What's a BCS?

My two cents ...

Well, I'm sure you've all heard of the new BCS, or Bachelor of Computer Science program that will 'officially' start next fall (F03). But do you know what it's about beyond that? There will be an information session on Thursday November 7^th, at 5 pm in DC 1350. (This will be a repeat of the session held on October 9^th.) The rest of this article is my synopsis/interpretation of what the BCS is.

Those of you who are in CS right now are in the BMath 'version' of CS (which means you would get a Bachelor of Math with Honours in Computer Science when you graduate). The BCS version would give you a Bachelor of Computer Science. Of course, that's just the surface difference.

Requirements: BMath(CS) vs. BCS

(*Must satisfy restrictions below)

At first glance, it the BCS looks a lot easier — I mean, it's essentially switching 4 required Math courses for 4 free choice courses, and getting more choice in the core CS. (For those who want to know, the Math core course that was dropped is Math 235.) The basic changes to the CS core between the BMath(CS) and BCS are:

• CS 245 Logic — new required course for BCS
• CS 354 Operating Systems — renamed CS 350
• CS 341 Algorithms — no change
• CS 342 Concurrency — becomes optional, renamed CS 343
• CS 360 Theory — becomes optional
• CS 370 Matlab — becomes optional

Alright, time to explain the * in the requirements list above. The free choice/non-Math courses are 'restricted' in that they must satisfy one of the three following requirements:

1. Fulfill the requirements of a minor, joint, or full Honours plan from outside the Math Faculty
2. Make up a plan and get it approved by the CS advisors. This isn't very likely though; it's predicted that most BCS students will satisfy the last requirement:
3. Fulfill the breadth and depth requirements.

Breadth (all of these)

• 2 credits in Humanities (History, Philosophy, Language courses, Classical Studies, Drama, Fine Arts, Music, & Religious Studies)
• 2 credits in Social Sciences (Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology)
• 1 credit from Science
• 1 credit from Science/AHS/ES

Depth (one of these)

• 3 courses at a 3^rd year or higher level with the same prefix (not Math or CS). For example: HIST 339, 340, 341 (if you really like Europe)
• 3 courses forming a prerequisite chain of 3 (again, not Math or CS). For example: PSYCH 101, 207, 304.

It's worth noting that courses from the breadth requirement can be used towards satisfying the depth requirement. Also, it will take some planning to take care of the depth requirement, since many upper year courses in other faculties are restricted (the example of ECON 101, 201, and 301 given at the last info Info Session cannot be used since ECON 211 is required for 301, and it's not open to Math students). This requirement is to allow BCS students to gain more exposure to areas outside the Faculty of Math.

Now that we've had a second glance ... it still looks easier than the BMath(CS). I'm not saying that courses in other faculties are all less challenging than Math; I'm saying that there are paths of study made available by this requirement that are less challenging.

So with all this going for the BCS, are there any reasons not to switch? Short answer: Yes.

• The current BMath(CS) has a reputation as the best Computer Science degree in Canada. The new BCS degree, however, has no reputation — yet. With the difficulty level as it currently is, it may become known as the easy degree.
• As with any new program, especially those with new courses, there is the 'guinea pig' phase. CS 245 doesn't even exist yet according to Quest; it's only available through the online waiting list (www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/undergrad/waitlist). This is a required course for the BCS.

There is only room for 96 students in CS 245 for Winter 2003. If you've read this far and are still interested in switching to a BCS, you probably already know that the deadline for signing up on the wait list for CS 245 is November 15^th If you haven't already, I also urge you to talk with a CS advisor about why you want to switch to the BCS. After all, they're making the decisions about who gets into the program ... Drop them a line at csadvisors@student.math.uwaterloo.ca.

Krease