Thank you so much and I really appreciate your quick response. Is there any way to declare the major in L&S before SIR rather than entering as undeclared. He is thinking of doing statistics and data science.He got into UCR for CS major but he really wanted to go to UCSB.
Stats/Data science is an open major.
Major Changes for Admitted Students
Recently admitted students may request to change their major to one listed on the “Open Majors in the College of Letters and Science” chart below. If you are interested in a major that UCSB offers, but which is not listed, acceptance into that major requires additional evaluation of your records. If you do not change your major prior to enrollment at UC Santa Barbara, your next opportunity to request to change your major with your academic advising office will be after at least two quarters of enrollment.
Admissions is unable to process any change of major requests once we have cleared all of your records for admissions OR once classes have begun. Once you are on campus, please contact the department you wish to switch your major to and submit a petition. Approval from the department and college is required.
Change of Major Instructions
If you wish to change your major to an open major (listed below), send an email with your request to admissions@ucsb.edu.
Your email MUST include the following:
- The subject line should read “Major Change Request.”
- Include your full legal name and application I.D. number or UCSB Perm number.
- Include a list of all fall grades.
- State your current major and the major into which you wish to change.
- Changes will be reflected on your Applicant Portal.
Change of major requests may take up to two weeks to process.
The open major chart is on the link near the bottom.
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I found it–it’s “paused” for a few days (how “beachy laid back” of the moderators, just like UCSB) and is called “UCSB parents forum”.
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Dear Son accepted to UCSB CS and UCI Informatics. OOS
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Congrats! Where is he headed to?
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Hi Edward, Is there a website or online forum where incoming freshman can meet and look for roommates? Also, what is your opinion of Santa Cruz Hall? My son will be a bio major, and I’m wondering what dorm is known to have the most STEM kids.
Thanks!
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I know kids who has gotten Comp Science at UCI and he was not ELC
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I’ve heard of this happening. It means that your stats weren’t good enough to get into either Engineering major, but they really wanted you on campus so they admitted you to L&S as undeclared. It’s your choice as to whether you want to risk the process of switching to the College of Engineering when on campus.
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After a week of grueling finals and a much needed spring break rest, I’m back.
I’m a current first year Computer Engineering major at UCSB 
I’d be happy to answer any questions.
Students admitted for Fall: Mechanical Engineering requires a minimum of eight (8) core courses from the following list: Chem 1A-1B; ENGR 3; Math 3A-B; Math 4A-B; Math 6A-B; PHYS 1, 2, 3, 3L; ME 10; ME 14; ME 15; ME 17 (three of the eight courses must include PHYS 3/3L, ME 14, and ME 17).
Alright so I can give a bit of context as to how easy these classes are to get. The biggest challenge to switching to the College of Engineering is getting the classes required to petition, assuming you do good in those classes. For a less competitive engineering major like Mechanical Engineering, most petitions are accepted.
Alright so CHEM 1A and 1B are very large lower div classes in the College of Letters and Sciences. Anybody should be able to get these no issues.
ENGR 3 is a MATLAB based programming class and shouldn’t be too hard to get either.
MATH 3A and 3B are covered by AP Calculus AB and BC.
MATH 4A is linear algebra, this shouldn’t be too hard to get as its a prereq for most majors.
Ditto for MATH 4B (just took this last quarter, Differential Equations with Professor Porter), MATH 6A and MATH 6B
ME 10 is a popular CAD programming class - ME majors would have priority in passes 1 and 2 for registration but tbh none of the ME Department classes are under as much enrollment strain as the CS or ECE departments.
PHYS 1 2 3 are very useful classes and also aren’t too hard to get, as only a few majors need to take the PHYS 1 series versus the easier PHYS 6A/6B series (which is covered by AP Physics C Mechanics and Electricity and Magnetism).
All in all, it’s completely doable as long as you study hard and plan carefully. CS is a different story…
Useful info for students who were admitted to their second major or as undeclared:
https://admissions.sa.ucsb.edu/alternative-majors-faq
Can I ask to be reviewed for a second major?
Yes. The change of major request is not considered an appeal. Depending on when the request is received, approval may not occur until after submitting your Statement of Intent to Register (SIR).
- Freshman Admits: To learn about submitting a change of major request to an open major in the College of Letters and Science, visit the Major Changes page.
- Transfer Admits: Students who have appropriate major preparation in another major may request to be reviewed for an alternate major in the College of Letters and Science. Visit the Major Changes page for a list of open majors.
**For those who applied to engineering as their first choice: **
Yes, for freshmen only. If your first choice major was one in the College of Engineering and a space in that major becomes available, you will automatically be considered for that major. There is no need to submit a request to change your major back into that first choice major. You will be notified if a space does become available and you’re offered a spot.
