We're excited that you are interested in taking an introductory computer science course! Our
Computer Science Programs
include introductory courses that are designed for all students. Our Introduction to Computer Science
courses are ITSC 1212, which is mostly language agnostic and focuses primarily on the
concepts of
object-oriented programming (OOP) and ITSC 1213, which begins to dive deeper into logic
and syntax. In
that spirit, we want everyone to take the
right first course for them, especially since prior experience can come in many different forms. This
self-placement may help you find that course.
If you have never programmed before, or if your programming experience is limited, you will probably
begin with ITSC 1212
which is designed for students with no previous experience whatsoever. If you took a high-school
programming course intended
to be similar to a first college course, such as AP Computer Science A or IB Computer Science, you may
wish
to attempt our Credit by Exam (CBE) to test out of ITSC 1212 and begin with ITSC 1213.
If you have substantial previous experience you might even want to enroll in ITSC 2214 after attempting
and passing the CBE for ITSC 1213. This guided
self-placement will
help you make this decision by asking you questions about your background. These will include questions
about the specific
courses and experience you have, how familiar you are with various topics and concepts, and how
comfortable you are solving
practice problems. We hope this will help most people pick the right course for them, but if you still
have questions at the
end, you can always contact our
advising team for more support.
This self-placement is adaptive, meaning which questions you see and in which order will depend
on your responses. So
each student will have a slightly different experience, and if you go back and change your answers, you
may see different questions
appear. This is to help make sure we get the information that will most help us recommend the best
course for you. As you go through
the self-placement, you may also encounter terms or concepts you haven't heard of before. Don't be
intimidated-- if you haven't seen
a topic or concept, that just means you should probably be in the course that teaches it! We encourage
you to answer all questions
as truthfully as possible based on your current experience.
When you're ready, click the button below to begin.
ITSC 1212
Since you don't have any previous programming experience, we recommend you take
ITSC 1212. This course will start from the very beginning and will help you learn basic
programming skills and concepts
alongside other students with limited experience.
You can learn more about our
course catalog on the UNC Charlotte website. If you have any more questions,
feel free to reach out to our
advising team.
ITSC 1212
Although you have some previous programming experience, it sounds like you're still not entirely
confident with some
topics. We recommend you take
ITSC 1212 to help you solidfy your understanding of that material before moving on to ITSC
1213.
You can learn more about our
course catalog on the UNC Charlotte website. If you have any more questions,
feel free to reach out to our
advising team.
ITSC 1213
You seem to have a solid grasp of the basics, so we recommend you take
ITSC 1213. This course will help you take the next step with your programming skills and
learn to apply the concepts
you already know in new and exciting ways. ITSC 1213 is taught in Java, but is designed for students
with a wide range of previous experiences,
so you should feel confident enrolling even if your experience is in another programming language.
You can learn more about our
course catalog on the UNC Charlotte website. If you have any more questions,
feel free to reach out to our
advising team.
ITSC 1213
You seem to have a solid grasp of the basics, so we recommend you take
ITSC 1213. This course will help you take the next step with your programming skills and
learn to apply the concepts
you already know in new and exciting ways.
Since you previously took CSE 142, you may also want to consider enrolling in
CSE 143, which is being offered a few more times. This course is the direct follow-up to CSE
142 and will more closely align with your experience having
previously taken CSE 142.
You can learn more about our
course catalog on the UNC Charlotte website. If you have any more questions,
feel free to reach out to our
advising team.
ITSC 2214
You have a lot of experience programming and have a strong understanding of some more advanced
topics, so we recommend
you take
ITSC 2214. This course will teach you to use your existing programming skills to implement
and manipulate complex
data structures and will also introduce some more advanced programming concepts.
You can learn more about our
course catalog on the UNC Charlotte website. If you have any more questions,
feel free to reach out to our
advising team.
ITSC 2214
You have a lot of experience programming and have a strong understanding of some more advanced
topics, so we recommend you take
ITSC 2214
. This course will teach you to use your existing programming skills to
implement
and manipulate complex
data structures, and will also introduce some more advanced programming concepts.
You can learn more about our
course catalog on the UNC Charlotte website. If you have any more questions,
feel free to reach out to our
advising team.
Talk to Advising
Based on your responses, there are multiple courses that might be a good fit for you. We encourage
you to attempt the credit by exam for ITSC 1212 as there is no cost nor penalty for attempting the
exam.
We recommend you speak with a member of
advising team so they can learn more about your situation and help you find the best
fit.