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January 26, 2007 Vol. 77,
no. 3S
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| READY TO ROLL: MSE professor Ron Gronsky says the Common First Year will help students who need more time to decide their major.
PEG SKORPINSKI PHOTO
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Common First Year begins this fall
All freshmen will take same set of courses, with exception of EECS
In one of the biggest changes to the College’s
curriculum in years, faculty approved the Common First Year (CFY) during
its fall meeting and set an implementation date for this August.
All entering freshmen, with the exception of those who have already
declared EECS as their major, will take the same set of courses. In
the fall, they’ll take Math 1A (or, with sufficient AP credit,
another math course), Chemistry 1A (or 4A), E 10 “Engineering
Design and Analysis,” and a humanities elective. In spring, they’ll
take Math 1B, Physics 7A, E 7 “Intro to Applied Computing,” and
a second humanities elective. At the end of the year, freshmen will
declare their majors if they haven’t already done so.
“We’re seeing more of our top-tier students being more deliberate
about their choice of major,” says CFY committee chair Ron Gronsky, an
MSE professor. “They seek information and time to make that big decision,
and CFY offers both.”
E 10 and E 7, the new CFY courses, offer glimpses into different fields as well
as instruction in broad engineering principles applicable to any major and career. “What
exactly do engineers mean by ‘design’ or ‘analysis’?
What are the ethical implications of modern engineering decisions? These courses
introduce Cal students to an elite level of technical problem-solving that they
will execute as practicing professionals,” Gronsky explains.
EECS is the only department not participating and has no plans to. “The
content of the EECS major is sufficiently different from other engineering majors
that CFY doesn’t fit our needs,” says EECS professor Stuart Russell,
associate chair of the department.
College officials are still working out how CFY students will transfer to EECS
their second year and how junior transfers will fulfill the E 10 and E 7 requirements.
For more information, consult the Schedule of Classes, College advisers or Gronsky
during his office hours.
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