@Gumbymom I believe this policy is new for this year… I don’t remember UCSB automatically considering people who were admitted for their alternate major for their first choice as waitlists roll through.
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Congratulations!!! Maybe I’ll see him on campus next fall? 
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I strongly urge all admitted students to visit UCSB if possible! When they say UCSB is on a beach, they really mean it. The campus is truly one of a kind.
I didn’t truly realize how amazing the location was until I got here. My dorm is literally a 30 second walk from the beach. The entire campus has a gorgeous sun-kissed Southern California vibe that I immediately started missing as soon as I went home to the Bay Area lol
Here are some pictures:
Taken today, on a beautiful April late afternoon
Campus, as seen from Campus Point, a 5 minute walk from my dorm. You can see the Pacific Ocean on the right side, and the campus lagoon on the left. You can also see my dining hall in the far left hand corner, De La Guerra Dining Commons.
The view from across the Lagoon, towards the San Nicolas and San Miguel Residence Halls.
The view along the eastern edge of campus, from the 3rd floor of Bren Hall, the environmental sciences building.
The Santa Ynez Mountains, lightly dusted with snow from a February snowstorm Taken from the balcony of Portola Dining Commons @ Santa Catalina Residence Hall
The view of the library and “Arbor” area.
Campus Point on a windy January evening
The view from the Manzanita Village Residence Halls
Storke Tower + Plaza at night:
Manzanita Villages and Carrillo Dining Commons at night
Chem Lawn. Chemistry building is on the left and the Life Sciences Building is in the distance, partially obscured by Nobel Hall.
All photos were taken by me, over the course of the last 2 quarters.
I love taking pictures of campus, let me know if there’s any places you’d like to see
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I will say, coming from a brutally competitive Bay Area public high school, being around so much natural beauty has greatly improved my mental health.
It’s just hard to be depressed when you can open the door and be on the beach in under a minute.
During Finals season, as a break from studying my friends and I like to take walks along the coastal road to Campus Point, and then around the Lagoon.
A photo I took last fall - this was maybe 500 feet from my room!
trust me, the “power of blue” is real.
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I wouldn’t necessarily recommend San Raf or Manzi for first years – these are the traditional second year dorms. They put some freshmen in if there isn’t room in the other dorms.
Santa Catalina is nearly all freshman and has ‘jack and jill’ style bathrooms, which are great. I live in a dorm with communal restrooms, and it really isn’t that bad.
San Raf is special because it’s a mix of singles (extremely hard to get), individual double rooms (also hard to get) and 4, 6, and 8 person suites made up of double rooms. I have some friends that live there now. One of the key complaints is that most of the residents are sophomores and juniors who have already formed friendships with each other; the dorm is very very quiet.
Manzi is very very quiet as well compared to the other dorms. Each building consists of a mix of triples, small doubles and singles, with private restrooms. It is technically the newest dorm (around ~15 years old?). Each small building is 3-4 floors, with around 8 or so rooms per floor and 3-4 private single user restrooms. More Freshman live here than in San Raf, but some of my friends who live here do say it’s been really hard to meet the other people in their building since everyone keeps to themselves.
I live in a triple in one of the “Channel Island Five” buildings, the original 5 dorms on campus.
Congratulations on Regents! Guaranteed housing for all 4 years and priority on what dorm you want UCSB Regents is extremely selective, typically only the top few percent of the incoming class.
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Ooh I have a lot to say on this - I do have classes tomorrow, will edit this message tomorrow.
But I will just say I find it so funny that they keep ranking UCSB #1 party school in the country… your son doesn’t need to worry in the slightest.
These pictures are so lovely! I attended UCSB for my PhD and these pictures are really taking me back. It is a truly magical place - I envy students who are there now, or who have UCSB in their future. Enjoy it!
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Most beautiful campus in the world. My brother and I both went there. He graduated with a ee degree. I got an accounting degree. He lectures frequently at the engineering school about his time working directly with Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos. I can’t believe they rejected son. I thought his stats were high enough to obtain admission but whatever. The system shouldn’t allow for this to happen. But Edward didn’t show pictures of the rest of Santa Barbara. Which to me is the cream of the crop. The French Riveria of the west in my opinion. Ucsb is so much more than the campus and isla vista. It’s this magical city situated between la and sf. I can’t say enough good things about it. Good luck to all those who got accepted. For us, we will pick up the pieces of what is left and try to make a go out of it.
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Agree 100% about the broader SB area, it is heaven on earth.
Our son also received some disappointing outcomes this admissions cycle, all my best to you and yours.
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Anyone know of an admitted ucsb discord or group?