Undergraduate admissions

Admission is done by the college, rather than by the department. More admission information is available at CSE Prospective students, as well as on the University Admissions website.

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.

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.

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.

* Some students were admitted with lower Technical GPAs than listed via our Personal Statement review process.

We anticipate admission to the major to be more competitive in future semesters due to increased interest. The number of students that can be admitted to the Data Science BS program is also connected to the number of students CS&E admits to the CSE Computer Science BS and CLA Computer Science BA so the department can manage capacities for teaching, student services, and other resources.

New transfer students admitted to the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities will either come in as pre-majors or be admitted directly to the major. Students transferring to the university without having completed the five prerequisite courses (Calculus II, CS I, CS II, and Probability & Statistics) will be admitted to CSE as a pre-computer science students. These students must apply when they are eligible (see information above). Students transferring to the university with all five prerequisite courses completed, and with a GPA in technical coursework below the cutoff the department set during the last application cycle, will be admitted to CSE as a pre-data science students. These students will need to apply in their first semester by taking technical coursework at the University of Minnesota. Students transferring to the university with all five prerequisite courses completed, and with a GPA in technical coursework meeting the cutoff the department set during the last application cycle, are eligible for direct admission to the major. Students in this situation will be contacted by the department to ask if they would like to be admitted directly to the major. 

CSE students are usually accepted into the Data Science B.S. program upon admission to upper division. Students should apply online when they have completed or they are currently enrolled in:

• Calculus II (MATH 1372 or MATH 1272 or MATH 1572H)
• Probability & Statistics (STAT 3021)
• Computer Science I (CSCI 1133)
• Computer Science II (CSCI 2081 OR (CSCI 3081W for a student who is a CSCI/DSCI double major only; must be admitted to CSCI program)

Meet the technical (unbracketed) grade point average (GPA) requirement for courses taken at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities:

• Students with a 3.2 or above technical GPA will have guaranteed admission to the major
• Students with a 2.0 or above technical GPA will be considered for admission to the major on a space-available basis

More about your technical GPA

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.

Information on applying to a major in CSE can be found here.  

Here is part of that page:

"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."

Students applying for the Data Science B.S. should have completed the courses listed above by the end of the semester they submit their online application. Each course must have been completed with a C- or better. Admission to the major is based on the unbracketed technical GPA. This is the GPA calculated using the grades from all attempts of Computer Science, Math, Statistics and other technical courses required for science or engineering degrees. More information on the technical GPA can be found here. CSE students can check their technical GPA on their APAS report. Only classes taken at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities count towards the technical GPA.

Note if the GPA in technical courses is not sufficiently high, the college reserves the right to deny admission to the major. Students are also advised not to delay their application to the major. Failure to apply in a timely manner will result in a major declaration hold which may prevent future registration.

Students who wish to double major in Computer Science and Data Science should apply to Computer Science first. They can apply to Data Science the following semester if admitted to Computer Science.

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.