CS Major Appeal Process and Exceptions/Waiver Requests
Appeal to the CS Major
Students who demonstrate extraordinary circumstances such as those involving health or mental health, injury, work obligations, family crisis, etc. are eligible to submit an appeal to the CS major application decision should they not be admitted.
To submit an appeal to the CS major, students will be required to write a personal statement and provide supporting documentation.
Please thoroughly review the following information about submitting an appeal to the CS Major Application Decision.
About the Personal Statement
The CS Major Appeal must include a personal statement that is no more than 3000 characters (or 1 page). The statement should include the following information:
- Note how your academic performance has been affected by extenuating circumstances involving health or mental health, injury, work obligations, family crisis, etc.
- Describe the challenges in your academic performance and how you are actively overcoming them.
- Detail the activities and experiences you have/will use to supplement your learning such as an internship, research, CS-related employment, tutoring, mentoring, on-campus involvement/leadership, etc.
Supporting Documentation
Students must submit at least one strong letter of recommendation for their appeal.
Letters of recommendation may come from:
- Supervisors from a CS-related internship
- Supervisors/faculty mentors of a CS-related research center/research lab position or Academic Intern/UGSI position (from Berkeley or another institution including community college)
Only submit letters from professors that supervised your work on non-classroom related projects or research.
Letters should NOT come from:
- Professors whose class you took and with whom you have no outside classroom relationship
- TA’s
Timeline
CS Major Appeals are reviewed by the CS Vice Chair and Director of CS Student Affairs throughout the semester. Students will be notified via email once a decision is made. Work with a CDSS advisor to determine your deadline to declare CS.
Steps to Submitting an Appeal
- You can submit an appeal after all the grades have been posted and you have been denied after submitting a CS major application.
- Gather all documents needed including a personal statement and at least one letter of recommendation.
- All appeals must be submitted online using the CS Major Appeals Form.
Exceptions and Waivers to CS Major Requirements
Requests for exceptions and waivers to the CS Major Requirements are allowable under the discretion of a committee composed of the CS Vice Chair and Director of CS Student Affairs and will be approved on a case-by-case basis.
What is an Exception or Waiver?
How to Request an Exception or Waiver to CS Major Requirements
All requests for exception or waiver to the Computer Science major requirements must be submitted online via the CS Exceptions and Waiver to Major Requirements Form.
Request to Increase Semester Units
If you would like to request an increase in the number of units you have for a semester, please submit the Request to Increase Units form. Note: Units will be increased at the discretion of the CS Advisors. We will begin to review and notify you during the 2nd week of the semester.