Recommended Course Plans

This is a highly opinionated guide based on the CSSA executive team's personal experience and years of observations from our Discord community. Never finalize your schedule before consulting an academic advisor.

We have prepared some scheduling ideas for hopefully every kind of student. If a schedule doesn't apply to you, scroll down!

Fall Start

This will be the majority of students. If you start your university studies this coming September, start here! Even if you don't, you should read this fully as many general principles mentioned here won't be repeated in later sections.

You only have one goal in first year: Complete your requirements to declare your major before registration next July.

Critical Rules

The very first thing you should understand is how summer courses work at the University of Manitoba:

• Summer has two condensed sub-terms: May-June and July-August, running for 6 weeks each with a final exam on the 7th week, and a one-week break between them.
• Courses meet 300 minutes/week instead of 150 minutes/week. Therefore, summer courses are also referred to as condensed courses, as you're putting twice the effort per week to keep up compared to taking the same course in Fall/Winter.
• Recommendation: Take only one course per sub-term. Any more will surely overwhelm you, at least in first year.

This is true for most Summer courses, at least the ones we care about in this guide. There are many, mostly online/DE (Distance Education) electives that span the entire four months and are treated similarly to courses that run during Fall/Winter.

Historically (this may be subject to change), the core prerequisite courses are offered in the following Summer sub-terms:

• May - June: COMP 1010, COMP 1012, MATH 1500, MATH 1240, STAT 1150
• July - August: COMP 1020, MATH 1700, MATH 1300

Combining this with the fact that COMP 1010 is a prerequisite to COMP 1020 and MATH 1500 is a prerequisite to MATH 1700, and that STAT 1150 is effectively a first year requirement for every degree due to being COMP 2400's prerequisite, you need to follow the following rules if you're trying to finish all your prerequisites in first year (for a CS Honours/Major):

1. Must take in Fall:
   • COMP 1010 (or 1012)
   • MATH 1500 (or 1230/1510)
2. Must take in Winter:
   • COMP 1020
   • MATH 1700 (or 1232/1710)
3. Must take in Fall OR Winter:
   • MATH 1300 (or 1220/1210)
4. Flexible timing (Fall/Winter/Summer):
   • MATH 1240
   • STAT 1150
5. One additional course to reach 24 credits. Typically, you're best choosing a Writing Faculty of Arts course; refer to the university's First Year Planning Guide to see which courses are eligible.

Some final notes:

• You can register for the same courses you're already registered in. This means that if you're taking MATH 1240 Winter, you can still register for MATH 1240 in Summer, so you have a backup in case you VW the course. GOLDEN RULE: REGISTER FOR COURSES YOU'RE MOST LIKELY TO FAIL IN OTHER TERMS IF YOU KNOW FOR SURE YOU DON'T WANT TO TAKE ANY OTHER COURSES.
• If you're an ICM student, you will need to complete 30 credits across 3 terms before you can transfer to the University of Manitoba. Unfortunately, we aren't very well versed in ICM's course offerings nor requirements; please refer to your academic advising office to build your schedule, but feel free to take any applicable advice here.
• Your scholarship might require you to take an 80% courseload in Fall/Winter terms. Adjust accordingly by appending extra electives.
• This guide assumes you want to stay a full-time student in all major (Fall/Winter) terms. This is a necessity if you're an international student. If you're a domestic or a part-time student, however, it's not needed; please adjust accordingly to your lifestyle.

With all this in mind, we can finally move on to the actual schedule!

Standard Schedule (applicable for Computer Science Major/Honours)

Fall (12 credits):
- COMP 1010
- MATH 1500
- MATH 1300
- STAT 1150

Winter (12 credits):
- COMP 1020
- MATH 1700
- MATH 1240
- [W] Arts elective

Summer (Backup):
- MATH 1240 (if not completed in Winter)

If you succeed with this schedule in your first year at university, you're on pretty good pace for the rest of the degree!

• MATH 1240 is generally considered the hardest course in first year, and thus we elected to pair the other two computational courses (MATH 1300 + STAT 1150) together in Fall and leave 1240 with the elective that you're free to pick what you're interested in most. Furthermore, leaving 1240 to Winter keeps it fresh if you need to retake it during Summer.
• You can also choose to just take 1240 in Summer on its own (which is the main way we'll approach dealing with 1240 in this guide, as has been recommended by many of our seniors) without doing it in Winter. If you still want to do 4 course terms, you have a few options to fill the new gap:
  • Arts elective
  • MATH 1080 (Fall): A good precursor to MATH 1240 as it introduces a lot of concepts also introduced in 1240. Requires moving either MATH 1300 or STAT 1150 to Winter.
  • PHIL 1300 (Fall/Winter): Also a decent prep course for MATH 1240, as it's about 1240's first chapter and teaches you the logical thinking that is beneficial for 1240.
  • COMP 1000/1002/1006/1500/1600

Alternative degree pathways

This is the only scenario where we'll offer specific plans for specific degrees; if you're starting in a different term and wish to pursue these degrees, we're sorry we can't accommodate you, but we hope you recognize this section is already long enough!

Joint Mathematics

Despite not being listed as requirements, you want MATH 1220 + 1240 to be there so you can unlock second year MATH courses. While you are expected to take the "honours" version of the MATH courses (1230/1232/1220), you can take the easier variants of the MATH courses (1500/1700/1300) as long as you get an A. Doing the second will boost your GPA, although they'll prepare you less for second year MATH courses. It's a tradeoff!

