Switching Majors Possible?: From Biochemistry to Bioengineering

<p>Hey guys, I was wondering how difficult it is to switch majors from L&S (biochemistry) to Engineering (namely bioengineering) as a transfer student.</p>

<p>(Skip to TL;DR if you don't wanna read through all this)</p>

<p>I am currently majoring in biochemistry and frankly, I am disappointed with the major. I’m taking chem 153a right now, and the class freaking blows. It’s not because of the fact that I have a less than competent teacher (most people think Nelson is not a great professor, but honestly I couldn’t care less who was teaching it, b/c I’m a self-studier anyways), but because I realize there is almost little to no critical thinking involved. Basically it is more memorization based class than anything. Now I’m not *****ing that this class is too hard or nothing like that because the material is fairly easy and I’m doing pretty well in the class, but man is biochemistry boring. I feel like I could just read a textbook to learn about it rather than major in it.</p>

<p>Basically, I’ve realized I’ve chosen the wrong major. I really thought biochemistry would be more of a problem solving based major like organic chemistry but it’s mostly memorization of facts oriented around the concept of stability/non-stability and other biologically related topics. I really, really, really (x10^9) want to switch out of biochemistry and into bioengineering because physics and other problem-solving based courses (which require deep application of concepts) have been my favorite classes so far. I seriously can’t see myself taking all these biochemistry classes for the next two years. If I can’t switch into bioengineering, I would switch to a chemistry major, but being that I have already taken all the life science courses, I would preferably switch into bioengineering because I would very much like to apply that knowledge and not let it go to waste. (I got a 1000 other reasons why I want to switch to bioengineering but for the sake of me not boring you, I will not list them).</p>

<p>My gpa from community college was something like 3.8 and upon my first quarter here at ucla my gpa was 3.9 (these grades don’t really mean much, because most people understand that community college classes are generally easier to get grades and one quarter worth of A’s can also be an outlying statistic). I have finished most of the prereqs for bioengineering (I have only math and physics left), being that I’m a biochemistry major, so therefore I’m really anxious to know if it’s fairly possible for me to switch into the bioengineering. I don’t really care about not graduating within 4 years, but I really have to get out of biochem, because I know that this is not the major for me. I’ve heard from many sources that switching into an engineering major is extremely difficult especially as a transfer student. </p>

<p>TL;DR So the main questions I’m asking you folks is: how difficult is it to switch into bioengineering (or any engineering major) from a science major in L&S as a junior transfer student? Has anyone ever successfully switched into engineering in a similar situation? Do you think that my gpa is sufficient enough to get switched into bioengineering? If you guys got any experiences or information on this, I would deeply appreciate it. (I’ve also sent in my change of major application to the Engineering building, and I’m awaiting their reply, but URSA registration is coming up so that’s why I’m asking).</p>

<p>Thanks for reading…</p>

<p>(Sorry for the wall of text :P)</p>

<p>had to respond to this. i am currently a junior who made the exact same switch from biochem to bioengineering last year. best decision i ever made because bioengineering has some of the smartest kids on campus and requires a lot of critical thinking. the faculty is amazing and really integrates undergrads every step of the way. i made teh chance last year during my sophomore year.</p>

<p>that being said, i think it’ll be tough to make the change now as a junior. the general rule of thumb is that you need to have taken some physics, chem, math classes to be considered and that you WILL get the change into BE if you have at least a 3.5 overall, assuming our program has space. that being said, as a junior you will have ot take an extra year given the classes you’ve missed out on. </p>

<p>talk to erkki corpuz about this. he’d give you the best indication of how possible this is.</p>

<p>good luck…and yea biochem sucks.</p>

<p>I’m also a junior transfer this year and am in sort of a situation as you. Was your switch successful?</p>