General Information About Minor Changes to Curriculum in CIIC and in INSO
CSE Department at UPR-Mayaguez

You can access the curriculum change application form here.

Introduction

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering in UPRM has already received the formal approval (Certificación 19-57, Senado Académico del Recinto Universitario de Mayagüez) to implement minor changes in the two undergraduate programs that it hosts. In this document, we summarize what those changes are and also describe alternatives for students in the current curriculums that may want to adopt the new curriculum in his/her program of study. However, the new curriculums will automatically apply to all the students that enter one of the two programs in or after Summer 2020.

The curricular changes are minimal and none of the required courses for the program have been eliminated. That is, ALL of the courses with CIIC, INSO, MATE, INEL, QUIM, FISI, ININ, INGE, and INME codes that are currently required in the curriculum will continue to be required in the new versions.  The same happens for the number of required courses (or credits) in Spanish, English, Social Sciences, Humanities, Physical Education, as well as in the number of free electives; there have been no changes in those either.

In the CSE webpage, you will find both curriculums for the two programs. Those links, as well as a description to whom each curriculum applies, are included next.

 

Curriculum in CSE Webpage Applies To

Current Curriculum

(Tab 2015-2019)

CIIC

INSO

All the students already classified as students in the corresponding program or those entering the program prior to Summer 2020.

New Curriculum

(Tab 2020)

CIIC

INSO

All the students that enter the corresponding program during or after Summer 2020. Will also apply to current students who decide to adopt the corresponding new curriculum. (Options for that are described later.)

IMPORTANT FINAL REMARK

In the case of the CIIC program, if your decision is to stay under your current curriculum, then we need to advise you to consider the CIIC 4151 course as one of your technical electives. Remember that in this case, under the current program, there are a total of 5 technical electives. Although this course is not required in the current curriculum for CIIC, it is very important that you have that course in your transcript. If that is not the case, then the program may have difficulties acquiring full accreditation. That is precisely one of the reasons why it is now a required course in the new curriculum for CIIC as previously described. Also notice that, in the case of the INSO program, the equivalent course (INSO 4151) is already required in the current curriculum.

As an aside note, we are glad to say that all the students that have already graduated from this program have successfully completed the capstone experience as a technical elective course.

SHOULD YOU DECIDE TO CHANGE TO THE NEW CURRICULUM IN YOUR PROGRAM OF STUDY, PLEASE CONTACT MRS. CELINÉS ALFARO (celines.alfaro@upr.edu) FOR AN APPOINTMENT TO EVALUATE YOUR CASE.

 

Explicit Changes

The following are the explicit changes that apply to one or to both programs:

      • The course CIIC 3011 now has a two-hour required lab per week, and because of the rules of the UPR system, that change requires to use a new code. That new code is CIIC 3015. In addition, because of the additional time per week that the lab requires, it will now count as 4 credits. So, in summary, the course CIIC 3011 (3 credits) is now substituted by the course CIIC 3015 (4 credits). That represents +1 credit. 
      • The course sequence in the curriculum for each program has been reshuffled in a way that we consider to be more beneficial to the student. For example, some fundamental courses are now moved to earlier semesters. That is the case of CIIC 4020, which is usually a requisite of many internships opportunities. So, with this type of change, we expect that you will be qualified for more such opportunities earlier in your years of study, and the earliest you can begin participating in internships the better it will be for your formation as an engineer in the discipline.
      • In INSO, the number of credits in technical electives has decreased from 6 to 3. That represents -3 credits.
      • In CIIC, the number of credits in technical electives has decreased from 15 to 9. That represents -6 credits.
      • In CIIC, we have added a 3 credit requirement for a capstone course (CIIC 4151). In this course students work in a major design project that allows them demonstrate the skills gained throughout the years of study in computer science and engineering. That represents +3 credits.
      • At the end, the changes in the number of credits in both programs are summarized in the following table:
Program Current Credits CIIC 3015 Technical Electives New Courses New Total Credits
INSO 155 +1 -3 +0 153
CIIC 155 +1 -6 +3 153

Possible Paths to Transitioning

If you are an active student in one of our two programs, you may want to change to the corresponding new curriculum. The following table summarizes the different alternatives. They are based on your current status with respect to the course CIIC 3011.

Your Status Recommendation What Will You Need To Do If You Change?

You already approved

CIIC 3011 or an equivalent course accepted by the department.

We recommend you not to change. Request a change to the new curriculum and using CIIC 3011 as a substitution of CIIC 3015. However, you also need to take an additional course of at least one credit (to be approved by the department) to be counted as a substitution to the lab work that you did not have when you took CIIC 3011, but which is now required in the new curriculum.
You took CIIC 3011, but failed the course (Grade D or F). We recommend you to change. Request a change to the new curriculum and take CIIC 3015. The department will request the Registrar’s office to allow the new grade in CIIC 3015 to substitute the failing grade that you had in CIIC 3011.
You have not taken CIIC 3011 yet. We strongly recommend you to change. Comply with the new curriculum.