Program Overview
The Associate of Science in Computer Science (A.S. Computer Science) is designed to prepare students to transfer to a four-year institution and pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science or a related field.
Pathways in Computer Science
Many of the program requirements for the A.S. Computer Science are set from the start, but you will see some room to make elective choices. A pathway through a degree provides a recommended set of choices that are more specific for setting up for a major after transfer.
This program supports the Transfer Virginia common curriculum in Computer Science. We have created a pathways guide with recommendations for elective choices and course sequencing. Download a guide and use it with the transfer resources below to develop a plan to complete your degree!
Computer Science Pathways Guide
Students should carefully consider the requirements of their intended four-year institution and work with an advisor to determine if the A.S. Computer Science provides the most appropriate plan of study for their transfer goals.
Setting up for Success
Within the Computer Science pathways guide you’ll see spots to make choices, because the exact recommendations depend on not only what you want to major in, but where you want to transfer to. It helps to decide early on what your first choice four-year institution is for transfer, but it’s fine to still be considering options. Here are some steps you can take to help make the transfer process go smoothly:
- Look in the Transfer VA Resource Center to see if there is a guide that is an exact match for what you want to major in at your preferred transfer school.
- If there is no Transfer VA guide available, there may be information on that school’s website. Start from our Academic Advising transfer guides page to see a list of links to the transfer information we’ve pulled together for each four-year institution in Virginia. Here is the link to our main transfer advising support page.
- Work with Academic Advising to determine your math placement. All Computer Science majors require Calculus I (MTH 263). This course has a Precalculus prerequisite (completion of either MTH 161+162, or MTH 167). It may be possible to place directly into Calculus I based on your high school coursework.
- Our advisors can help you pull all the information together and work out a semester-by-semester plan using the pathways worksheets. They can also help you out if you want to major in something there’s no pre-existing pathway for, and can look over the requirements and help you make a custom plan.
Related Programs and Other Pathways
Some four-year institutions house their Computer Science programs within their school of Engineering. BRCC also offers an A.S. Engineering program and you may need to compare the BRCC programs to your four-year school’s guide to see which is the better fit.
Information Technology is related to Computer Science and shares many of the same course requirements. At BRCC, Information Technology transfer falls under the more general A.S. Science program, and you can find a pathways guide on the linked page.
BRCC also offers many Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S) career and technical programs. An A.A.S. program is designed first with employment after graduation in mind, and is not a transfer-oriented award. If you are interested in the field of Computer and Information Technology, but are not sure yet if you want to complete a four-year degree, you can explore BRCC technical programs in these fields. Some A.A.S. programs do have transfer pathways agreements with specific institutions, such as Cybersecurity at George Mason University, that are an alternative to traditional transfer.