Berkeley Engineering is the #3 ranked undergraduate engineering program in the nation (U.S. News & World Report 2011), so it is extremely competitive to be admitted to the College of Engineering and most of our majors/courses are highly impacted. For the Fall 2013 semester, only 12.7% of the almost 14,000 freshmen applicants to the College of Engineering were admitted; thousands of highly qualified applicants were denied admission to the College of Engineering.

Freshmen applicants who applied to and were admitted to another college at UC Berkeley who are now interested in an engineering major, are advised that though they may apply during their third semester for a Change of College to the College of Engineering, the process is highly competitive and there is no guarantee that a student’s application will be approved.  Since we are a professional college, our students are admitted as freshmen and transfers cohorts and we have very few spots available to students who didn't apply directly to the College of Engineering.

New Freshman admits to other UC Berkeley colleges need to work with advisers in their admitted college to develop an academic plan that prepares the student for completion of a major in the college they were admitted to.  The plan can include courses needed for a Change of College to the College of Engineering (though these are often very difficult-- if not impossible-- for non-engineering majors to get into), but must simultaneously move the student toward completion of a major in the college they were admitted to (assuming their application for a Change of College is not approved). New freshmen admits to other UC Berkeley colleges are not permitted to attend CalSO (summer orientation) sessions designated for engineering students or the College of Engineering’s New Student Orientation during Welcome Week. Due to limited advising resources, academic advisers in the College of Engineering are unfortunately not available to meet with students interested in a Change of College outside the scheduled Change of College workshops offered during the fall and spring application periods; Peer Advisers are available in Engineering Student Services each week day during the academic year.

A number of factors are considered when Change of College applications are reviewed including, but not limited to, completion (at a minimum) of the prescribed engineering freshman curriculum, the student’s overall GPA in these courses, the number of technical courses completed at UCB (as opposed to at community college or through AP/IB exams), space availability in the major to which a student has applied, and the student’s motivation for engineering, career goals, etc. Change of College applicants should note that because most programs in the College of Engineering are very impacted, seats in engineering courses are reserved for students accepted to the College of Engineering as freshman or transfer applicants. It is difficult for students not in the College of Engineering to get a seat in engineering courses which makes an application for Change of College challenging as one requirement for admission is completion of the prescribed Engineering curriculum. Since availability in these courses for non-engineering students is very limited, it may not be possible to meet the minimum requirements for consideration.   Students admitted to other colleges at UC Berkeley may want to add an engineering minor to the major they pursue in their College.

Application Periods

Applications may be submitted once each semester during a designated period:

• Fall Semester: the first day of instruction through October 1st  for admission to that same fall semester
• Spring Semester: the first week of instruction through March 1 for admission to that same spring semester

Late applications will not be accepted.

Notification decisions will occur between November 20th-January 15th (fall applicants) or April 20th-June 20th (spring applicants). Please do not contact the office during the application review period. You will be notified as soon as a decision has been reached.  

Application Criteria

Applicants for a Change of College to a major in the College of Engineering must meet ALL of the following requirements to be considered:

• Minimum 3.0 technical (math, science, and engineering classes) GPA for majors other than EECS and BIOE, and a minimum technical GPA of 3.4 for EECS and BIOE. Note that this is the minimum GPA needed at time of application --students should anticipate that the GPA required for admission will be higher.
  
• Completion of two semesters of coursework at UC Berkeley. Students may apply during their third semester if the requisite coursework listed below is completed or in progress.
• Satisfactory academic progress towards completion of requirements for selected major.  For all majors other than EECS this includes, at a minimum: completion of Math 1A and 1B, Chem 1A and 1AL, Physics 7A, and a minimum of three (3) additional letter graded technical courses required for the selected major; and in progress the requisite number of additional courses to be on track for that major (i.e., a student applying in their third semester to ME needs to have all the above completed and be enrolled in Physics 7B, Math 53 and Engin 28 at time of application).  Students applying in their fourth semester would need to complete all courses listed above plus the required courses listed in the curriculum for the fourth semester.  
  
• EECS applicants applying in their third semester must have completed a minimum of six technical courses required of the major including: Math 1A and 1B; Physics 7A; two courses from: CS 61A, CS 61B, CS 61C, EE20N, EE 40; plus one additional technical course required of the major, and have in progress:  Physics 7B, Math 53 and one additional course from: CS 61A, CS 61B, CS 61C, EE 20N, EE 40. Students applying in their fourth semester need all of the above plus Math 54 and one more from CS 61A-EE40 list.
  EECS applicants MUST have a minimum technical GPA of 3.4 to apply. Students with less than a 3.4 GPA in technical courses are not eligible. Please not that 3.4 is the minimum required for application; the actual GPA required for admission is likely to be greater than 3.4.
  
• IEOR applicants must complete 2 letter-graded math courses at UCB to be eligible to apply.  This two course requirement cannot be met with AP, IB or Standard Level exam scores.
• BIOE applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.4 to apply.
  
• CE and MSE applicants need a minimum of 2 (not 3) additional letter graded  technical courses required for the selected major; and in progress the requisite number of additional courses to be on track for that major.
  
• Whenever possible, for majors that require Engineering 7, this course should be completed before applying.  Eng 7 is restricted in Spring semesters to students in Engineering; applicants need to enroll in this class in a Fall or Summer term. We do not make exceptions ever to the enrollment restrictions listed above; please do not contact the faculty person for E 7  and ask to be allowed to enroll.
  
• For majors that require Engin 10, this course is restricted in Fall semesters to College of Engineering students; students who are not in our College CANNOT ever take this course in Fall--they need to enroll (if space allows) in Spring. We do not make exceptions ever to the enrollment restrictions listed above; please do not contact the faculty person for E 10  and ask to be allowed to enroll.
• Ability to complete the degree within four (4) years or eight (8) total semesters. 
• Submission of a personal statement explaining motivation and preparation for pursuing a degree in Engineering and why you selected the major you did.
• Submission of a semester by semester planned program, including units in progress.
• Transfer students are not eligible to apply for change of college into Engineering.
• Apply by no later than your fourth semester of college enrollment and apply no more than two times total.  

 Thinking about applying to the College of Engineering?

Look here for more application and planning information.

Ready to Apply?

 Visit this link for all the applications materials and detailed information on what to submit.

 If after reading over all information on our website about change of college you have a quick question, email changeofcollege@coe.berkeley.edu   Note that this email is intended  for simple clarification questions only; if you have in-depth or multiple questions, you need to attend a workshop or meet with a peer adviser.