The Undergraduate Advising Head (UAH) for the 2020 - 21 academic year is Professor Pito Salas. To schedule an appointment with him, please send an email to cosi-uah@brandeis.edu. If you wish to discuss declaring a major or minor, please refer to the next question and follow the directions, before making an appointment with her.
Please send an email to the UAH, Professor Pito Salas at cosi-uah@brandeis.edu.
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Placement in the introductory Computer Science courses is determined through the COSI Placement Exam and advising.
No. COSI 12b is a strict pre-requisite to COSI 21a.
Students who believe that they have taken an equivalent course to to a course required for the COSI major or minor should contact the UAH and present a syllabus for the course they took and a copy of their transcript that shows the grade they received for the course. Exemptions are granted at the discretion of the UAH.
Course substitutions can be proposed by completing the online petition on the registrar's website.
A student who has taken both MATH 23b and either MATH 8a or MATH 36a or ECON 83a or BIOL 51a or PSYC 51a can substitute these courses for COSI 29a.
No. The prerequisites to any given course are carefully chosen so as to ensure that all students taking the course have a mastery of topics that will be assumed as understood when introducing new course material. A student who wishes to take a course without having taken its prerequisite(s) must have been approved for an exemption from (each of) the prerequisite course(s).
The university (and the COSI department) discourage the substitution of a course taken at another institution for a core course that is required for the minor or major. If this is the substitution sought, it is recommended that you contact the UAH prior to taking the course and also send them a copy of the syllabus for the course you wish to take and an explanation for why you cannot satisfy the core course requirement at Brandeis.
Transfer credit of courses taken elsewhere for elective credit is more straightforward. In general, the rule of thumb is that a course offered at another institution can count as an elective towards the COSI major if that course counts towards the major for Computer Science (or its equivalent) at the institution where it is offered. This requires providing the UAH with documentation of the requirements of the Computer Science major specified by the institution where they will be studying that show that the course or courses in question are accepted for the major.
See the answer to the previous question of this FAQ. Students should make the case for the set of courses they wish to take while abroad to the UAH before they leave.
The COSI department follows the policies of the Math department in deciding on exemptions and substitutions for Math courses that are required for the COSI major.
See the answer to the previous question of this FAQ.
The COSI 92a Off-Campus Internships provides students an opportunity to work at an off-campus internship while receiving oversight and mentorship from a faculty member and practicing oral communication skills.
In order to receive COSI elective credit for this course, you must complete the following steps.
Before the start of the semester:Peer Assistantships, otherwise understood to be TA's for course credit rather than compensation, yield many benefits to undergraduate teachers and learners. The university has established uniform standards for the utilization of undergraduate peer assistants and for the awarding of academic credit for such activities. Opportunities to serve as peer assistants are by invitation and generally limited to juniors and seniors who have demonstrated exceptional academic achievement.
Undergraduates serving in this capacity may be compensated for their services or receive one, and only one, semester course credit for their assistance during their Brandeis career. Credit-bearing peer assistantships are enrolled under the course number PEER 94a and are subject to the normal enrollment procedures and deadlines. Peer assistant courses are offered exclusively on a credit/no-credit grading basis and are not factored into the student's GPA. Concurrent enrollment in the course the student is a peer assistant for is not allowed.
This course does not count toward COSI requirements nor does it count as an elective. The advantage is that it does coursest toward a student's 128 credits needed to graduate from Brandeis and it reduces their course load for the semester by one class.
Form to enroll in Peer94a: https://www.brandeis.
The Undergraduate Advising Head (UAH) for the 2022 - 23 academic year is Professor Pito Salas.