Transferring into EECS
| Within Engineering — Change of Major | Within Berkeley — Change of College | From a Community College |
Within Engineering — Change of Major
College of Engineering students who wish to change into EECS will need to file a Change of Major petition with Engineering Student Services (230 Bechtel). COE students can apply to change their major at any time (after completing two semesters at Berkeley) and applications are evaluated as they are received. Students may now apply to change majors even after their sophomore year as long as the change does not delay graduation.
Applications will be evaluated by Engineering Student Services staff based upon clear guidelines and minimum criteria outlined by the departments. Students who do not meet guidelines and minimum criteria will be reviewed by faculty from the department.
The effective date of a change of major is the actual day the change is approved. Students no longer have to wait until the grades for the current semester are posted to learn they are officially accepted.
Transfer students who are in the College of Engineering cannot apply to change majors. For more information on Change of Major, please visit the College of Engineering Change of Major website.
Within Berkeley — Change of College
To transfer into EECS from another college (such as Letters and Science), you will need to submit a Change of College application with the College of Engineering Student Services (230 Bechtel). Students in colleges other than COE must complete two semesters at UCB before they can apply to COE. Students can apply during their third or fourth semester. Applications for change of college are accepted during both the Fall and Spring semesters.
Change of college applications will be evaluated by Engineering Student Services staff based upon clear guidelines and minimum criteria outlined by the department. Students who do not meet guidelines and minimum criteria will be reviewed by faculty from the department.
Students must apply for change of college by no later than their fourth semester of enrollment. Transfer students may not apply for change of college. The effective date of a change of college is the actual day the change is approved.
Students admitted as change of college into COE cannot apply to change majors.
Application Criteria
- Minimum 3.4 technical (math, science, and engineering classes) GPA. Note that this is the minimum GPA needed at time of application —students should anticipate that the GPA required for admission will be higher.
- Completion of two semesters of coursework at UC Berkeley. Students may apply during their third semester if the requisite coursework listed below is completed or in progress
- Ability to complete the degree within 4 years or 8 total semesters
- Submission of personal statement explaining motivation and preparation for pursuing a degree in Engineering and why you selected the major you did
- Submission of semester by semester planned program, including units in progress
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If applying during third semester:
- Min of 6 tech courses completed including: Math 1A and 1B; Physics 7A; two courses from: EE20N, EE40, CS 61A, CS 61B, CS 61C and one additional technical course required of the major AND in progress Physics 7B, Math 53 and one additional course from: CS 61A, CS 61B, CS 61C, EE 20N, EE40
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If applying during fourth semester:
- All of the above plus Math 54 and one more course from: CS 61A, CS 61B, CS 61C, EE 20N, EE40
Students may apply for Change of College no more than twice, and must apply by the end of their fourth semester. There is no appeal to the limit on applications.
Application Periods
Fall Semester Application period: the first day of instruction through October 1st for admission to that same fall semester
Spring Semester Application period: the first week of instruction through March 1 for admission to that spring semester
The College of Engineering also offers workshops on changing colleges. Please see the College of Engineering Change of College page.
From a Community College
To be considered for admission to UC Berkeley as a transfer student, you must:
- meet both the UC Berkeley requirements and the requirements for the College of Engineering
- have earned 60 semester units by the end of the spring term prior to fall enrollment and be UC eligible before your file will be forwarded to the College of Engineering for review.
If you are not sure if you are UC eligible, you should visit UC Freshman Admission and UC Transfer Admission.
The UC system application period is November 1-30 for admission to the following fall semester. UC Berkeley does not accept new transfer applications for the spring semester. For more information on the admissions process, contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at 510-642-3175.
The main criteria for admission to the College of Engineering is:
- grade point average (GPA) in technical courses and overall
- completion of 100% of the required core preparation courses by the end of the spring term prior to fall enrollment
- personal statement (detailing interest in the intended major, influencing experiences, goals, etc.)
Applicants must complete all required core UCB preparation courses in order to be eligible for admission. It should also be noted that we give preference to California Community College applicants
Applicants MUST complete the following to be eligible (required core preparation courses) :
- one year calculus: UCB Math 1A, 1B
- multivariable calculus, UCB Math 53
- differential equations and linear algebra: UCB Math 54
- two courses of calculus based physics with lab: UCB Physics 7A, 7B
- one course in natural science from the following: UCB Chem 1A, Chem 1B, Physics 7C, Bio 1A, and Bio 1B
- two approved reading and composition courses: UCB English 1A and 1B
Lower division courses required for graduation (but not admission) are strongly recommended; the more of these courses completed, the stronger the application will be. Therefore, when possible, it is to the applicant's benefit to complete courses in circuits, data structures, and C++ or Java.
Strongly recommended courses: (if your college offers the courses listed below taking them will strengthen your application)
- UCB Compsci 61A
- UCB Compsci 61B
- UCB Compsci 61C
- UCB El Eng 20N
- UCB El Eng 40
- UCB Compsci 70
Please review ASSIST.org to view the articulation agreement between the University of California, Berkeley and your College.
For more information about transfer admission, please visit the College of Engineering Prospective Transfer website.
| Information for Prospective Undergraduates |