My son is applying to UCSC engineering. We’ve read that the choice of major does not affect admissions. Does this mean his alternate major can also be in engineering or would it be better to choose one outside of engineering? If you don’t get either major choice, can they admit you as undeclared and if so, is it hard to switch to engineering later? Thank you!
Here is information on how to declare an Engineering major for UCSC. So basically you are admitted into UCSC as a proposed Engineering major but must follow the requirements to declare. Alternate majors will not make a difference since the following requirements need to followed regardless of which Engineering is selected. Here is the link and some vital information:
https://ua.soe.ucsc.edu/sites/default/files/2017-18%20major%20qual.pdf
BSOE PROPOSED MAJOR STATUS POLICY: The School of Engineering majors require students to be listed as a proposed major in one of the following majors in order to declare: Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Computer Engineering, Computer Science: Computer Game Design, Computer Science (B.A. and B.S.), Electrical Engineering or Robotics.
For example, a student who is a proposed Computer Science major may declare Computer Engineering, or the reverse. Students pursuing Network and Digital Technology and Technology and Information Management are not required to be proposed in any BSOE majors in order to declare Network and Digital Technology and Technology and Information Management.
Students in their fourth quarter or beyond who would like to become a proposed major, or students who are proposed and would like to retain their proposed status, must have passed Math 19A or 20A, and two additional BSOE classes from the following list within their first three quarters: CHEM 1A, CMPE 12, CMPE 13, CMPE 16, CMPS 11, CMPS 12A, CMPS 12B, MATH 19B, MATH 20B, PHYS 5A, OR PHYS 5C
Students who are in an Engineering proposed major and who do not meet these criteria will be removed from their proposed major. Students who want to change to an Engineering proposed major must also meet these criteria.
@Gumbymom Thank you for that information! Just so we understand - he doesn’t need to include an alternate major outside of the engineering school because if he gets in, he is admitted to the university, not specifically the school of engineering?
Yes, the above statement is correct. UCSC does allow students to pursue an alternate major if they are undecided or want a plan B after being admitted.
From UCSC website::
If you are not 100% sure of your first-choice major, or if it has qualification requirements that include earning high grades in introductory courses, it’s a good idea to identify a back-up major, just in case. Taking introductory classes for an alternate major that may be of interest to you will help you clarify your goals, and may help you stay on track to a timely degree if you decide your first-choice major isn’t a good fit for you. If your first-choice major is course-intensive or sequential, you may not be able to fit introductory classes for an alternate major into your academic plan – but keep this in the back of your mind as you plan.