2013-14 Undergraduate programs & admissions

Undergraduate Programs

The College of Engineering at Berkeley offers majors in the programs listed below. Each is four years in length and leads to the Bachelor of Science degree.*

• Bioengineering⁽³⁾
• Civil Engineering⁽¹⁾
• Electrical Engineering & Computer
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering⁽¹⁾
  • Computer Science and Engineering⁽²⁾
• Engineering Science⁽³⁾
  • Energy Engineering
  • Engineering Mathematics and Statistics
  • Engineering Physics
  • Environmental Engineering Science
• Industrial Engineering and Operations Research⁽¹⁾
• Materials Science and Engineering⁽¹⁾
• Mechanical Engineering⁽¹⁾
• Nuclear Engineering⁽¹⁾
• Joint Majors
  • Bioengineering and Materials Science and Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences & Materials Science and Engineering⁽¹⁾
  • Electrical Engineering and Computer Science & Nuclear Engineering⁽¹⁾
  • Materials Science and Engineering & Nuclear Engineering⁽¹⁾
  • Mechanical Engineering & Nuclear Engineering⁽¹⁾
  • Chemical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering⁽⁴⁾
  • Chemical Engineering & Nuclear Engineering⁽⁴⁾

Undergraduate Minors

• Bioengineering
• Computer Science
• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
• Energy Engineering
• Environmental Engineering (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
• Geoengineering (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
• Industrial Engineering and Operations Research
• Materials Science and Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Nuclear Engineering
• Structural Engineering (Civil and Environmental Engineering)

In addition to the majors listed, freshman applicants may apply to the Engineering Undeclared option. This option is designed for students with a strong background and interest in mathematics and physics who have not yet identified a specialization within engineering. For more information, see Engineering Undeclared.

¹These B.S. programs are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org.

²These B.S. programs are accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET, http://www.abet.org.

³This program is not accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission or Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET.

⁴Chemical Engineering and the Chemical Engineering joint major programs are offered through the College of Chemistry and are described in the Announcement of the College of Chemistry (http://chemistry.berkeley.edu/student_info/undergrad_info/publications/)

Admission

Admission to Undergraduate Programs

• The College of Engineering admits students at the freshman and junior-transfer levels. The University’s Office of Undergraduate Admission administers all applications. Visit the Office of Admissions Website for details on requirements and the application process.
• Applicants should consider carefully before selecting a major. Junior-transfer applicants are not eligible to change majors. Freshman admits to the College of Engineering may apply to change majors after completing coursework at UC Berkeley and meeting minimum GPA and course requirement eligibility, but no guarantee of acceptance can be made; change of major may not be possible into impacted programs. (Note: This does not apply to students accepted into the Engineering Undeclared program; students in this program are guaranteed admission to any major in the College of Engineering if they are in good academic standing.)
• Additional information for prospective College of Engineering applicants may be found on the Admissions web page.

Admission to JOINT MAJOR PROGRAMS

• Freshman Admits
  Students admitted to the College of Engineering as freshmen may apply to a joint major once they have completed two semesters at U.C. Berkeley. Historically, students need a minimum GPA of 3.0 or higher to be admitted to a joint major program. (Students in the Engineering Undeclared program are eligible to declare a joint major if they have a GPA of at least 2.0 and are in good academic standing.) Engineering students considering a joint major are advised to meet with their adviser in Engineering Student Services to learn more about the process. See coe.berkeley.edu/jointmajors for more information.
• Junior Transfer Applicants
  Junior transfer applicants must apply directly to one of the joint major programs. Transfer students interested in a joint major should carefully review the specific graduation requirements for the program before submitting their application. See the College’s Prospective Students web page for more details on transfer admission and requirements.
• Chemical Engineering Joint Majors 
  The joint majors with Chemical Engineering are administered by the College of Chemistry. College of Engineering students and transfer applicants interested in a joint major with Chemical Engineering must apply to the College of Chemistry.

Admission to MINOR PROGRAMS

• The respective department administers admission to minors programs. See the department’s website for more information.

Admission FROM ANOTHER COLLEGE AT UC BERKELEY

• As one of the top Engineering Schools in the nation, we receive many more applicants each year to our programs than can be accommodated (12.7% acceptance rate in 2013) and as a result admission to our freshman and transfer classes is highly selective.  We turn away thousands of exceptionally talented and deserving students each year because space in all our programs is limited. Because we admit to our freshman and transfer classes each year the maximum number of students that our programs can accommodate students we have very limited (if any) seats open each year in our majors for students admitted as freshman to other colleges at UC Berkeley.   Students admitted as freshman to another college at UC Berkeley may apply for a change of College into Engineering after completing a minimum of two semesters at Cal, but should understand that admission through this process is unlikely. Admission through change of college is highly competitive and is based not only on an outstanding application but on availability in the major program the student applies to. Information on Change of College is available at coe.berkeley.edu/COC.

Admission as a SECOND BACHELOR’S DEGREE CANDIDATE

• Due to the high volume of applications from first-time degree seeking students, the College of Engineering does not admit students for the purpose of earning a second bachelor’s degree.

READMISSION

• To reinstate as a continuing student after an absence of one or more semesters, a student must apply for readmission. All readmission requests require Dean’s Committee approval. Readmission is not guaranteed and is based upon the students’ academic record at the time of withdrawal and upon any course work taken during their absence from UC Berkeley. Students whose records are not satisfactory should not expect to be readmitted. Engineering Student Services must approve classes taken elsewhere during an absence from the University before a student takes the courses. An academic plan indicating courses expected to be taken and places of attendance must be submitted to the appropriate Engineering Student Services Adviser.
• Students who are granted withdrawal are also required to apply for readmission in order to resume study in a future semester. Students who withdrew after the first eight weeks of classes and before the end of the semester are not eligible for readmission until one year from the beginning of the semester in which the withdrawal was granted.
• Students returning to the University after an absence must meet the requirements of their degree program in effect at the time they are readmitted. If students have attended other institutions during their absence from the University, they must submit an official transcript of record from each college.