Computer Science Transfer

What CS classes should you take? Unfortunately, there is no simple, "one-size-fits-all" answer to that question. You should contact OCC's Transfer Center and the four-year school where you want to transfer, before you begin taking Computer Science classes.

UCI's SMART-ICS Program
On April 29, 2005, UCI certified OCC's SMART-ICS program for students transferring to UCI's Information and Computer Science (ICS) major. Students who are admitted to UCI and the ICS major, and who complete the SMART-ICS course of study at OCC, can now fullfill all of their lower division Computer Science and Mathematics requirements at OCC before they transfer. Our UCI SMART-ICS information page has all of the details.

The ACM Guidelines

In general, most undergraduate Computer Science programs attempt to follow some form of the curriculum guidelines developed by the Association for Computing Machinery [ACM], and the Computer Sciences Accreditation Board [CSAB]. In their simplest form, these guidelines specify three lower-division CS subject areas named CS1, CS2, and CS3.

• CS1 covers programming
• CS2 covers data structures and algorithm analysis
• CS3 covers computer architecture

OCC CS Transfer Courses

At OCC, we offer classes that will meet the core requirements for these subject areas at many 4-year colleges and universities. All of these classes are not offered every semester, so you need to plan your schedule carefully.

If you have never had any computer experience, you should take a computer literacy course, such as CS 111, (Introduction to Information Systems and Programming), or CIS 100, (Introduction to Information Systems and Applications), before you tackle your first programming class.

Here is a typical 2-year CS transfer schedule here at OCC.

• The first sememster, you have your choice of three different introductory programming classes. (You may take more than one if you like). You should check with your transfer university to make sure you take the language that they prefer.
• The second semester you should take CS 150, C++ Programming I. You must have taken an introductory programming course before you can take CS 150.
• The third semester you should take CS 250, C++ Programming II, and CS 116, Computer Archicture. Starting in Fall 2004, these classes are offered only in the Fall.
• Your last semester, you should take CS 200, Data Structures. This class is offered only in the Spring, and you must have completed CS 150 and CS 250 before taking it.

Sample Course Schedule