EECS 4-year plan, feasible?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

I was looking at the EECS curriculum (http://engineering.berkeley.edu/academics/undergraduate-guide/academic-departments-programs/electrical-engineering-computer-sciences#eecs-note2) and I’ve mapped out a 4-year plan. I was wondering if a current student or anyone knowledgeable of Berkeley’s curriculum could look it over and give me some advice and confirm if this schedule is possible.

AP Credit
4 credits Math 1A
4 credits Math 1B
4 credits Natural Science (Chem)
4 credits Reading Comp A
8 credits Humanities Social Science
Total: 24

1st Year (Semester 1) 12 credits
CS 61A
EE 16A
Humanities/Social

1st Year (Semester 2) 12 credits
CS 61B
Mutli Calc
Reading and Comp B

2nd Year (Semester 1) 12 credits
CS 61C
EE 16B
ISF 100D (satisfies humanities and ethics requirement)

2nd Year (Semester 2) 12 credits
CS 70
Linear Alg
Physics 7A

3rd Year (1st Semester) 12 credits
Physics 7B
Upper Div
Upper Div

3rd Year (2nd Semester) 11 credits (maybe add on a decal or something for 12 credit minimum)
Upper Div
Upper Div
Technical Elective

4th Year (1st Semester) 7 credits
Upper Div
Technical Elective
Free

4th Year (2nd Semester)
Free
Free
Free

I was admitted as a regents scholar so I have priority enrollment and won’t have trouble getting my classes for this plan. Also I was admitted as a Mechanical Engineer and I plan on switching to EECS so I’m trying to make every semester really light so I can focus on getting a high GPA so my major change can be approved (also I have minimal programming experience so I really want to study hard for my CS classes). How tough would it be to get a 4.0 for the first 2 semesters with this course load? (3 courses/semester doesn’t seem too bad, but what do I know? :P).

Also, I read somewhere that I could apply for a major change after the first 2 semesters. But someone told me that I needed to complete EE 16A, EE 16B, and CS 61A, 61B, 61C, and 70 in order to apply for a major change to EECS. I’m not sure which one is correct, but if the 2nd is correct, then wouldn’t it be impossible to switch majors after the first 2 semesters since you have to go through 4 CS classes in 4 subsequent semesters? So that would be at least 2 years. Unless you take 2 CS classes in 1 semester? But I’m not sure if that’s possible since each class builds on the previous one right?

Any advice is appreciated :slight_smile:

2

AP credit may give subject credit as listed at http://engineering.berkeley.edu/academics/undergraduate-guide/exams-ap-ib-level-and-transfer-credit-information , but the credit units you list are not correct (see the linked chart). General UC web sites list quarter units for AP credit; multiply by 2/3 to get semester units at UCB and UCM. For example, a 5 on AP calculus BC will give subject credit for Math 1A and 1B, but only 5.3 semester units.

Also, the normal course load is 15-16 units per semester, not 12 units per semester. You are also expected to start the physics sequence in your first year. Since you are in mechanical engineering, you also need to complete the courses needed for that major until you change (e.g. Engineering 25, 26, 27, and 7; see http://engineering.berkeley.edu/academics/undergraduate-guide/academic-departments-programs/mechanical-engineering ).

Changing major within the College of Engineering is described at:
http://engineering.berkeley.edu/academics/majors-minors/change-major
For EECS specifically:
https://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Programs/ugrad/transfer-reqs.shtml
You probably need to ask Engineering Student Services directly to get the specific criteria used to decide whether a change to EECS will be approved.

3

@TKatana

“A maximum of two of the six H/SS course requirements may be met by AP, IB or A-Level exam scores.”

You probably can get credits for 4 credits Reading Comp A and 8 credits Humanities Social Science. However, you still need to take four more H/SS courses with two being upper-division.

In addition, as you know, my son is currently pursuing ME at Berkeley, and he is planning on ME/EECS dual major. He just talked to his engineering advisor last week, and the advisor told him that he can petition for the dual major after the Summer when he completes CS 61B (only two EECS required). The advisor also mentioned that the GPA requirement is 3.3. Don’t know if the requirements are the same for the change of major though.

4

@ucbalumnus So I have to take both MechE and EECS courses at the same time? That seems like a lot of work :confused: and if my switch is successful, what happens to those MechE courses I took? Wouldn’t I be behind on my EECS coursework since I took MechE courses when they should’ve been EECS courses?

5

You would not be behind because you are ahead in some other areas due to your AP credit. Also, some courses specific to EECS or ME could be used as technical electives for the other major.

Here is what is probably makes more sense:

Semester 1: Math 53, Physics 7A, R&C B, EE 16A, one other course*
Semester 2: Math 54, Physics 7B, two other courses*
Semester 3: four courses*
Semester 4: four courses*

  • The other courses would be either courses specific to one of the majors, or H/SS courses: EECS: CS 61A, CS 61B, CS 70, EE 16B ME: E 25, E 26, E 27, E 7, ME 40, ME C85 (note that E 25, E 26, and E 27 are 2 unit courses, so you can take two of them instead of "one course" that is usually 4 units) Of course, if you have committed to one of the majors (perhaps due to whether you are admitted to EECS), you can choose your semester 3 and 4 courses specific to that major.

Note: due to the AP credit giving you less unit credit than subject credit, you may need to add an elective math or science course sometime in your schedule to ensure having at least 30 units of math and science (your AP credit plus the math and physics listed above would total to 26.6 units; check if CS 70 counts as a math course).

6

Actually, probably should say for semester 1 above, “R&C B or one other course*” to have four instead of five total courses.

7

@ucbalumnus Oh ok, that’s very helpful :slight_smile: So can I apply to switch to EECS after the first 2 semesters even though I would have barely taken any EECS courses yet? I thought there would be like required screening courses. Someone on another thread said I needed to take 2 EE courses and like 4 CS courses and do well in them before applying for the switch.

Also, if I go with the schedule you posted up there I’m thinking of doing something like this so I can minimize the amount of MechE classes I take.
Semester 1: Math 53, Physics 7A, R&C B, EE 16A
Semester 2: Math 54, Physics 7B, CS 61A, technical elective?

Would it help my transfer application more if I took more EECS courses and do well in them? Or is gpa the only thing that matters?

8

@ucbalumnus Oh also I’m going to Cal Day tomorrow. Is there someone specific or a department I can talk to who can help me with the transfer? I want to know all the details and how tough it would be to transfer before May 1st so I can’t wait until CalSo.

9

You may want to ask the EECS department and Engineering Student Services directly about what they expect you to have taken when you apply to change major.

Note that if you are more interested in the CS side of EECS, then a potential alternate plan if you do not get into EECS but do have a 3.3 or higher GPA in CS 61A, 61B, and 70 is to switch to L&S and declare L&S CS. However, do not switch to L&S until you are sure that you have the GPA to declare L&S CS, unless you prefer some other L&S major that you can declare over staying in ME.

If CS is more your priority over EE, you may want to take CS 61A first semester to start the CS sequence and take EE 16A or R&C B second semester.