Computer Science Advising

Starting at URI:

First-year students are assigned an advisor in University College for Academic Success (UCAS). This person will be your advisor until you complete the following requirements:

  • CSC 110 and CSC 211 and at least a 2.00 cumulative GPA in all required CSC and MTH courses

You can contact your advisor through Starfish.

Please review
Frequently Asked Questions
BEFORE scheduling a meeting with your advisor

View Frequently Asked Questions

Transfer students may be assigned an advisor in UCAS, or in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics, depending on the number of credits that they transfer. You can check Starfish for your advisor assignment.

Transfer to College of Arts and Sciences:

Once you complete the above requirements, you will be transferred to the College of Arts and Sciences, and you will be assigned a Computer Science advisor – a faculty member in the department. You will receive an email with the name and email address of your advisor. You can also find your advisor, and their office hours on Starfish. If you have questions about finding your advisor, please contact Melissa Gooding in the Computer Science Department melissagooding@uri.edu.

This website is designed to help navigate the advising process for a variety of issues and questions that may arise.

When to Meet with your Advisor:

You may meet with your advisor any time you have questions about your schedule, or your career planning. Most of the questions you may have are answered in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section below. Be sure to check there before scheduling an appointment with your advisor.

The semester before you expect to graduate, you will need to complete an Intent to Graduate form. You should meet with your advisor at least two weeks before the deadline:

  • May graduates the deadline is October 1 of the previous year
  • August graduates the deadline is February 1
  • December graduates the deadline is March 1

Things All Students Should Do:

To make the advising process run as smoothly as possible, you should be as prepared as possible when meeting with your advisor. Below are the basic steps you should take to be prepared for your meeting.

  • Review degree requirements on the Computer Science Department site
  • Fill out a Curriculum Sheet to keep for yourself. Be sure you know what Catalog Year you are following. You can find this listed as the Requirement Term on eCampus. It is usually the year that you started at URI. Keep your Curriculum Sheet up to date each semester. Also regularly check the suggested schedules for the BA in CS and the BS in CS:
  • Each semester use ECampus tools to track progress toward your degree. The Academic Progress Report shown there performs an audit of the courses you have taken against the requirements for a degree. You can change the degrees in the analysis to allow you to do things like “what if I added a Cybersecurity minor”? Before every meeting with your Advisor, email them a PDF of your Academic Progress report (after following the linked instructions to generate the report, then choose “View as PDF”, save the PDF, and email it to your Advisor).
  • Prior to your Intent to Graduate meeting with your advisor, run your Academic Progress Report and fill out the Intent to Graduate form to the best of your ability. Email these both to your advisor and bring both with you to the meeting.

FAQs

  1. Where can I find the General Education requirements?
  2. Where do I find course descriptions and/or prerequisites?
    https://web.uri.edu/catalog
  3. What semesters are CS courses offered?
    Most required courses are offered every semester. Check previous semesters in an ECampus course search to find out when CSC elective courses are offered. CSC elective courses are usually offered the same semester each year.
  4. How do I find a CSC 477 or CSC 499 internship?
    Your Advisor does not handle internships. See: https://web.uri.edu/cs/academics/projects-and-internships/
  5. What Advisor do I see if I want to double major?
    See your CS Advisor and the Advisor from your other major.
  6. Is it possible to substitute courses in a CS major?
    Yes it is possible, but not guaranteed. You must first talk with your Advisor and then get signed permission from the CS Department Chair or Undergraduate Chair using this form: http://web.uri.edu/artsci/files/AS_Curriculum_Modification.pdf
  7. What is a Catalog Year, and can I change it?
    The Catalog Year is important – it determines your exact requirements for graduation. By default URI will list your Catalog Year as the year you first attended URI and hold you to those requirements for graduation. Your Catalog Year is listed on eCampus as your Requirement Term. You can change your Catalog Year to any year that you are enrolled at URI. See this page to change your Catalog Year: https://web.uri.edu/registration-records/for-students/change-of-catalog-year-requirement-term
  8. How do I declare a minor?
    Minors are described here: https://www.uri.edu/programs/minors/. You declare a minor in the home College in which the Minor is offered. You must fill out the minor form for that College and submit it to the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office prior to submitting your Intent To Graduate Form. You can find the Declare a Minor form on the College of Arts and Sciences Forms page: https://web.uri.edu/artsci/academics/student-resources/forms/
  9. What is the difference between the Computer Science BA and the BS?
    • BS has more math and science requirements
    • BS has more CS major requirements
    • BS has more CS theory and math-based courses
    • BA has more room to explore other disciplines for a minor or double-major
    • Most employers will accept both BA or BS. Some specialized companies and positions prefer BS for mathematical and technical background.
    • BS prepares students better for graduate school in CS. However, a student with a BA can go to grad school, but may have some deficiencies to make up.
  10. How do I change from/to a BA in CS to/from BS in CS?Submit a College of Arts and Science Change of Major Form found on the College of Arts and Sciences Forms page: https://web.uri.edu/artsci/academics/student-resources/forms/
    If the student is still in UCAS, then they have to complete the UCAS Change of Major form and have their UCAS CS advisor submit it for them: https://web.uri.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/1740/ChangeofMajor.pdf
  11. What do I do if a CSC, DSP, or CSF class that I need is full?
    First, contact the course instructor requesting a permission number to add the course. If that is not successful, contact the CS Department by emailing Melissa at melissagooding@uri.edu to ask to add yourself to a waiting list.
  12. What should I do if I need to add/drop a class after the open add/drop period?
    This requires instructor permission and their signature on the late add/drop form found here: https://web.uri.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2067/Add_or_Drop_Appeal.pdf
    Students who are already enrolled in other courses may add a class up until the last day of classes using a late Add form provided that they have permission of both the instructor and the dean. Courses dropped after the deadline will appears a “W” for “withdrawn” on your transcript. This does not affect your GPA.
  13. What is the policy for repeating a course in which I did poorly?
    Unless the course description specifically states that students may retake a course, students may only repeat courses in which they received a C- or lower. In this case, each course grade will appear on your transcript. For students within their first 30 attempted credits (or first semester for transfer students), a Second Grade Option is possible. This allows the new grade to replace the student’s original grade in their GPA.
  14. How do I take a course at another institution and transfer it to URI?
    Transfer credit is handled by the College of Arts and Sciences. See: https://web.uri.edu/transfer/current-uri-students/. The College of A&S may send you to the URI Department in which the transfer course resides, but start with the College of A&S transfer process. Transferring course credit is not guaranteed. You should get prior approval before taking the course you hope to transfer using the form on the above link. Finding the course you want to take at another institution and its equivalent at URI in the Transfer Equivalent System almost always indicates that the course will transfer.