Hello CS Badgers!

We are thrilled to offer you this special edition newsletter to help personalize your enrollment experience!

We've included enrollment tips, background information on our enrollment processes, and course descriptions to help you find courses that connect with your schedule and goals.

We encourage you to review this information in detail. Please check this resource for your questions about upcoming summer and fall enrollment.

Fall enrollment is almost upon us, and now is the time to consider your enrollment plans. Here are some general best practices as you consider your enrollment options:

• No more than 2 CS-major related courses - With the project and time demands of Comp Sci coursework, it is best to avoid overloading yourself. Please plan on taking no more than 2 CS-major related courses each semester (this includes Math). 

• Check for enrollment holds - Before you enroll, double check to make sure any enrollment holds on your student account have been resolved. This will help prevent issues for you when you actually enroll at your enrollment time.

• Waitlist (if available) - Did your first preference of course(s) fill up? If a waitlist is available, be sure to add yourself to the waitlist immediately to be considered. Waitlists are applied to courses when all available seats have been filled. The waitlist provides students an opportunity to access the course when currently enrolled students drop.

• Enroll in back-ups - Waitlisted for your first choices of courses? Enroll in a back-up course that you would be satisfied with taking in the event you do not get off the waitlist.

• Enroll at your enrollment time - CS courses will fill quickly. The sooner you take action to enroll at your enrollment time, the more likely you will be able to get into your first choices of course

• Make decisions early - Try to plan your Fall classes before enrolling. Please do not over-enroll in CS courses just to make decisions later. This causes enrollment issues for other students hoping to enroll.

The Slow Rollout Process

CS 537, CS 540, and CS 564 will have a slow rollout of seats.

The seats for these courses will slowly be added during the senior and junior enrollment periods. Please enroll at your preferred section at your enrollment time. If your preferred section is full, please check again the next day to see if more seats have been added.

Once all seats have been added to these courses, a waitlist will go into effect. You will then be welcome to waitlist for a seat and see if space becomes available.

I’m Waitlisted - What Now?

CS students are encouraged to place themselves on available waitlists if their first choice preferences become full during enrollment. Placing yourself on the waitlist helps with your chances of getting into the course as seats become available, but enrollment from the waitlist is never a guarantee. It is always a good idea to enroll in back-up course options as you wait on the waitlist.

If you are offered a seat from the waitlist, you will receive an e-mail inviting you to enroll and instructions on how to complete enrollment. Students typically have 48-hours to use permissions to enroll from the waitlist. You must take action to enroll – the system will not automatically enroll you into the course.

The CS Department will process waitlists daily until May 5. Starting the week of May 8, CS course waitlists will be processed every Monday and Thursday and will continue this schedule throughout the Summer months. Students on the waitlist are encouraged to check their e-mail on Tuesdays and Fridays to see if they have been issued a permission.

Daily waitlist processing will resume the week of August 28 and then continue at least through the 1st week of the Fall 2023 semester.

Interested in learning Python?

 CS 368 - Python for Java Learners

Don’t take CS 220 – instead, take CS 368 - Python for Java Learners. In this course, students will learn and cover the basics of python learning that expand on their knowledge from Java programming. This is a fantastic course for students interested in adding to their programming language toolkit on a credit/no credit-graded basis. Students who have already completed CS 300 should look to take this course for their Python learning experience.

CS 402 - Introducing Comp Sci to K-12

In this service-learning course students work in teams to lead Computer Science clubs and workshops for K-12 students at sites in the local Madison area. As part of the course, you will learn to design and lead activities to help K-12 students learn computational thinking and computer programming. This is a fantastic opportunity for students seeking volunteering opportunities, or considering a career in education.

CS 544 - Intro to Big Data Systems

(previously a CS 639 in Spring 23)

The Comp Sci department is pleased to announce a new course for Fall 2023!

