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2024-2025

Computer Science, Bachelor of Arts

VCU

Community college:
AS in Computer Science or AA&S in Science (Virginia Community College System)
Virginia Community College System
Associate degree

Associate of Science in Computer Science or Associate of Arts and Sciences in Science

Completing the associate degree will waive VCU's general education requirements.

Program description

The Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science (BA in CS) is a comprehensive program designed to equip students with both a strong foundation in computer science and the flexibility to explore diverse fields of study. This program balances rigorous technical training with a broad foundational education, fostering well-rounded graduates capable of innovative thinking and problem-solving in various technological contexts.


Students will delve into core computer science subjects such as algorithms, data structures, software development, and computer systems. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to explore specialized areas like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and web development. The curriculum emphasizes critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration, preparing students to tackle complex challenges in technology and beyond.

Career opportunities

Graduates of the program will be well-prepared for diverse career paths in technology, including software engineering, data analysis, and IT consulting, as well as roles in non-tech industries that increasingly rely on digital expertise. With a blend of technical skills and a broad educational background, the degree opens doors to innovative and impactful career opportunities and produces versatile professionals equipped with a unique blend of technical prowess and interdisciplinary insight. This combination is particularly valuable in today's rapidly evolving job market, where the ability to apply computer science principles across various domains is increasingly sought after. In addition to traditional roles in software engineering, data analysis, and IT consulting,  graduates find opportunities in industries such as finance, healthcare, education, and media, where their ability to leverage technology for innovative solutions sets them apart.


Moreover, the program's emphasis on foundational education enhances graduates' communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, making them effective collaborators and leaders in diverse team environments. Their broad educational background enables them to approach problems from multiple perspectives, fostering creativity and adaptability. This adaptability is crucial in roles such as product management, UX/UI design, digital marketing, and tech entrepreneurship, where understanding user needs and market dynamics is essential.


With their well-rounded education and strong technical foundation, graduates are not only prepared to excel in current tech roles but are also equipped to adapt to future technological advancements and emerging fields, ensuring long-term career growth and relevance.

Bachelor-level job titles
  • Computer Programmer
  • Cybersecurity Engineer
  • Data Engineer or Architect
  • Project Manager
  • Sales Engineer
  • Scrum Master
  • Software Engineer or Developer
  • Software Quality Assurance and Test Engineer
  • Web Developer
Graduate and professional level job titles
  • College Professor
  • Computer Architecture Engineer
  • Lead Machine Learning Engineer/Scientist
  • Lead Software Engineer
  • Project Leader
Contact information

 

VCU Transfer Center

Telephone: (804) 827-1349

Email: transferinfo@vcu.edu

Transfer Advising Request

VCCS Transfer Planning Checklist


Office of Admissions

Telephone: (804) 828-1222 or (800) 841-3638

Email: ugrad@vcu.edu
Apply Here.

Guaranteed transfer admission requirements
  • Completion of associate degree
  • Minimum GPA of 3.0
  • All courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or better
  • Earn a minimum grade of "B" in all your math, science and computer science classes
Degree requirements in Bulletin
Plan of study in Bulletin
Requirements
Highest level of math required
  • MATH 310
Science required
  • No
Foreign language requirements
  • No
Additional tuition/fees
GPA requirements (to progress/graduate in the major)
  • A minimum of 12 earned VCU credit hours and a VCU GPA of 2.0 or greater is required to change into the Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science. Completion of MATH 151, CMSC 254 or CMSC 210, & CMSC 255, all with grades "C" or higher.
VCU Major Maps

View VCU Major Map for Computer Science (B.A.)

Transfer major map
Visit majormaps.vcu.edu for the online version with links.
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
Major map compass icon
2024-2025

Computer Science, Bachelor of Arts

Virginia Community College System (AS in Computer Science or AA&S in Science)

MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
Explore Year 1
  • Schedule an appointment with your community college advisor to map out your associate degree course plan.
  • Enroll in the SDV student success course.
  • Complete your english and start your math requirements in your first year.
  • Be prepared for academic challenges and utilize tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Explore community college financial aid resources and submit the FAFSA on time.
  • Identify a mentor in a diversity organization.
  • Attend diversity-focused events on your community college campus and in your community (e.g., international festival).
  • Make friends with people with diverse perspectives and join a cultural or identity-related student organization.
  • Create a weekly and monthly budget.
  • Prepare for a career after college by creating a brand for yourself.
  • Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
  • Practice independent living skills such as money and time management, self-care, and personal responsibility.
Experience Year 2
  • Be prepared for academic challenges. Use tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Be prepared: Once you enroll at VCU, your VCU GPA will be determined by your grades at VCU.
  • Meet with your community college advisor to finalize plans to complete your associate degree.
  • Submit a transfer advising request to the VCU Transfer Center.
  • Research scholarship opportunities and explore your eligibility for the Two-Year College Transfer Grant.
  • Apply to VCU.
  • Visit the VCU campus and attend a transfer admission session.
  • Research housing options for next year.
  • Attend a talk or other event sponsored by the VCU Computer Science department, consider joining a VCU club, or meeting with VCU students to make professional and personal connections.
  • Consider learning a foreign language to open doors to international organizations and future study.
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Attend VCU cultural events, including the monthly Global Café, VCU Diversity Scholars in Research week, or VCU Computer Science department-related events.
  • Check out the VCU Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) and follow @vcuomsa.
  • Find out about VCU REAL and learn about VCU's REAL graduation requirement.
  • Attend Career & Internship Fairs throughout the year.
  • Acquire career related experience (e.g., job, internship, organization involvement).
  • If your GPA is 3.5 or higher, consider applying for the VCU Honors College.
  • Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
  • Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
  • Explore the types of aid available at VCU.
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.

