Becoming a Computer Engineering Major

Any student may become a Computer Engineering pre-major by filling out the appropriate form provided by the Registrar. It is advisable to do this early to ensure receiving program information and staying advised of any changes that may be made in degree requirements.

In order to become a full major, a student must complete the courses required of pre-majors and apply for full major status. An application should be filled out at the Department of Computer Science office before the end of the spring semester of the year of application, whether or not the student intends to take additional required classes during the summer. A student may not preregister for any advanced classes in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering without first being admitted to full major status. Applications for admission are reviewed between May and August each year. The Computer Engineering Committee determines how many new majors will be admitted each year, based upon laboratory facilities, computer resources, and available faculty.

To be considered for admission to full major status, a student must have:

An average grade of at least 3.0 and a minimum grade of C- in all of the following classes or their equivalents:
- Mathematics 1210/1220, 1210/1250, or 111/112/113. (Consult the Mathematics Department for information on satisfying this requirement with a mixture of quarter- and semester-length courses.)
- Physics 2210 or 221/222. (Consult the Physics Department for information on satisfying this requirement with a mixture of quarter- and semester-length courses.)
- Computer Science 2010/2020 or 201/202.
- Electrical Engineering 1000/1010 or 120/133.
- University English writing requirement
A grade of CR in CS 1010 or 110 (a credit/no-credit class).
A cumulative grade point average of 2.3 or higher. (Note that much higher grades in the required classes listed above are required. See below for details.)

Applicants for the CE major are ranked according to their composite grade point averages in the required classes listed above, and the students with the best composite scores are admitted. No student will be admitted whose score is below 3.0. Keep this in mind when estimating your chances for admission.

All classes used in the calculation must be taken for letter grades. Credit/no-credit grades are not acceptable, except in CS 110 and CS 1010. Furthermore, each class may be repeated only once. If a class is repeated, only the second grade received is used. If a student registers for a class and later withdraws, resulting in a grade of W, or if a student receives a grade of I or V, that is considered to be one of the two allowable times to register for it. In addition, only three classes (four if a quarter class is included) may be repeated without penalty; for any subsequent classes that a student repeats, only 80% of the grade points received on the first repeat are used in the evaluation.

If credit is granted for any of the above classes based on advanced placement test scores or courses taken at other schools, grades may be assigned for use in the calculation. Check with the Computer Engineering Academic Counselor for details.

CONTENTS