CS 544 - Intro to Big Data Systems with Professor Tyler Caraza-Harter teaches students how to deploy and use distributed systems to store and analyze large datasets. Unstructured and structured approaches to storage will be covered. Analysis will involve learning new query languages, processing streaming data, and training machine learning models. Systems covered will include Docker, PyTorch, HDFS, Spark, Cassandra, Kafka, and more. 

CS 638 - Applied NLP

(Restricted to CS Seniors Only)

Professor Kaiser Pister will cover selected topics in natural language processing. This course will cover some of the latest advances in NLP and how they can be applied to various industry and academic tasks. Students will work in teams of two to use these technologies towards a single project.

CS 639 Lec 003 - Data Visualization

Professor Yea-Seul Kim will introduce students to data visualization. Topics of the course will include visualization design/evaluation principles and visualization creation tools. Through readings, lectures, and hands-on activities, students will learn about the fundamental concepts, theory, and tools in data visualization. Individuals and group assignments will provide an opportunity to gain real-world experience in designing and evaluating visualizations.

*Please note that this course may change to a permanently numbered course for Fall 2023. This will happen automatically with no additional steps from enrolled students. An email will be sent to all enrolled students at that time.*

CS 639 Lec 004 - CS Capstone

(Restricted to CS Seniors with CS 400 credit)

In this course, you will build a product from start to finish for a corporate client that solves a real-world problem. Students work in teams of 4-5 to design, develop, test, debug, document, and deliver a software project for a corporate partner. Corporate partners provide mentors and students learn and use new technologies, tools, and agile software development techniques on their teams. Project sponsors are local, regional, national, and international corporations and institutions ranging in size from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. The Capstone class serves as the culmination of your undergraduate career as students are expected to incorporate concepts learned throughout prior courses.

CS 520 vs. CS 577

This Fall 2023, the CS department will be offering both CS 520 and CS 577 – either of which can be used to satisfy the CS Theory requirement of the major.

• CS 520 can be a good choice for students interested in pursuing further education in Computer Sciences as a graduate student. This course will emphasize basics about the notion, capabilities, and limitations of computation. Students will examine various computing theories that help inform the field of Computer Sciences.

• CS 577 can be an especially useful course for students interested in going into an industry setting. This course examines the basic paradigms of designing and analyzing efficient algorithms. Students learn how the theory of algorithms plays a large role in Computer Sciences.

CS 577 vs. CS 577 with Honors

CS 577 this Fall 2023 semester will have an “Accelerated Honors” section as well as two non-Honors sections. The “Accelerated Honors” section will go more in-depth on CS 577 concepts and will involve considerably more work than the non-Honors sections of this course. Students interested in pursuing an honors program (like Honors in the Major) may want to consider enrolling in this section to meet their requirements.

CS 368 (Python for Java Learners) vs. CS 220

Computer Sciences and related majors are often interested in learning the Python programming language. Students with experience in Java or who have already completed CS 300 are encouraged to consider CS 368 for their Python-learning experience. CS 368 provides an excellent opportunity to learn Python! 

CS 220 (Data Science Programming 1) is an introductory programming course for students who want to explore Data Science. The course content focuses on learning Python and using Python to analyze real data sets. CS 220 is perfect for students who have never written computer code before and are interested in learning to use Python to analyze datasets.

Java Programming for Python Learners

(CS 368 Lec 001 & Lec 002)

Started your CS journey in CS 220?

Nervous about continuing your Computer Sciences experience with CS 300?

It can sometimes be difficult to transition from the Python programming language to Java programming. Fortunately, there is Java Programming for Python Learners - a 5 week supplemental companion course for CS 300. This course is intended to help students transition from CS 220 to CS 300 and get caught up with understanding the Java programming landscape. There are two sections of this course offered to be paired with your enrollment in CS 300. Get the support you need today to find success in CS 300!

In some circumstances, there may be space for undergraduate student enrollment in graduate CS courses (courses numbered 700 and above). To request consideration for enrollment in a CS graduate course, please complete the request form here. 

Enrollment decisions for undergraduate students seeking graduate courses will be made the week prior to the start of fall courses. Approved students will receive an email informing them of course enrollment permissions.