Incoming First Year Student Registration

Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences (CDS) Incoming First-Year Student Checklist 2023

The checklist below will guide you through the registration process. Please read each step thoroughly as you are responsible for knowing and understanding all requirements.

STEP 1: Complete Your Pre-Registration Action Items

1. Create your BU login & email account
Skip to #2 if you have already created your BU login and email

This login will serve as your official BU email account, which is the primary communication method the University will use going forward. It will also allow you access to secure University resources. You must activate this Early Access account before completing any of the steps below. You should receive an email with instructions to do this after paying your enrollment fee. You can also find comprehensive instructions here.

If you don’t receive the email invitation within one week of paying your enrollment fee, if you lose the email, or if you encounter any problems during the account creation process, please call the Information Technology Help Desk at 617-353-HELP(4357) or email ithelp@bu.edu. Their hours of operations are: Monday – Saturday: 8am to 11pm EST & Sunday: 10am to 11pm EST.

2. Sign up for Orientation
Skip to #3 if you have already signed up for Orientation

You must sign up for Orientation prior to registering for classes. Students will soon receive a welcome message from their Assistant Director of First Year Experience to help prepare for orientation and the transition to college.

3. Take the Writing Placement Exam (if required):

This step is only mandatory for those who receive communication from the CDS Advising Team regarding this exam. This will be sent to applicable students' BU email addresses beginning no later than May 26, 2023.

If you do not receive this message or subsequent reminders, you do not need to take the writing placement exam and can move on to STEP #2 of the First-Year Student checklist.
If you are required to take the writing placement exam, please review instructions, deadlines, and resources by clicking here.

STEP 2: Familiarize Yourself with Degree Requirements

It is important that you are familiar with all components of your degree. Please use the links below to further explore your Hub, potential major requirements, and minor exploration.

- Data Science Major Requirements - Explore the requirements for the CDS Data Science major and undergraduate degree.
- Flowchart for the Data Science Major - Need to visualize all those words from the resource linked in the previous bullet? Click the link to see a four-year plan, semester-by-semester.
  - An updated version will be made available for the 2023-2024 academic year prior to the start of the fall semester. This update will NOT alter your first semester plans.
  - Your individual starting point and pathway will vary! The 'Registration Guide for incoming DS majors' resource below will provide you guidance for your first semester schedule.
- The BU Hub - Review the general education requirements for all BU students.

STEP 3: Begin Registering for Courses

Registering for classes can be both exciting and daunting. It is therefore important that you review the links below thoroughly before beginning the registration process.

- - Registration Guide for incoming DS majors - Review a detailed breakdown of the five recommended courses you should register for based on prior preparation.
  - External Credit through Examination Scores - Review how your specific advanced credit (e.g. Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, etc.) will count towards your degree.
  - Concurrent enrollment?
    - If you have taken courses at an institution within the United States, those credits are processed by the Credit Evaluation Office. You can email credeval@bu.edu or call 617-353-2319 for more information.
    - If you took courses at an institution outside the United States, those credits are processed by International Admissions. You can email intadmis@bu.edu or call 617-353-4492 for more information.
  - How to Register for Courses - Read this only after you have reviewed the steps and links above.
  - Course Planning beyond this semester’s registration - If you want to begin thinking and planning for future semesters, you may do so using your Academic Planning Tools alongside the DS major flowchart. You will be able to begin working with an Academic Advisor to think about future plans later in the fall semester.