Policies & Procedures: Suspension and Dismissal
To be considered in good standing students must have all of the following:
- maintain an overall UC grade point average (GPA) ≥ 2.0;
- maintain a technical GPA ≥ 2.0;
- maintain an upper division technical GPA ≥ 2.0;
- earn a GPA each semester ≥ 2.0;
- and make normal degree progress toward your officially declared major.
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.
Records of all students subject to suspension or subject to dismissal are reviewed at the end of each semester. Advisers encourage students to complete forms (which will be sent to you by your ESS Adviser) explaining the nature of their difficulties and their plans to return to good academic standing. After careful review of the file, students may fall under one of the following:
Due to the timeline for posting of official grades, students may not be notified of their status for several weeks after the end of the semester in question. If students are suspended or dismissed, their enrollment will be canceled for that semester regardless of when the notification occurs.
Starting Fall 2023*, students who are not suspended after review and have not been dismissed in the past will continue on subject to suspension status (also referred to as academic probation) and are then required to return to good standing. In order to return to good standing, students must do all of the following by the end of the semester they are on this academic probation:
- earn an overall grade point average (GPA) ≥ 2.0;
- earn a semester GPA ≥ 2.0;
- earn an overall and semester technical GPA ≥ 2.0;
- earn an overall and semester upper division technical GPA ≥ 2.0;
- take all courses on a letter graded basis (unless the course is only offered P/NP)**
- and make normal degree progress toward your officially declared major.
Most of these GPA calculations are available through CalCentral and through the Academic Progress Report (CalCentral/My Academics).
Students who are allowed to continue on subject to suspension 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. If students do not meet with their adviser, they will receive an enrollment hold in the following semester in addition to their semester-end academic probation review.
Students who are suspended after review will be required to
- take a break for at least one academic year from UC Berkeley following their suspension, and
- take a break from academics entirely in their first semester out (if students opt to take any courses in their first semester away, they will jeopardize their readmission to the College of Engineering).
- After one semester away from academics, if students believe that they have successfully addressed their challenges and wish to enroll in courses at another institution (ex. a community college), or at UC Berkeley through Concurrent Enrollment, they can contact their Engineering Student Services (ESS) Adviser to discuss whether or not this would be an appropriate option.
International students who are suspended are recommended to connect with the Berkeley International Office right away to discuss options.
*Subject to suspension is a new status in the College of Engineering.
**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.
If you have been dismissed from the College of Engineering only once prior to Fall 2023*, or if you have been suspended from the College of Engineering, you may be considered for readmission for a future semester.
Students who are suspended after review will be required to
- take a break for at least one academic year from UC Berkeley following their suspension and,
- take a break from academics entirely in their first semester out (if students opt to take any courses in their first semester away, they will jeopardize their readmission to the College of Engineering).
- After one semester away from academics, if students believe that they have successfully addressed their challenges and wish to enroll in courses at another institution (ex. a community college), or at UC Berkeley through Concurrent Enrollment, they must contact their Engineering Student Services (ESS) Adviser to discuss whether or not this would be an appropriate option.
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. Students are required to meet with their ESS Adviser regarding readmission application requirements. Readmission after suspension is not guaranteed.
Students who are readmitted from suspension, or their first dismissal prior to Fall 2023*, will be subject to dismissal during the first semester of their return.
*Prior to Fall 2023, suspension did not exist and students were allowed to be dismissed twice. For Fall 2023 and beyond, dismissal from the College of Engineering will be final.
Starting Fall 2023, students who have been dismissed once prior to Fall 2023 (or have been suspended) and are not dismissed after the current semester’s review, will continue on subject to dismissal status (also referred to as academic probation) and are then required to return to good standing. In order to return to good standing, students must do all of the following by the end of the semester they are on this academic probation:
- earn an overall grade point average (GPA) ≥ 2.0;
- earn a semester GPA ≥ 2.0;
- earn an overall and semester technical GPA ≥ 2.0;
- earn an overall and semester upper division technical GPA ≥ 2.0;
- take all courses on a letter graded basis (unless the course is only offered P/NP)**
- and make normal degree progress toward your officially declared major.
Most of these GPA calculations are available through CalCentral and through the Academic Progress Report (CalCentral/My Academics).
Students who are allowed to continue on subject to dismissal status 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. If students do not meet with their adviser, they will receive an enrollment hold in the following semester in addition to their semester-end academic probation review.
*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.
If students do not meet all of the criteria above, they may be dismissed from the College of Engineering.
If you have been dismissed once prior to Fall 2023 (or if you have been suspended) from the College of Engineering and are not in good academic standing in any semester after you return, you may be dismissed from our college. Students who are dismissed from the College of Engineering from Fall 2023 onwards are not eligible for readmission to our college, but could theoretically apply for readmission to other UC Berkeley colleges in the future, if they are eligible. Students who wish to pursue this should refer to the other college’s websites for eligibility criteria and may wish to meet with the advisers in the other college regarding how to proceed.