfill the HSA Requirements (currently HSA 10 plus ten other courses satisfying various distribution criteria).
  • Every student has a humanities advisor (usually their HSA 10 professor) who can answer questions about the requirements.
  • The first semester college-wide writing course WRIT 1 is a requirement separate from the 11 required HSA courses.
    
    
• Physical Education:
  • You need 3 PE credits (Frosh PE + 2 others).
  • Each semester, the PE Department distributes a list of PE courses that can be used to fulfill the Frosh Aerobic PE requirement. A full season in an intercollegiate team or approved club sports team can fulfill the Frosh PE requirement.
  • After the Frosh year, a full season in an intercollegiate team or approved club sports team can fulfill both of the remaining PE requirements.
  • Students must officially register for any team they play on, just like registering for any other class. Otherwise, PE credit will not be awarded.
    
    
• Graduation:
  • You need both cumulative and major GPAs of 2.00 or better.
  • You need 3 PE credits (Frosh PE + 2 others).
  • You need at least 9 credits of technical electives (CS or, with the approval of your advisor, CS-related courses in other fields such as Math or Engineering). Up to three 1-credit semesters of CS 189 (Practicum) can be counted towards this nine.
  • The only CS courses you should take Pass/Fail are "extra" electives; all required courses and electives that count towards fulfilling the major requirements need letter grades.
  • You need 128 units total, an average of 16 units per semester.
  • There are 37.5 units in the (revised) Common Core, 30 units in the HSA requirements (not counting WRIT 1 and HSA 10 in the Common Core), and 41 units in the CS Major requirements, and 3 units of PE requirements, and 37.5+30+41+3 is 111.5. Thus, in addition to the formal requirements you must take at least 16.5 more units; these can be anything you want!

Comments on Specific Semesters:

Semester 2 (Spring of Freshman Year)

• CS 60 is a very common choice. MATh 55 (discrete) is another great choice, especially for students considering CS/Math.

Semester 3 (Fall of Sophomore Year)

• If you didn't successfully complete all the first-semester courses, you must finish them off this semester.
• Traditionally a tough semester (E&M, Stems, often CS 70).
• To lighten the load, it is entirely reasonable to take MATH 55 (Discrete) this semester, followed by CS 70 and CS 81 in the Spring. (Although many students don't want to have a “semester without CS,” CS 81 requires MATH 55, and a few parts of CS 70 are easier if you've already taken MATH 55.)
• Check that you're well on track to finish the Common Core
• If you've taken Math 55 and the Core courses are not a problem, you can take CS 70 and CS 81 simultaneously.
• Should finish CS 60 by this semester (likely for anyone wanting to be a CS major)
• The minority of students who want to do Clinic as a junior must finish CS 70 by this semester.
• Aim for at least 48 units completed by the end of the semester

Semester 4 (Spring of Sophomore Year)

• If you didn't successfully complete all the first-year Spring courses, you must finish them off this semester.
• Try to finish MATH 55 and CS 70 by this semester.
• CS 121 (LSD) must be taken by this semester to do clinic as a junior. (Depending on the number of seniors, however, the department does not always let juniors take Clinic.)
• Spring is a good time to take CS 81 and/or CS 105, as there are often two sections of each.
• Aim for at least 64 units completed

Semester 5 (Fall of Junior Year)

• The Common Core should be completed by the end of this semester.
• Don't forget to sign up for CS 195 (CS Colloquium).
• Fall is a good time to take CS 131 and/or CS 140, as there are often two sections of each.
• Aim for at least 80 units completed

Semester 6 (Spring of Junior Year)

• CS 195 (CS Colloquium)
• CS 121 (LSD) must be taken if not already completed, to allow CS clinic as a senior.
• This is a good semester to finish off CS 81 and CS 105, if not already completed, as there are two sections of each.
• Think about when you'll finish the PE requirement.
• Aim for at least 96 units completed

Semester 7 (Fall of Senior Year)

• CS 195 (CS Colloquium).
• CS 183 (CS Clinic) is required, if it has not yet been completed
• CS 81 required if not completed, to permit PLs the following semester.
• Think about finishing the PE requirement
• Fall is a good time to take CS 131 and/or CS 140, as there are two sections of each.
• Make sure all requirements can be completed in one more semester
• Aim for at least 112 units completed

Semester 8 (Spring of Senior Year)

• CS 195 (CS Colloquium).
• CS 184 (CS Clinic) required, if not already taken.
• Must have taken 3 PE courses (Frosh PE + 2 others)
• Must have completed all of the CS Major requirements, including three technical electives.
• Must have enough other courses to reach 128 units.