Can I enter the minor as HBO (higher vocational university / university of applied sciences) student?

In principle you can. Please see Prerequisites & constraints.

Do I have sufficient mathematical/programming background?

Please see Prerequisites & constraints.

I already followed course X. Do I get a waiver for it for obtaining the minor?

If you took course X as elective and the course will not already be counted towards another degree or minor program then it is possible. In this case, ask permission from the minor coordination. On the other hand, if for instance the course was part of your mandatory curriculum, or is already counted towards another minor program, then it is not possible. If it is not possible then you have two choices: either you must suggest a replacement course and request permission for it from the minor coordination, to still complete the full minor; or, you do not follow the full minor but only follow certain elective courses from it.

How/when do I register for the minor?

Please go to the official UvA page for the minor and click onward in the left menu. For one thing it should lead you to a Google Form. Note that this Google form will only notify the coordinator that you intend to take the minor, after which you will receive a notification from the minor coordination as to whether they think you are likely to succeed in the minor or not. For the individual courses within the minor you must still register yourself (see below).

Note: You do not need to register for the Minor as a whole (other than through the Google Form), just for the individual courses.

Will I be accepted to the minor? What are grounds for rejecting my admission?

The only formal ground for rejection is if you are in the Bachelor of Informatics or Bachelor of Artificial Intelligence, which have too much overlap with the minor. (You can still take individual courses, just not the minor as a whole.)

The second ground of rejection is if you do not yet possess a ‘Wiskunde B’ background (see Prerequisites & constraints) or equivalent and do not have a plan to remedy this by the start of the Minor.

A final possible ground for rejection would be if you have none of the required math skills at all and have no prior programming experience at all. In this case it is hardly conceivable that you are able to repair these deficiencies in only period 1, because no single math course can sufficiently provide all the backgrounds so you will need some self-study. Additionally your programming skills will require some self-study (see Prerequisites & constraints). In this case, please contact the coordinator and propose your study plan which makes sure you will have sufficient skills at the start of period 2. Note that formally the coordinator will not (cannot) reject you on this ground, even if you do not send a study plan, but in practice it will be very hard for you to keep up with the pace of the courses whereas the lecturer and teaching assistants must safeguard their availability also to the other students. Starting the minor without proper preparation and planning is not a good idea.

If your application is rejected then you will be notified before the deadline of course registration.

I forgot to register. Whom should I contact?

Please contact vakaanmelding-fnwi@uva.nl.

If the course has already started then please attend the first lecture and then approach the lecturer to ask permission to participate while the administrative side is still being resolved (by you!).

I cannot take any of the suggested elective math courses in period 1. What should I do?

Please find a suitable course for period 1 through the studiegids. If it is a course which addresses at least one of your math deficiencies (S, C, or L; see Courses) then it is definitely acceptable. If it is not a math course then please propose it to the coordinator and explain why no course is available which addresses your math deficiencies. Try to make this course relevant for the idea of ‘computational science’, i.e., be related to computer science or to learning about other disciplines than your own. Please do not send open-ended questions like ‘what should I do’ or ‘which course do you recommend’.

I have an issue with/question about an individual course. Whom should I contact?

If it regards course registration then please contact the corresponding administrative support, depending on which faculty the course falls under. For all of the Minor’s default courses this is the Faculty of Science, whose admissions office can be contacted through vakaanmelding-fnwi@uva.nl. For other questions, please contact the course coordinator or approach the lecturer directly. The minor CLS coordinator formally has no control over the content of individual courses and courses do not ‘fall under’ the minor so to say, so please do not contact the minor coordinator regarding individual courses.

How to register for courses? What is GLASS?

You must sign up for all courses yourself using GLASS, which is the course registration system for UvA. Please click here for the procedure (select ‘Informatica (bachelor)’ in the dropdown menu).

How can I sign up for a course given at the VU?

(This is only possibly relevant for the math slot in period 1 in case your background already covers the default choice.) Please see the UvA web site.