The following requirements apply to students who enrolled in the minor before fall 2019. If you are new to the minor, please visit the main CS minor page. 

Any CU Boulder student not currently enrolled in the Computer Science BS or BA can earn a minor in Computer Science.

To fulfill the requirements for a CS minor, you should allow six semesters, begin no later than sophomore year and consider completing summer courses unless you want to delay graduation.

You will need to take eight hours of CS courses, and Calculus 1 and 2, before declaring the CS minor.

Complete one of the following (with a grade of C- or better):

  • CSCI 1300-4, Computer Science 1: Starting Computing.
  • CSCI 1310-4, Computer Science 1: Starting Computing - Experienced.
  • CSCI 1320-4, Computer Science 1: Starting Computing - Engineering.
  • ECEN 1310-4, C & MATLAB Programming for ECE 

Complete CSCI 2270 (4) Computer Science 2: Data Structures (with a grade of C- or better)

Complete the following as a prerequisite or corequisite:

  • Calculus 1 options: MATH 1300, MATH 1310, APPM 1350 or APPM 1340/1345 (with a grade of C- or better)
  • Calculus 2 options: MATH 2300 or APPM 1360 (with a grade of C- or better)

Complete one of the following options:

Option 1

  • Complete one of the following Discrete Math courses:
    • CSCI 2824-3, Discrete Structures.  Grade of C- or better.  
    • ECEN 2703-3, Discrete Mathematics for Computer Engineers.
    • If you have completed a different discrete math course, Please reach out to cs-minor@colorado.edu.
  • Complete:  CSCI 2400-4, Computer Systems. Grade of C- or better. 
  • Complete 6 or more hours of Computer Science electives to make the required 21 hours.  See elective list below.

Option 2 (for ECEN-BS majors only)

  • Complete one of the following Discrete Math courses:
    • CSCI 2824-3, Discrete Structures. Grade of C- or better. 
    • ECEN 2703-3, Discrete Mathematics for Computer Engineers.
    • Complete 10 or more hours of Computer Science electives to make the required 21 hours. See elective list below.

Computer Science minor electives to bring the total number of credit hours to 21 or more. (Calculus 1 and 2 not included in the 21 hours)

  • CSCI 3002-4, Fundamentals of Human Computer Interaction. 
  • CSCI 3010-3, Programming Project Workshop.
  • CSCI 3022-3, Introduction to Data Science with Probability and Statistics.
  • CSCI 3090-3, Introduction to Quantum Computing.
  • CSCI 3104-4, Algorithms. 
  • CSCI 3112-1, Human-Centered Computing Professional Development.  
  • CSCI 3155-4, Principles of Programming Languages.  
  • CSCI 3202-3, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence.
  • CSCI 3287-3, Design & Analysis of Data Systems. 
  • CSCI 3302-3, Introduction to Robotics. 
  • CSCI 3308-3, Software Development Methods and Tools.  
  • CSCI 3352-3, Biological Networks.
  • CSCI 3403-4, Introduction to CyberSecurity for a Converged World
  • CSCI 3434-3, Theory of Computation. 
  • CSCI 3656-3, Numerical Computation or APPM 4650, Intermediate Numerical Analysis I.  (Only one of these will count towards the CS minor)
  • CSCI 3702-3, Cognitive Science.  
  • CSCI 3753-4, Design & Analysis of Operating Systems.  
  • CSCI 3832-3, Natural Language Processing.
  • CSCI 4022-3, Advanced Data Science.
  • CSCI 4113-3, Linux System Administration (also offered as TLEN 5842, only one of these will count).
  • CSCI 4114-3, Practical Algorithmic Complexity.
  • CSCI 4122-3, Information Visualization.
  • CSCI 4229-3, Computer Graphics.  
  • CSCI 4239-3, Advanced Computer Graphics.  
  • CSCI 4253-3, Datacenter Scale Computing.
  • CSCI 4273-3, Network Systems.  
  • CSCI 4302-3, Advanced Robotics.  
  • CSCI 4314-3,  Dynamic Models in Biology (formerly Algorithms for Molecular Biology).  
  • CSCI 4413-3, Computer Security & Ethical Hacking.  
  • CSCI 4446-3, Chaotic Dynamics.  
  • CSCI 4448-3, Object-Oriented Analysis and Design.
  • CSCI 4502-3, Data Mining.  
  • CSCI 4555-3, Compiler Construction.  
  • CSCI 4576-4, High-Performance Scientific Computing.  
  • CSCI 4593-3, Computer Organization.  
  • CSCI 4622-3, Machine Learning.
  • CSCI 4753-3, Computer Performance Modeling.  
  • CSCI 4802-1, Data Science Team Companion Course.
  • CSCI 4809-3, Computer Animation.   
  • CSCI 4830-3, Special Topics in Computer Science. Topics vary by semester.
  • CSCI 4831-3, Special Topics in Algorithms. Topics vary by semester.
  • CSCI 4849-3, Input, Interaction, and Accessibility.
  • CSCI 4889-3, Interactive Machine Learning for Customizable and Expressive Interfaces.
  • Other upper-division Computer Science courses (CSCI courses numbered 3000 through 4999), if approved by the Computer Science undergraduate advisor.
  • First-year graduate Computer Science courses (CSCI courses numbered 5000 through 5999), if approved by the Computer Science undergraduate advisor.

Refer to your degree audit to confirm completion of the Computer Science Minor. If you have questions about minor completion, Please reach out to cs-minor@colorado.edu.

Residency Requirements

At least three computer science courses need to be taken on the Boulder campus. At least two of these three have to be at the upper-division level.

If you are considering a change from the minor to a Computer Science - BS major, note that the final 45 hours of the BS degree must be taken after admission to the College of Engineering and Applied Science on the Boulder campus, and certain Computer Science courses must be taken on the Boulder campus.

Grade Requirements

A cumulative grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.000 (prior to December 2021, this threshold was 2.250) is required in the courses that are used to satisfy the requirements for this minor. Required courses: CSCI 1300, CSCI 2270, CSCI 2400 and CSCI 2824 must be passed with a C- or better as well as any prerequisite courses.  Additional computer science electives credit can be D- or better.

Additional Notes for all Majors

  • If you complete Discrete Math versions MATH 2001 or APPM 3170, they will not count towards the minor requirements, but will act as a prerequisite for some of the Computer Science electives. You would then need to complete CSCI 3104 Algorithms to satisfy this portion of the CS minor requirements.
  • ECEN 1310 can substitute for CSCI 1300.
  • ECEN majors cannot count ECEN 3250 for the minor and will be required to complete additional Computer Science elective hours to make up for CSCI 2400. Additional upper division CSCI electives would be required to make up the 21 hours.