Do I need to take CS 101?
Generally, yes. Even if you took a similar course in another institution. See this page for more information.
What if I have already earned a degree from another university?
If you have an AA or AS degree from a college in the Virginia Community College System, you may be exempt from lower level general education requirements. If you have a BA or BS degree from an accredited college or university, you may be exempt from all general education requirements. You should see your advisor to determine whether you meet the requirements for one of these exemptions.
What courses can I transfer from NVCC(NOVA)?
NVCC has an agreement with GMU that states which NVCC (Virginia Community College System, VCCS) courses will transfer to GMU. The CS/VCCS course equivalency guide for the CS department courses outlines everything that will transfer. The VCCS/GMU Transfer Guide covers all undergraduate course equivalencies.
Can I take courses elsewhere while I am a student at GMU?
In order to receive credit for courses taken elsewhere, you must first obtain permission from the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, whose office is located in S&T II, Room 160. You will be required to provide a satisfactory reason for your request and complete the Study Elsewhere form. While appropriate requests often are approved, please be aware that core CS and Math courses are expected to be taken at GMU; therefore, requests to take these courses elsewhere are rarely approved. In addition, all approvals are made at the discretion of the Dean. Courses taken elsewhere without first obtaining proper approval are highly unlikely to be approved retroactively.
How can I transfer credits from another institution, as an undergraduate?
You must have an official transcript submitted from your prior institution to the GMU registrar's office. Your transcript will be examined to determine what courses you will be given transfer credit for. If you believe you have been given too little recognition, your advisor may be able to help you complete and approve the Transfer Credit Re-Eval Appeal Form. There is no limit as to how many undergraduate credits can be transferred in to the university, but all GMU graduation requirements must be met. Note especially that you must: complete one-fourth of your coursework at GMU, normally the final 30 credits, complete a minimum of 45 upper division (300 level or above) credits, 12 of them at GMU.
How do the grades from my transferred courses affect my GPA?
No grades are transferred from your prior institution. You will receive credit for any courses accepted for transfer, but the transferred courses will have no affect on your GPA. Generally, courses will not be accepted for transfer unless you received a grade of C or better.
I took CS I (and II) in another language (not Java) before transfering to GMU. Do I need to retake that material here by taking the GMU courses CS 112 and CS 211?
You should receive information about whether the Admissions Office has given you transfer credit, and whether it is specifically for CS 112 (and CS 211) or just for general credit ("CS ---" or "CS xxx").
Now suppose you did get credit specifically for CS 112 (and maybe CS 211), but you're worried about that language difference. Understandably, you may be reluctant to lose the benefit of your transfer credits. Moreover, at an abstract level it is true that much of the conceptual material is the same across languages. Still, to continue successfully as a CS major you will need strong skills in the language used in our core courses. As of Fall 2005, all sections of CS 112, CS 211 and CS 310 are expected to be taught using Java.
The difference between languages could make it difficult for you to jump into our demanding, programming-intensive third semester course, CS 310, or even into CS 211, depending on what you have learned. It's important to start out right, and not have to re-start later.
If you are not a strong programmer, it may be best to begin by auditing or retaking CS 112 to learn Java (as well as Unix if that is new to you). If you audit, it will be much more important for you to actually do the programing assignments than to sit in the classes, though the classes should be helpful too. The course audit form will need to be approved by the instructor of the course.
If you are a strong programmer, another possibility is to work on your own to learn the Java syntax. Whatever else you do, you will need to actually write programs, fix them, adapt them and extend them. To help you with this, you can use a text and/or an online course.
Once you get the basics of Java from CS 112 or on your own, you may wish to audit or take CS 211. If you took both CS I and CS II elsewhere and did very well in them, then once you have mastered Java syntax you should be able to move on to CS 310.
Finally, you may obtain some useful information from faculty who teach CS 112, 211 and 310, as well as your faculty advisor.