Admission to a major in the College of Science and Engineering is a competitive process based on the successful completion of specific technical courses and a grade point average (GPA) based on technical courses (the technical GPA).
Students who have completed the necessary technical courses and have a 3.2 or above technical GPA at the end of fall semester will be guaranteed admission to that major. All other students who have completed the necessary technical coursework for their intended major (as identified by each department) will be considered for admission to that major on a space-available basis.
The College of Science and Engineering website has more information on applying to your major as a CSE student.
Students must have completed or be currently enrolled in the following courses with a grade of C- or better:
Meet the technical (unbracketed) grade point average (GPA) requirement for courses taken at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities:
The demand for computer science education at the University has been increasing for over a decade, and it has outpaced the University's investment in our instructional capacity. Therefore, the Department is being forced to impose stricter limits on admission to the major at least for the near future. Learn more about these changes and suggested next steps.
The technical grade point average (or technical GPA) is calculated using your University of Minnesota - Twin Cities grades in specific courses. Courses taken at other institutions may fulfill degree requirements; however, they will not be included in the technical GPA calculation.
An "unbracketed" technical GPA is used as part of the criteria for admission to the major. This means that all attempts at a course (which resulted in a letter grade of A - F) or its equivalent will be used to calculate the technical GPA. Your technical GPA can be found on a "What If" APAS Report for the B.S. in Computer Science.
Failure to apply in a timely manner will result in a major declaration hold which may prevent future registration.
Please note: students are only eligible to apply to the major two times.
S/N grade implications (COVID-19 grade policy changes Spring 2020 - Spring 2021)
Students must have a tech GPA, therefore one tech course must have been taken A-F. This course does not need to be a computer science course. Contact csciug@umn.edu with any questions.
The Personal Statement (formerly named self-advocacy statement) is a way for students to provide additional context and information regarding their academic performance, describe their plan for success in the computer science major, and how they have contributed to the community, department, or field of computer science.
We strongly encourage all applicants to submit a statement. Anyone can submit this form.
| Admission Term | Applications Begin | Application Deadline |
| Spring semester | October 1 | December 30 |
| Fall semester | March 1 | May 25 |
To apply for admission to your major, log in to the admission to the major database. All applicants will be notified of their admission decision via email within three weeks of the application deadline.
New transfer students admitted to the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities will either come in as pre-majors (not yet accepted in a major program) or, if they meet all eligibility requirements, will be admitted directly to the major.
Admission to the major is based on the space available (teaching and classroom capacity). This is to ensure students who are admitted to the program can register for required classes as they need them and graduate in a timely manner.
The demand for computer science education at the University has been increasing for over a decade, and it has outpaced the University's investment in our instructional capacity. Therefore, the Department is being forced to impose stricter limits on admission to the major at least for the near future. Learn more about these changes and suggested next steps.
Below is a table of historical admission statistics to provide a sense of how competitive admission has been in previous semesters. This is to ensure students who are admitted to the program can register for required classes as they need them and graduate in a timely manner. Below you will see a table of historical admission statistics to provide a sense of how competitive it has been in previous semesters. Keep in mind that every cycle is different. The statistics below only include CSE applicants. CLA applicants are competing for admission to the major in the same pool as CSE applicants.
| Semester Applied (Admit Start) | Applicants | Admitted | Percentage | Lowest Tech GPA admitted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 15 (Sp 16 start) | 155 | 148 | 95.48% | 2.4 |
| Sp 16 (Fall 16 start) | 162 | 154 | 95.06% | 2.4 |
| Fall 16 (Sp 17 start) | 179 | 164 | 91.62% | 2.5 |
| Sp 17 (Fall 17 start) | 203 | 191 | 94.09% | 2.5 |
| Fall 17 (Sp 18 start) | 184 | 172 | 93.48% | 2.5 |
| Sp 18 (Fall 18 start) | 213 | 199 | 93.43% | 2.5 |
| Fall 18 (Sp 19 start) | 195 | 183 | 93.85% | 2.5 |
| Sp 19 (Fall 19 start) | 220 | 210 | 95.45% | 2.6 |
| Fall 19 (Sp 20 start) | 209 | 204 | 97.61% | 2.5 |
| Sp 20 (Fall 20 start) | 226 | 221 | 97.79% | 2.5 |
| Fall 20 (Sp 21 start) | 230 | 217 | 94.35% | 2.7 |
| Sp 21 (Fall 21 start) | 212 | 209 | 98.58% | 2.5 |
| Fall 21 (Sp 22 start) | 204 | 193 | 94.61% | 2.4* |
| Sp 22 (Fall 22 start) | 218 | 211 | 96.79% | 2.4* |
| Fall 22 (Sp 23 start) | 308 | 263 | 85.39% | 2.8* |
| Sp 23 (Fall 23 start) | 211 | 187 | 88.63% | 2.9* |
| Fall 23 (Sp 24 start) | 275 | 222 | 80.73% | 3.1* |
| Sp 24 (Fall 24 start) | TBD | TBD | TBD | likely 3.2 or higher (depends on number of applicants) |
* Some students were admitted with lower Technical GPAs than listed via our Personal Statement review process.
