Policies & procedures: Subject to dismissal
You need to maintain an overall UC grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher, a technical GPA of 2.0 or higher, an upper division technical GPA of 2.0 or higher, and earn a GPA each semester of 2.0 or higher. You must also make normal degree progress toward your officially declared major. Students are subject to dismissal if at the end of any fall or spring semester they do not meet any of the above minimum requirements.
You should always review your grades and progress at the end of each semester, and if you have failed to meet the minimum academic standards, contact your Engineering Student Services (ESS) Adviser immediately. If there are extenuating circumstances that contributed to your academic difficulty, you should discuss these issues with your ESS Adviser.
At the end of each semester, the records of all students subject to dismissal are reviewed. Advisers encourage students to write a letter explaining the nature of their difficulties and their plans to return to good academic standing. After careful review of the file, the college determines whether a student is dismissed from the university or allowed to continue. In some cases, students who are dismissed may be eligible for readmission in a future semester. Due to the timeline for posting of official grades, students may not be notified of their dismissal for several weeks after the end of the semester in question. Regardless of when a student receives official notification of the dismissal action, students will not be allowed to continue in classes in the following semester once they are dismissed.
Students who are not dismissed will continue on subject to dismissal status (also referred to as academic probation) and are then required to return to good academic standing. In order to return to good academic standing, students must do all of the following by the end of the following semester:
- earn an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or higher
- earn a semester GPA of 2.0 or higher
- earn a semester technical GPA of 2.0 or higher
- earn an overall and semester upper division technical GPA of 2.0 or higher
- take all courses on a letter graded basis (unless the course is only offered P/NP)*
- make normal degree progress toward their officially declared major
*If a student is enrolled in a course on a P/NP basis, the grading option will be changed and a letter grade will be recorded for the course.
Students who are allowed to continue on subject to dismissal status (academic probation) must meet with their Engineering Student Services (ESS) Adviser to develop a plan to return to good standing, discuss which courses they should be taking, and be aware of the grades they need to return to good standing.
In limited situations, if you have been dismissed from the College of Engineering you may be considered for readmission for a future semester. You will be required to take at least a year break from UC Berkeley and at least a semester break from your academics. After a year or more, the Dean’s Committee may consider readmission applications from students who can demonstrate that they used their break from academics to identify, and take tangible steps to address, the challenges that led to their academic difficulty. After one semester away from your academics, if you believe that you have successfully addressed these challenges and you wish to enroll in courses at another institution, or at Berkeley through concurrent enrollment, contact your Engineering Student Services (ESS) Adviser to discuss whether or not this would be an appropriate option. Readmission after dismissal is never guaranteed. In some instances, it may be best to apply for readmission to another college on campus or to pursue your education at another institution. Students who have been dismissed twice are not eligible to apply for readmission to the College of Engineering. If you are interested in discussing readmission after dismissal, you should schedule an appointment with your ESS Adviser by calling (510) 642-7594.