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. For instance, if the course was part of the mandatory curriculum of your B.Sc. 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 coordinator, 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 through SIS as for ny other UvA course (!).

Note: You do not need to register on SIS for the Minor as a whole, 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, which has too much overlap with the Modeling & Simulation course and with the Programming course at least. (You can still take individual courses, just not the minor as a whole.)

A second possible ground 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. If you do not hear anything or receive an acceptance e-mail then you are accepted — for the minor as a whole.

I forgot to register. Whom should I contact?

Please first try datanose.nl/#specialenrol. If you cannot register online then please contact Charlotte Gevaert.

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 or institute the course falls under, such as Charlotte Gevaert for the case of IvI. Otherwise contact the course coordinator or approach the lecturer. 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 SIS?

SIS is the course registration system for UvA. Please click here for the explanation from UvA. In short, go to the A-Z page of the program to which the course belongs, such as this one for the B.Sc. Informatica and find the suitable topics about course registration.

Two exceptions:

1. You will be signed up manually for the default programming course for period 1 by Linda Schnater around early July, in case you have signed up for the Minor, were accepted by the coordinator, and did not de-register in the mean time. You will receive notification of this.
2. For the course WMT (if you specifically elect to take this course instead of the default one): If signing up through SIS does not work (which apparently for some it does, for some it doesn’t) then please send an e-mail to bg-iis-science@uva.nl and request to be registered for the course. Mention that you have been admitted to the Minor CLS and put the coordinator of the minor in CC. They have promised to sign you up manually in this case. If you were not admitted to the Minor yet then please wait with sending this e-mail until you are.

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.