UCSB Engineering
Prospective Undergraduates

Changing Your Major

The College of Engineering recognizes that interests change and that not all students know what major they want to pursue when filling out their application to UCSB. As a result, it is possible to change into an engineering major after arriving at UCSB, assuming a student meets the criteria set by the major of interest.

Below are the change of major criteria for students entering during the 2007-2008 academic year. These requirements may change during future years depending on the demand for any particular major.

Change of Major Once at UCSB

Students planning to enter an engineering major or to change from one engineering major to another will be expected to complete at least 30 units at UCSB before petitioning for a change of major and usually must satisfy the prerequisites of the prospective major. Students who have completed more than 105 units will not be considered for a change of major/change of college in engineering or computer science unless they can demonstrate that they will be able to complete all the degree requirements without exceeding 200 total units.

Chemical Engineering. Before petitioning for a change of major to chemical engineering, the core courses from the list of required preparation for the major or their equivalents must be completed: Mathematics 3A-B; Chemistry 1A-AL, 1B-BL; Engineering 3; Physics 1. Acceptance into the major will be based on UC grade point averages and applicable courses completed.

Computer Engineering. Students may petition to enter the Computer Engineering pre-major at any time Option 1 below has been met, or they may petition to enter the full major when the requirements in Option 2 have been met.

Option 1:

  1. An overall UCSB grade point average of at least 3.0; AND
  2. Satisfactory completion at UCSB of at least four core classes required as preparation for the Computer Engineering major with a grade point average of at least 3.0 in all core classes completed. The core classes are Mathematics 3A, 3B, 3C, 5A; Computer Science 10, 20, 40, 60; Electrical and Computer Engineering 2A, 2B, 2C, 15A, 15B. Once approved for the Computer Engineering pre-major, the student must meet the requirements for advancing to the full major.

Option 2:

  1. An overall UCSB grade point average of at least 3.0; AND
  2. Satisfactory completion at UCSB of at least six of the core classes with a grade point average of at least 3.0. If the student has not attained the minimum 3.0 grade point average with the first six core classes completed, all core classes subsequently completed will be included in the grade point average computation; OR
  3. Satisfactory completion of all thirteen core classes with a University of California grade point average of at least 2.75.

Computer Science. Students planning to enter the pre-computer science program must complete at least 16 units of pre-major coursework at UCSB, including 8 units in computer science, with at least a 3.0 grade point average for all pre-major courses completed with the University of California. Students who have completed the entire computer science pre-major with at least a 2.75 University of California grade point average will be admitted to full major standing upon petition, whether or not they have been officially declared pre-majors. Petitions for changing to the pre-computer science or computer science majors may be filed any time upon meeting the above requirements.

Electrical Engineering. Undergraduate students enrolled in other majors may petition to enter the Electrical Engineering major at any time the following requirements have been met:

  1. An overall UCSB grade point average of at least 3.0; AND
  2. Satisfactory completion at UCSB, with a grade point average of 3.0 or better, of at least five classes, including at least two mathematics classes, from the following: Mathematics 5A-B-C, ECE 2A-B-C, ECE 15A.

The calculation of the minimum grade point average will be based on all classes completed from this list at the time of petitioning.

Mechanical Engineering. Undergraduate students enrolled in other majors or whose major is undeclared may petition to enter the Mechanical Engineering BS Degree Program at any time the following requirements are met:

  1. An overall UCSB grade point average of at least 3.0.
  2. Satisfactory completion at UCSB, with a grade point average of 3.20 or better, of at least six (6) core classes required as preparation for the major, including at lease one in Mechanical Engineering. The core classes are: Math 3A-B-C; Math 5A-B-C; Physics 1-2; ME 14-15. All core classes completed at the time the change of major is reviewed will be included in the GPA calculation.
Admissions

Contact us at: admissions@engineering.ucsb.edu