CSU East Bay has many students who already hold a B.S. degrees, and who return to study computer science, to increase their job opportunities, or to simply expand their horizons. The Department encourages such students and has several option available to them.
Those students who want to take the upper-division C.S. classes should try to complete the calculus sequene early in their curriculum, since computer sicnec is a challenging subject that requires a strong mathematical background, particularly for the upper-division courses.
The available options are:
A student may register for any class for which the prerequisites have been met and there is space available. This applies to both regularly enrolled students and concurrently enrolled (Open University) students. Those who wish an introduction to the field or to programming should consider CS 1020, CS 1160, and/or CS 2170.
Many students wish to learn Computer Science, but do not want to complete all the requirements for a second degree, which may include General Education courses. Such a student may elect to register for a second Bachelor's Degree, but only complete the courses required for the major. After completing these, the Assistant Vice-President of Admissions and Records will send the student an official letter acknowledging the completion of the Major. Many employers will treat this letter as the equivalent of a second degree.
One can also complete all the requirements for the B.S. degree, as prescribed in the catalog, and then receive a second degree. These requirements include the major, General Education requirements and the University Writing Skills requirements and the residency requirement.
In many cases, this can be done easily since courses used for the first degree
may also be used here. A student does not have to choose between Major Only and
Second Degree at the time of application. For either, apply as a Computer Science
Major for a second degree. Then later, decide if it is worth fulfilling all the
non-major requirements.