Changing Major Difficulty?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
1

Hey Guys.

I got into the General Engineering program here (because I was stuck between computer and electrical engineering). I wanted to know the difficulty I’d have changing majors to a specific form of engineering, such as computer engineering.

Thanks!

2

Since you want to switch within the College of Engineering, you should have an easier time than if you were switching from say business or liberal arts. There is also some overlap between the lower level CPE /EE classes and general engineering classes, so I would suggest looking at the flow charts and required classes for the majors to see which overlap and would benefit you the most to take in order to change your major as early as possible. Generally, the more overlap two majors have, the easier it is o switch. Also, contact the department once you’ve decided on which major you want to switch into, so that you can begin the process. You can try getting in touch with them as early as this spring/summer and hopefully they’ll be able to connect you with an academic advisor who can help you out. Until then, I’ve included links below to the course catalog pages for GE, EE, and CPE so you can compare.

General Engineering: http://catalog.calpoly.edu/collegesandprograms/collegeofengineering/biomedicalgeneralengineering/bsgeneralengineering/

Computer Engineering: http://catalog.calpoly.edu/collegesandprograms/collegeofengineering/computerengineering/bscomputerengineering/

Electrical Engineering: http://catalog.calpoly.edu/collegesandprograms/collegeofengineering/electricalengineering/bselectricalengineering/

3

If you do well in your classes you should be fine.

4

Thanks, NTKS17! Because I really don’t know which to choose right now, I’m going to try and take classes from each type major (hopefully overlapping!) over the Winter and Spring Quarters. Hopefully at that time I can make a decision. I’ve talked to a few seniors at Cal Poly who were like me (General Engineers, switched to specialization 1st or 2nd year) and they’ve all been successful, so I hope I can do something along those same lines.