Live Demo: baskin-engineering-course-scheduler.vercel.app
An intelligent academic planner for UCSC students — generate personalized four-year schedules or plan upcoming quarters based on your major, degree progress, and course preferences.
The Baskin Engineering Course Scheduler is a responsive web application that helps UCSC students plan their entire academic journey — from next quarter to graduation.
Just fill out a quick three‑step form with your background, completed courses, and preferences, and the scheduler produces conflict‑free, requirement‑aware plans in ~2 seconds.
Key highlights:
- Smart Planner – Directed Acyclic Graph + enhanced Kahn’s algorithm to build valid course sequences.
- Requirement Tracking – Instantly see which GE, college, and major requirements are satisfied or outstanding.
- What‑If Scenarios – Generate 1‑, 3‑, or multi‑year plans and filter by preferred major courses.
- Modern UX – Built with Next.js App Router, React Server Components, and Material UI.
Currently supports B.S. Computer Science in the 2025–2026 General Catalog. More majors coming soon!
✅ Smart Academic Planner
Generates schedules for the next quarter, next three quarters, or a full 4-year planner up to your graduation date.
✅ Personalized Planning
Schedules are tailored to your completed coursework, placements, and graduation target.
✅ Degree Requirement Tracking
Tracks completion of general education, college, and major requirements — highlights missing components and key prerequisites.
✅ Interactive Course Preferences
Optional settings allow students to set their preferred number of classes per quarter or select desired major courses for short-term planning.
✅ Fast Graph-Based Scheduling
Constructs a Directed Acyclic Graph of requirements and courses, with enhancements to Kahn’s Algorithm, generating accurate schedules in ~2 seconds.
✅ Filter & Refine (Short‑Range)
For 1‑ to 3‑quarter plans, filter by specific major courses you’d like to take sooner.
✅ Streamlined UI
Clean and modern interface built with Material UI and React Server Components for fast, responsive performance.
✅ Responsive & Accessible
Mobile‑friendly UI with keyboard navigation and ARIA labels.
✅ UCSC Resource Integration
Consolidates relevant UCSC resources like the General Catalog, GE Requirements, and Baskin course offerings.
The scheduling process is divided into three easy form sections:
-
Student Info
- Planning Horizon (1 quarter, 3 quarters, or full roadmap to graduation)
- Catalog year
- Major (CS B.S.)
- College affiliation
- Expected graduation date
- Academic student status (continuing, freshman, transfer)
-
Course History
- Completed GE requirements
- AHR (American History & Institutions) fulfillment
- Writing/Math placement (if applicable)
- Completed CS major, elective, and capstone courses
-
Preferences (Optional)
- Desired number of courses per quarter
Once submitted, the backend runs a graph-based dependency analysis and returns optimized, valid course sequences that fulfill your selected constraints and requirements.
| Layer | Tools |
|---|---|
| Frontend | Next.js (App Router) · React Server Components · TypeScript · Material UI |
| Validation | Zod |
| Build / Deploy | Vercel (Preview & Prod) |
| Algorithm | DAG construction · Kahn’s algorithm for topological sorting |
- Node.js ≥ 20
- npm ≥ 10
# 1. Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/thshao2/Baskin-Engineering-Course-Scheduler.git
cd Baskin-Engineering-Course-Scheduler
# 2. Install dependencies
npm install
# Development (hot‑reload)
npm run dev
# Production build
npm run build
npm start
# Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser.
Too often, UCSC students find themselves overwhelmed by course planning, missing graduation requirements, or relying heavily on advisors. This tool automates that entire process — saving time and eliminating guesswork.
💡 "Using this scheduler reduced my manual planning time by over 75%!" — UCSC B.S. CS Student
Whether you're a freshman starting from scratch or a junior catching up, this scheduler provides a reliable academic blueprint so you can focus on what really matters: learning.
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Support additional Baskin majors (Compter Engineering, CS Game Design, Electrical Engineering, etc.)
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Import completed coursework directly from Cumulative Academic History in MyUCSC portal
-
PDF export of generated plans
- Fork the repo & create a branch (
git checkout -b feat/your-feature). - Commit with Conventional Commits (
feat: add xyz). - Push and open a Pull Request.
All contributions — bug fixes, docs, feature requests — are welcome!
Built by Timothy Shao
Have suggestions or feedback? Feel free to reach out or submit an issue on GitHub!
© 2025 Timothy Shao – Baskin Engineering Course Scheduler