Demand for Computer Science is skyrocketing, as computers and programming touch ever more facets of our modern lives. College students frequently long to study these subjects, and even students in completely unrelated fields often benefit from understanding and being able to apply programming skills. To meet this demand, UC Berkeley has established its first new college in more than 50 years: The College of Computing, Data Science, and Society (CDSS).
In this article, we’ll explore what this new college is and what it offers, how you can apply to it, and what sort of students this school is looking for. We’ll also cover UC Berkeley’s announcement of high demand majors and restrictions upon them, and how these may impact you. Let’s get started!
What is the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society?
As the name suggests, CDSS is meant to meet the growing demand for majors in data science, computer science, and statistics. 1,500 students graduated from Berkeley in these fields in Spring of 2023, and Berkeley decided the best way to meet this demand was by introducing a new college.
The college offers three majors and three minors:
This means that the Fall of 2023 was the last class of students who will be admitted to Computer Science, Data Science, or Statistics majors through the college of Letters and Sciences. All students admitted to these majors this fall are guaranteed a spot in these majors if they maintain their academic standing.
Going forward, students who want to major in one of these subjects will need to apply to CDSS, instead of LS. Further, double majoring with another Letters and Sciences major will now require a simultaneous degree. Note that cross college minors (both into and out of CDSS) are still available to all students, space permitting.
This means that going forward, transferring into any of these majors will be almost impossible. UC Berkeley already has some of the strictest restrictions on changing your major, but this makes it even more difficult, requiring you to apply for an internal transfer if you wish to major in one of these fields. Therefore, if you are planning on studying one of these courses, you will need to apply to the new college.
Applying to CDSS
As with all Berkeley programs, admissions to CDSS is competitive. You apply as normal using the UC Application, and put CDSS as your top choice school. While Berkeley has not yet enrolled students directly in CDSS, we already have a sense of what they want from applicants, simply from looking at past students who have gone to the school to study computer science.
Berkeley is looking for passionate and engaged students, with a sufficient academic and extracurricular background to be able to dive deeply into computer science. Here’s what that means more concretely:
- You should take the most advanced math and science classes available to you, through Calculus at least, and do well in them. You should take computer science if it is offered at your school.
- You should explore computer science and coding through your extracurriculars, and show your passion and curiosity for the field.
- You should demonstrate both your leadership skills and your ability to work with others in your community.
- You will of course need stellar essays, but Berkeley does not allow for standardized test scores, and generally does not request letters of recommendation.
Note that while they do like to see students with calculus, you will not be penalized if your school doesn’t offer it. If it does however, they do expect that you take it, and do well in it. Math is the basis for all three of the majors in CDSS, and having sufficient technical skill in the field is an important prerequisite to succeed in these majors.
As ever at Berkeley, you will apply specifically to the college you wish to attend, and generally to whichever major in that college you wish to participate in. That said, UC Berkeley is altering some of their major policies more generally, which we will discuss in the next section.
UC Berkeley Introduces High Demand Majors
Due to the incredible and uneven popularity of certain fields of study, UC Berkeley’s College of Letters and Sciences is beginning a new policy for high demand majors. These policies will only apply to students applying in fall 2023 and after; current students are unaffected by the change.
Students will need to apply as high demand majors if this is their first choice. Students admitted as these majors are guaranteed a spot in them, so long as they maintain good academic standing and take all required courses for the major. Internal major transfers within Letters and Sciences will require a full review to enter a high demand major if they arrive at Berkeley undeclared. You will only have a single chance to enter these majors, and need to have a back-up, non high demand major plan in case you are not selected.
The following majors are impacted by this:
- Art practice
- Computer Science (Which is also being removed from Letters and Sciences)
- Data Science (Same as Computer Science)
- Economics
- Global Studies
- Media Studies
- Operations Research & Management Science
- Political Economy
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Social Welfare
Most of the 80+ majors in L&S remain open, with the only requirements to declare being the minimum GPA for the major, and taking the required prerequisite courses. These majors, however, had such high demand that there were not enough faculty relative to the number of interested students, negatively impacting the student experience. Thus, strict caps have been introduced.
If you are interested in one of these majors, you should apply for it directly when you are applying to UC Berkeley. While it is possible to enter these majors later, they are described as high demand for a reason, and your chances of gaining a spot in one after arriving on campus are quite low.
The comprehensive review process is similar to the internal transfer process, requiring a short essay response, your transcripts, and a resume. As there are strict limits on the number of seats in each major, they want to make sure all of the students in it are well positioned to succeed. The number of students admitted through this review process will match the number of seats available at the time, so is likely to be dependent on attrition in the major.
While this policy makes sense, it does introduce even more pressure on students to be certain of what major they want to pursue when entering college, which is not ideal. If you are not certain, then we recommend revising your college list, and applying to schools beyond UC Berkeley, which allow for more freedom to experiment with which major you want to pursue, and more flexibility to change course.
Final Thoughts
What major you apply as is a big decision, especially as some fields like computer science become more popular than ever, and competition for seats in those majors increases. Berkeley’s decisions reflect the pressures on them, and their desire to serve the wants and needs of their students. Their new college, and limited major policy, both serve to ensure that students in these majors get the full attention and resources they need in order to do well in them.
Of course, this means that if you are applying to UC Berkeley, you will need to know precisely what you want to study, and an application that shows off your passion and preparation for that subject. If you are looking for help, schedule a free consultation to learn how Ivy Scholars can assist you. We have a long experience aiding students with every aspect of college admissions, and are always happy to hear from you.
