The Major

The Bachelor of Science

The Bachelor of Science in Informatics provides a solid foundation for students who wish to apply computing to solve real-world problems that arise in numerous other domains such as health sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, and business. The program is built upon a core of seven core informatics courses (total credits 23), four concentration courses (total credits 12), and six elective courses chosen from a prescribed list (total credits 18).

The core courses provide the required computing knowledge and include two foundational courses, two programming courses, two courses on human and societal aspects of computing, and a course that satisfies the Integrative Experience (IE) requirement.

The concentration courses teach the student how to apply computing knowledge to a chosen domain of concentration. Currently, the program provides a data science concentration that teaches students how to collect, analyze and derive insights from large amounts of data that arise in the context of a wide range of real-world application domains.  

Core Informatics Courses

1. INFO 101 Introduction to Informatics (or AP Computer Science Principles Exam)
2. INFO 150 A Mathematical Foundation for Informatics
3. COMPSCI 121 Introduction to Problem Solving with Computers (or AP Computer Science A Exam)
4. COMPSCI 186 Using Data Structures (or equivalent)
5. INFO 203 A Networked World
6. COMPSCI 325 Introduction to Human Computer Interaction
7. COMPSCI 326 Web Programming

Concentration Courses (Data Science Concentration)

1. INFO 248 Introduction to Data Science
2. COMPSCI 345 Practice and Applications of Data Management
3. STAT 240 Introduction to Statistics (Also accept OIM 240 Business Data Analysis; PSYCH 240 Statistics in Psychology; SOCIOL 212 Elem Statistics; or RES-ECON 212 Intro Stats/SocSci)
4. Choose one course from the following:
   1. STAT 501 Methods of Applied Statistics (Also accept STATS 515; STATS 516)
   2. PUBHLTH 460 Telling Stories with Data: Statistics, Modeling, and Visualization
   3. JOURNAL 397DJ Data Driven Storytelling
   4. OIM 350 Business Intelligence and Analytics

Elective Courses

Six elective courses are to be chosen from a prescribed list. See the college website for further guidance as to exactly which courses may be used as electives.

General Education Requirements

Informatics majors must fulfill the university’s Junior Year Writing requirement by taking COMPSCI 305 Social Issues in Computing.  Double majors for whom Informatics is the secondary major may use the Junior Year Writing requirement course from their primary major to fulfill this requirement.  Students whose primary major is Informatics must satisfy the Integrative Experience requirement of General Education. Currently, COMPSCI 326 Web Programming satisfies this requirement, which also counts as a core course for the major. In addition, informatics majors must satisfy other general education requirements required by the university.

Total credits requirement

A total of 120 credit hours are needed for the informatics degree, requiring additional coursework worth 34 to 37 credits. These courses may be used to obtain expertise in the student’s application domain of interest.

Residency

Two of the four concentration courses and four of the six electives that satisfy the informatics major requirements must be taken at UMass Amherst.

Informatics Program Notes

No course taken on a Pass/Fail basis may be used for any major requirements, including core, concentration, and elective requirements. Students must achieve a grade point average of at least 2.00 in all courses used for major requirements. Courses with grades below C may not be used as prerequisites and should be repeated for a new grade.  Seminar courses (x91) and independent studies (x96) at the 300-level (or above) are reviewed for elective credit via the independent study approval process.  Informatics majors wanting to add another major may not seek both majors within CICS. 

Admission to the Major

Current students at the university may apply to the informatics major at the deadlines posted on the website. Successful applicants demonstrate competency in entry-level informatics courses: INFO 150 and COMPSCI 121.  Further, the applicant must submit a personal statement of no more than 500 words on how they propose to combine their interest in computing with a different (non-computing) domain. More details can be found at the informatics website.

Students are welcome to reapply in subsequent semesters, until they have completed five full-time semesters at the university, after which applications may be denied because there will not be adequate time for completion of the major. At all points in the application process, students should register for courses that contribute to their case for competency--consult with the Informatics Program Director (ipd@cs.umass.edu) during registration to make sure you are making your best case.  Deadlines and application forms are available on the website: https://www.cics.umass.edu/ugrad-education/major-change-informatics.