<p>^^^ Hah. Databases is definitely not data structures. That is 61B (a class you have to take before even being accepted into the program). They are absolutely, completely different things.</p>
<p>Chances are, 61B(data structures) is the only thing that you might come in having already fulfilled as far as major-related courses go. Aside from that, you need to take everything else. Possibly, you could have some sort of equivalent to 70, but that’s probably unlikely.</p>
<p>You will certainly have to take:
61A
61C
EE40 or 42
All upper-division requirements</p>
<p>And you will almost certainly have to take 70.</p>
<p>As far as testing out of 61B, a lot of people whom I know that skipped it really came to regret it (though some didn’t). It is taught in much greater depth at Berkeley than it is at pretty much any high school or junior college.</p>
<p>You ask if it’s a good program… Well, we get wined and dined by the most coveted employers and grad schools in the world, so they obviously think that we’re a good program. We are one of the most well-connected schools in the tech industry, local to the silicon valley. I’m not sure why you would think that the semester system makes it a lesser program, but Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and a multitude of other employers would obviously disagree with you, judging from their aggressive recruiting from our program.</p>