Joint Physics

Flexible: MATH 1300, STAT 1150

Similarly, PHYS 1020/1030 are easier than PHYS 1050/1070, but may prepare you less for later courses. STAT 1150 can also be done in Summer. We put it in Winter to emphasize that it can't be put off, unlike the listed Summer options. MATH 1240 isn't needed for anything and you can take it Fall second year, but you can also take care of it now. There are many [W] Arts courses offered in the second half of Summer, if you want to clear the entire table.

Joint Statistics

Flexible: MATH 1300, MATH 1240, or [W] Arts Course

You can theoretically put off all your MATH to second year, but it's best to get Calculus out of the way while your pre-calc is still fresh. MATH 1240 is required for MATH 2080, a second-year course only offered in Fall. However, we've also heard reports of success that you don't really need to do 2080 in your second year. Regardless, you should probably still do 1240 and 1300 in your first year, but they are able to be delayed to your second.

Data Science

Try to replicate the CS version! Don't skimp out on MATH 1240/1300!

Tryhard Option (Only if confident!)

Fall (15/13.5 credits):
- COMP 1010
- MATH 1500
- MATH 1300
- STAT 1150
- COMP 1500 OR COMP 1002

Winter (15/13.5 credits):
- COMP 1020
- MATH 1700
- MATH 1240
- [W] Arts elective
- COMP 1600 OR COMP 1006

Summer (9 credits):
- COMP 2140
- COMP 2400
- COMP 2080

The additions:

• COMP 1002 and COMP 1006 are 1.5 crs lab courses that teach you incredibly useful tools that will make you more productive in CS. You can have a peek at the textbook to see if it interests you here.
• Meanwhile, COMP 1500 and COMP 1600 are 3 crs electives intended for CS and non-CS students alive that respectively give you a broader view of what Computer Science actually entails, and the effects of digitalization on society.
• Both ways will make you better computer scientists, but more courses is more work!
• In Summer, you can "speedrun" core second year courses. COMP 2140 (Data Structures: Analysis and Implementation) is historically offered May - June, while its follow-up COMP 2080 (Algorithms: Analysis and Implementation) is offered July - August. COMP 2400 (Programming Paradigms) is projected to be offered May - June. Take as many courses as you can handle; while they'll make your second year more bearable, they are harder than first year COMP classes!

Similar additions can be made regardless of which degree you're pursuing.

Safer Schedule (Less math/programming confidence)

Fall (12 credits):
- COMP 1010
- MATH 1500
- MATH 1080 (Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning)  ← Prepares for MATH 1240
- STAT 1150

Winter (12 credits):
- COMP 1020
- MATH 1700
- MATH 1300
- STAT 1150 (if not taken Fall)

Summer (3 credits):
- MATH 1240

MATH 1080 is an easier MATH course only offered Fall that introduces MATH 1240 concepts, making the "hardest first-year course" more manageable later, according to testimonies from students who have taken it in our Discord. Otherwise, this schedule isn't much different; we have an extended 2-year version below that you can also refer to!

For Irregular Start Terms

Key principle: Sync with the next Fall cohort instead of rushing. Prioritize COMP courses as they fill fastest.

Starting in Winter

1st Winter (9 credits):
- COMP 1010
- MATH 1500
- Elective (e.g., [W] course)

Summer (3 credits):
- MATH 1240

1st Fall (9 credits):
- COMP 1020
- MATH 1700
- Elective/MATH 1240 (backup)

2nd Winter (9 credits):
- MATH 1300
- STAT 1150
- Elective/MATH 1240 (backup)

Why this works: Most students prefer MATH 1240 solo in Summer. This keeps you to ≤2 computation-heavy courses per term. Use electives for Arts requirements.

Alternative: High achievers could attempt second-year MATH/STAT courses later. Possible but not recommended: COMP 1020 in second summer + second-year COMP courses.

Starting in Summer

1st Summer (6 credits):
- COMP 1010 (May-Jun)
- COMP 1020 (Jul-Aug)

1st Fall (9-12 credits):
- MATH 1500
- MATH 1300
- STAT 1150
- Elective (e.g., MATH 1080)

1st Winter (9 credits):
- MATH 1700
- MATH 1240
- Elective (e.g., Arts course)

2nd Summer (Backup):
- MATH 1240 (if needed)

Elective note: Optimal to take 2 Arts courses (one Writing) in Fall/Winter.

Extended Pathway (1.5-2 years to declare)

Year 1 Fall (9 credits):
- COMP 1000
- MATH 1080
- Elective

Year 1 Winter (9 credits):
- COMP 1010
- MATH 1500
- Elective

Year 1 Summer (3 credits):
- MATH 1240

Year 2 Fall (9 credits):
- COMP 1020 (or COMP 1010 backup)
- MATH 1700 (or MATH 1500 backup)
- Elective/MATH 1240 backup

Year 2 Winter (9 credits):
- STAT 1150
- MATH 1300
- Elective/Backup course

Year 2 Summer (Backup):
- MATH 1240 or STAT 1150 backup

COMP 1000/MATH 1080 are preparatory and don't count toward major requirements.

Lastly, every path is valid! These are just very opinionated suggestions; please take courses in a manner that makes you comfortable! Your life experience and schedule is unique to yourself and having a schedule detached from ours doesn't necessarily make it worse.

Use Aurora or the Science Advising form once you complete 24 credits to declare your wanted major! Good luck with your studies!