Explore
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Schedule an appointment with your community college advisor to map out your associate degree course plan.
  • Enroll in the SDV student success course.
  • Complete your english and start your math requirements in your first year.
  • Be prepared for academic challenges and utilize tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Explore community college financial aid resources and submit the FAFSA on time.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Identify a mentor in a diversity organization.
  • Attend diversity-focused events on your community college campus and in your community (e.g., international festival).
  • Make friends with people with diverse perspectives and join a cultural or identity-related student organization.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Create a weekly and monthly budget.
  • Prepare for a career after college by creating a brand for yourself.
  • Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
  • Practice independent living skills such as money and time management, self-care, and personal responsibility.

Experience
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Be prepared for academic challenges. Use tutoring resources to get ahead.
  • Be prepared: Once you enroll at VCU, your VCU GPA will be determined by your grades at VCU.
  • Meet with your community college advisor to finalize plans to complete your associate degree.
  • Submit a transfer advising request to the VCU Transfer Center.
  • Research scholarship opportunities and explore your eligibility for the Two-Year College Transfer Grant.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
  • Apply to VCU.
  • Visit the VCU campus and attend a transfer admission session.
  • Research housing options for next year.
  • Attend a talk or other event sponsored by the VCU Computer Science department, consider joining a VCU club, or meeting with VCU students to make professional and personal connections.
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Consider learning a foreign language to open doors to international organizations and future study.
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Attend VCU cultural events, including the monthly Global Café, VCU Diversity Scholars in Research week, or VCU Computer Science department-related events.
  • Check out the VCU Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) and follow @vcuomsa.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
  • Find out about VCU REAL and learn about VCU's REAL graduation requirement.
  • Attend Career & Internship Fairs throughout the year.
  • Acquire career related experience (e.g., job, internship, organization involvement).
  • If your GPA is 3.5 or higher, consider applying for the VCU Honors College.
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
  • Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
  • Explore the types of aid available at VCU.
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
Recommended courses
Major map compass icon
2024-2025

Computer Science, Bachelor of Arts

Virginia Community College System (AS in Computer Science or AA&S in Science)

Virginia Community College System courses
Course Title Equivalent course Credits Requirements
SDV 100 or SDV 101 College Success Skills UNIV 101 1 Elective
ENG 111 College Composition I Note: students with credit for AP English Language and Composition will only receive credit for UNIV 111 at VCU and should take ENG 112 to fulfill the VCU composition requirement. UNIV 111-112 3 General education
ENG 112 College Composition II UNIV 200 3 General education
MTH 167 Precalculus with Trigonometry (or MTH 161-162 Precalculus I-II) MATH 151 5 to 6 General education
MTH 245 Statistics I STAT 212 3 Major (Ancillary)
Humanities/Fine Arts Select one of the following (UCGS Block II): ART 100, ART 101, ART 102, CST 130, CST 151, MUS 121, MUS 221, MUS 222, MUS 226, HUM 201, HUM 202, HUM 210, HUM 216, HUM 220, HUM 256, HUM 259, PHI 100, PHI 111, PHI 220, REL 100, REL 230, REL 237, REL 240. VCU equivalent 3 General education
Humanities/Fine Arts/Literature Select one of the following (UCGS Block II): ART 100, ART 101, ART 102, CST 130, CST 151, MUS 121, MUS 221, MUS 222, MUS 226, HUM 201, HUM 202, HUM 210, HUM 216, HUM 220, HUM 256, HUM 259, PHI 100, PHI 111, PHI 220, REL 100, REL 230, REL 237, REL 240, ENG 225, ENG 245, ENG 246, ENG 250, ENG 255, ENG 258, ENG 275 (the course must come from a different group than the previous requirement). VCU equivalent 3 General education
Social science Select one of the following (UCGS Block III): ECO 150, ECO 201, ECO 202, GEO 210, GEO 220, PLS 135, PLS 140, PLS 241, PSY 200, SOC 200, SOC 211, SOC 268. VCU equivalent 3 General education
Lab science Select one of the following (UCGS Block IV): BIO 101, BIO 102, BIO 106, CHM 101, CHM 111, CHM 112, ENV 121, ENV 122, GOL 105, GOL 106, GOL 110, PHY 100, PHY 201, PHY 202, PHY 241, PHY 242. VCU equivalent 4 General education
History Select one of the following (UCGS Block VI): HIS 101, HIS 102, HIS 111, HIS 112, HIS 121, HIS 122. HIST 3 General education
CSC 221 Introduction to Problem Solving and Programming CMSC 254 3 Major
CSC 222 Object-oriented Programming CMSC 255 4 Major
CSC 223 Data Structures and Analysis of Algorithms CMSC 256 4 Major
CSC 205 Computer Organization CMSC 311 3 Major
CSC 208 Introduction to Discrete Structures CMSC 302 3 Major
Complete requirements for associate degree (consider taking classes that would apply to a VCU minor; see note below) VCU equivalents 11 to 12 Elective
Community college credits transferred to VCU 60
VCU courses
Course Title Credits Requirements
CMSC 235 Computing and Data Ethics 3 Major
CMSC 355 Fundamentals of Software Engineering (fulfills the REAL requirement) 3 Major
CMSC 401 Algorithm Analysis with Advanced Data Structures 3 Major
CMSC Select four courses from CMSC upper-level electives 12 to 13 Major
IDST 301 Interdisciplinary Theory and Practice 3 Major (Ancillary)
MATH 211 Mathematical Structures 3 Major (Ancillary)
MATH 310 Linear Algebra 3 Major (Ancillary)
Select a minor (students must complete the requirements for a minor) 18 Major (Ancillary)
Electives 11 to 12 Elective
Credits completed at VCU 60
Minimum credits required for bachelor's degree 120