Brock CS Student Guide
Hello there, We are thrilled to have you here! Whether you're new or returning, our mission is to empower students with the skills, knowledge, and connections necessary to excel in Computer Science (CS) and enhance their university experience. We achieve this through workshops on trending technologies, community-building activities, and opportunities to apply your knowledge in real-world scenarios.
This guide is designed to help you successfully navigate the CS seas as a student at Brock University.
Throughout the guide, we will review everything you need to know about the Computer Science Program. This is an open-source guide for Computer Science students at Brock University. We encourage and appreciate everyone’s contributions to its continuous growth and development.
Course Registration
As a first-year student, one of your first tasks is to register for your courses. This section is here to guide you through that process.
Start by checking the course requirements in the undergraduate calendar. Familiarise yourself with the page, including program notes and hyperlinks, to get comfortable with the layout and information.
Course Codes
In your course requirements, you will see a bunch of course codes and it is crucial to know how these courses are structured.
For Example: The COSC 1P02 course code can be broken down as,
Common Course Types
Full-Credit Course
Full-credit courses run through both Fall and Winter semesters (D1 duration). Some intensive thesis or project courses are weighted as 1.0 credits.
Half-Credit Course
Most courses at Brock are 0.5 credits. These typically run for one semester (12 weeks). You need 20.0 credits total to graduate with an Honours degree.Q is the same thing, it is used for cross-listed courses.
Coop-Credit Course
Only required for co-op, and the credit is only weighted for OSAP but does not apply to your graduation requirement
No-Credit Course
Only required for co-op
Course Durations
Courses are offered during various times throughout the year and it is important to know which duration refers to which time period.
Sections
Some courses are large and divided into sections for lectures, seminars, labs, or marking purposes. Sections might have different instructors but cover the same material. If you want to be in the same class as a friend, make sure to enrol in the same section.
Context Credits
All students must include one credit (or two half-credits) from the list of Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences Context Courses to fulfil their degree requirements. Context Courses are mandatory courses intended to provide you with a broad educational background. For Computer Science students, the science context credit is covered by the program requirements, so since you are here you'll most likely need to focus on Humanities and Social Sciences context credits.
Students in four-year Honours professional programs must fulfil context requirements by the end of the third year of the program. All other students must have completed all three required context courses within the first 10 credits. You can find the list of context credits here.
You can use the Course Planning Tool in your my.brocku.ca student portal to check out all the courses that satisfy a particular context credit and check whether there’s space available, it’s waitlisted or it’s full.
Program Requirements
Credit Requirements for Bachelor of Science, Computer Science
| Courses Numbered | 1x99 or less | 2x00 to 2x89 | 2x90 to 3x89 | 3x90 or above |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credits Achieved | No more than 8 credits allowed | Must have at least 6 credits above | Must have at least 3 credits or above | Must have at least 3 credits or above |
Minor in Applied Computing
Students in other disciplines may obtain a minor in Applied Computing within their degree program by completing the following courses with a minimum 60 percent overall average:
Four APCO and/or COSC credits.
The applied computing minor is not available to Computer Science students of any kind, and APCO classes are only available to COSC students if they are cross listed as COSC classes, e.g. APCO 2P89 Internet Technologies is also COSC 2P89.
Double Major
Consider a double major program as this might allow you to have more direction in your non-core computer science courses, and it may serve the advantage of allowing you to bypass courses such as MATH1P06 and COSC4P61, and of course add more qualifications to your resume. A popular pathway is the Computing and Business degree, however you can pair computer science with most programs in sciences, humanities, social sciences, and arts.
Courses
This is a list of all required COSC courses, their prerequisites and the terms that they are generally offered in.
⚠ Note: Do not rely on this alone, For the most up-to-date information, consult:
Not all classes are listed here, just classes that are required for the completion of Bsc with a major in Computer Science, e.g. a class that hasn't been offered in more than two years won't be here
Here are some other helpful links,
Additional Resources and Opportunities
Resources
Computer Science Club
A great place to start and get a student's perspective on things and to stay up to date about the latest opportunities is by keeping in touch with the Computer Science Club. Make sure to follow us on Instagram and join our Discord to stay connected.
Computer Science Help Desk
The Computer Science Department hosts a Help Desk in MCJ 328. This allows you to receive one-on-one support for any Computer Science course-related questions. The Help Desk schedule can be found here.
Learning Services
Learning Services increases academic success and retention of all students at Brock University. Check them out here.
Professors
One of the most underrated resources. Don’t hesitate to reach out, attend office hours, and ask questions.
Goodies
Many free trials and tools are available to you as a CS student:
- Office 365 - Free access + 5TB OneDrive
- GitHub Student Developer Pack
- LinkedIn Learning
- 1Password Trial
- Amazon Prime Student
- Figma
- Spotify Student
- Local student discounts (e.g., Rogers Wireless)
Opportunities
Experience BU
Find events, volunteering, and workshops. Check it out here.
CareerZone
Apply for on-campus jobs and build transferable skills. Visit CareerZone.