For more information on the admission process, please visit the Office of Undergraduate Admissions website. Applications may be submitted via the Common Application.
Supporting documents not submitted online should be mailed to:
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
The George Washington University
800 21st Street NW, Suite 100
Washington DC 20052
Contact for questions:
gwadm@gwu.edu or 202-994-6040
Residency requirement—As part of a residency requirement, all BA in computer science majors, whether primary majors within SEAS or secondary majors in another school, must take a minimum of 18 credits in upper-level Computer Science (CSCI) courses at GW. Credits earned in an approved study abroad program count toward this requirement.
Second major or two minors requirement—All BA in computer science majors are required to declare and complete either a second major or two minors in another academic department.
Recommended program of study
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| First semester | 15 | |
| CSCI 1010 | Computer Science Orientation | 1 |
| CSCI 1111 | Introduction to Software Development | 3 |
| SEAS 1001 | Engineering Orientation | 1 |
| UW 1020 | University Writing 1 | 4 |
| Mathematics requirement 2 | 3 | |
| Social sciences elective 3, 7 | 3 | |
| Second semester | 15 | |
| CSCI 1112 | Algorithms and Data Structures | 3 |
| CSCI 1311 | Discrete Structures I | 3 |
| General Elective 5 | 3 | |
| Natural or physical sciences with a lab elective 3, 7 | 3 | |
| Social sciences elective 3, 7 | 3 | |
| Third semester | 15 | |
| CSCI 2113 | Software Engineering | 3 |
| Humanities elective 3, 7 | 3 | |
| Natural or physical sciences with a lab elective 3, 7 | 3 | |
| Second major or minor elective 5 | 3 | |
| Statistics requirement course 4 | 3 | |
| Fourth semester | 15 | |
| CSCI 2441W | Database Systems and Team Projects | 3 |
| CSCI 2460 | Introduction to Computer Systems | 3 |
| General elective 5 | 3 | |
| Humanities elective 3, 7 | 3 | |
| Second major or minor elective 5 | 3 | |
| Fifth semester | 15 | |
| Advanced CS elective 6 | 3 | |
| Arts elective 3, 8 | 3 | |
| Second major or minor elective 5 | 3 | |
| Second major or minor elective 5 | 3 | |
| Second major or minor elective 5 | 3 | |
| Sixth semester | 16 | |
| CSCI 3212 | 4 | |
| Global or cross-cultural elective 3, 8 | 3 | |
| Humanities elective 3, 7 | 3 | |
| Second major or minor elective 5 | 3 | |
| Second major or minor elective 5 | 3 | |
| Seventh semester | 15 | |
| Advanced CS elective 6 | 3 | |
| Advanced CS elective 6 | 3 | |
| Global or cross-cultural elective 3, 8 | 3 | |
| Second major or minor elective 5 | 3 | |
| Second major or minor elective 5 | 3 | |
| Eighth semester | 15 | |
| Advanced CS elective 6 | 3 | |
| General elective 5 | 3 | |
| Humanities elective 3, 7 | 3 | |
| Second major or minor elective 5 | 3 | |
| Second major or minor elective 5 | 3 | |
1Course satisfies the University General Education requirement in writing. UW 1020 must be completed prior to any writing course in the major, including CSCI 2441W. After successful completion of UW 1020, 6 credits distributed over at least two different Writing in the Discipline (WID) courses taken in separate semesters (summer counts as one semester) are required. WID courses are designated by a "W" appended to the course number.
2The mathematics requirement can be met by taking either MATH 1221 or MATH 1231.
3One course selected must have an approved oral communication component, from the University General Education Courses list. This course may fulfill both the oral communication requirement; and a general education/major/elective requirement.
4The statistics requirement can be met by taking one of the following courses: APSC 3115, CSCI 3362, CSCI 4341, CSCI 6362, DNSC 1001, STAT 1051, or STAT 1053.
5General Electives and electives toward the second major or minor: All students in the BA in computer science program are required to complete 42 credits, which may be counted toward the second major or minor or as general electives. At least 12 of these courses must be taken outside the computer science major. All courses used to fulfill this requirement must have the explicit, documented approval from the faculty adviser, even when such courses are required for a minor or have transferred to the University as Advanced Placement (AP) credit. Classes must meet the following guidelines:
- Classes that provide any number of credits are allowed, and they can be combined toward the minimum of 24 credits. Note that LSPA classes cannot count toward SEAS degree requirements.
- Variable Topics (typically 1099) and Special Topics courses outside of Computer Science require advisor approval. Credit cannot be given for internships.
- Only a single Research class (e.g. CSCI 3908) for up to three credits can be taken a semester.
- Courses from other departments that significantly overlap with, or are not as advanced as, the required content for the computer science degree program do not count toward this requirement. Such courses include, but are not limited to, basic programming classes and the following: BADM 2301, EMSE 4197, ISTM 3119, ISTM 4120, ISTM 4121, ISTM 4123, STAT 1129, and classes from the PSIS and PSCS programs.
- CSCI courses numbered below 3000 may not count toward this requirement. Exceptions may be granted for students who took such courses prior to transferring into a CS BA degree program.
- Students taking MATH 1220 as a prerequisite for MATH 1221 may count MATH 1220 as a General Elective.
- SEAS has the following requirements for foreign language courses taken to meet general electives, humanities, or social sciences requirements:
- The foreign language studied may not be a native language of the student unless the courses taken are literature courses.
- If a student has studied the language previously, the student must first take a placement test given by the language department and enroll in a course recommended by the respective language department.
6Advanced CS elective requirement. All students in the BA in computer science program are required to take four technical courses (for a minimum of 12 credits) of computer science courses numbered 3000 and above. Of these courses, at least two (for a minimum of 6 credits) must be at the 4000 level or above. CSCI 4243, CSCI 4243W, CSCI 4244 may not be used toward the advanced CS elective requirement. The faculty advisor’s documented approval is required before these courses may be applied toward degree completion.
7This course should be selected from the University General Education Courses List. From the University General Education Courses, select the corresponding course type.
- The Humanities elective must be selected from the "Critical thinking in the humanities" list
- The Social Science elective must be selected from the "Critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, or scientific reasoning in the social sciences" list
- The Natural or Physical Sciences with a lab elective must be selected from the "Scientific reasoning in the natural and/or physical lab sciences" list
8This course should be selected from the Columbian College General Education Curriculum (G-PAC). From the G-PAC Course List, select the corresponding course type.
- The Global or Cross-Cultural elective must be selected from the "Global or Cross-Cultural Perspectives" list
- The Arts elective must be selected from the "Creative or Critical Thinking in the Arts" list