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BLUE PRINT FOR SUCCESS
You are now beginning four exciting and challenging years as a student at Polytechnic University. Congratulations and welcome!
This booklet has been designed just for you, to help you begin to select courses and create a strong foundation for a successful academic career. Take some time for yourself and read through the descriptions for courses available to first-year students. As you are reading, think about your own particular interests and skills.
REGISTRATION GUIDELINES
With these in mind, use our guidelines and suggested programs to begin to focus on courses. Every November and April, Poly conducts early registrations for the next semester and students are required to meet with their adviser during that time to plan their course selection. Adviser approval is necessary in order to submit your Course Selection Form to the Registrar's Office.
Thus, planning your courses is a two-step process: your initial decisions are based on the information in the University Course Bulletin and the Department's curriculum requirements. We are here to help you at any point in this process. Please feel free to call upon us if you have specific questions regarding your academic program.
COURSE LOAD
Typically, first-year students select four courses in each semester. These three generally consist of the appropriate computer science or engineering, math, science and one humanities/social course. In the first year, the fourth course is often selected with the humanities and arts or social science requirement in mind.
In addition to these three, students often select a physical education course or a team sport during the first year. Students interested in registering for a team sport may meet with Ms. Maureen Braziel in the Wunch Student Center.
Let your time at Poly be a time of exploration. Let the selection of your electives expand your horizons and don't feel locked in to a particular area too quickly. Think about what is right for you. Look for a challenge that makes sense during your studies.
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
The information in this booklet is intended to guide you in selecting courses that will help you meet your degree requirements. As you begin to make decisions about courses, keep these degree requirements in mind:
Degree requirements include a strong background in mathematics and science, as well as course work in computer science. For example, we require that you take a certain number of core computer science courses, but you have some choice as to which elective to take base upon which courses best suit your individual interests.
You will complete the Humanities and Social Science requirement by taking eight courses -six of them being electives. To satisfy Poly's humanities/social science requirement, you may choose courses from the areas of economics, sociology, social psychology, anthropology, political science, or literature, history, and philosophy.
For your sequence requirement you may pick from multi-disciplinary topics that are to be developed my various departments. These courses will help to build team-oriented project planning skills across the various engineering fields.
The technical elective requirement may be fulfilled by taking courses in engineering, math, science or management.
COURSE AVAILABILITY
Not every course at POLY is offered every term. Courses are available in an order that will help you with a natural progression of level of difficulty and background.
When you are selecting your courses, check for availability in the Course Bulletin. If it is not listed, then it is not available until another term.
SUGGESTED PROGRAMS
The following possible academic programs are suggestions designed to serve as guidelines for you. These suggestions are presented so you can have an idea of the "typical" program for you complete your degree requirements on time. While most students are comfortable with this kind of mix of required and suggested courses; remember that each of you is an individual, with different interests and different secondary school preparation.
Most sample programs include computer science, mathematics and a science for each term since first-year students at Poly will need to acquire a strong foundation in these disciplines. Students should also begin work in the humanities and social sciences.
Please keep in mind that if you have Advanced Placement credits, this sample program will need to be adjusted to that you are placed in the appropriate level course.
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Computer Science plays an increasingly important role in engineering, science, and the humanities. The discipline includes many distinct areas, such as computational theory, systems, and applications that go well beyond computer programming. The POLY Computer Science Department offers courses to serve the needs of both majors and non-majors. It also offers a minor in CS. The "intro courses" are CS 1114 Introduction to Programming Methodology Using C++ and CS 11124 Object-Oriented Programming.
Computer Science Majors
ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) CREDIT
Advanced placement in Computer Science can be earned in one of two ways: