We highly recommend that you attend a Change of Major Workshop. Change of Major workshops are regularly scheduled throughout the Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. Our Workshops will give you a comprehensive overview of our Change of Major process.
Please review the information contained within this webpage first. Once you’ve read through, if you have any remaining questions, feel free to send our Academic Counseling Unit a message through Message Center or join us for our Drop-In Advising Sessions.
Available Majors and Minors offered within the School of Engineering
11 Majors
To best understand the requirements for engineering majors and the competitiveness of the change of major process, become familiar with the HSSEAS requirements. Requirements that can be found in the Engineering Announcement or at Engineering Undergraduate Curricular Requirements and Department Information.
Click on the majors to see a short introduction to the department given by the chair/vice chair
- Aerospace Engineering
- Bioengineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Computer Engineering (Joint major between Computer Science and Electrical & Computer Engineering Departments)
- Computer Science
- Computer Science and Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Materials Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
(Students may not apply to change majors to Undeclared Engineering)
Not sure which engineering major to choose?
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics – Occupational Outlook Handbook with example Engineering Jobs and descriptions
- UCLA Career Center FOCUS 2 (through Handshake) – Career Assessment Tool to identify your work interests, personality, skills, values, and generates a list of occupations that match as well as connecting them back to UCLA Majors. This can be accessed through Handshake. It is located under the Career Center tab>Resources.
- UCLA MyMajors – after completing this assessment, you will receive a list of your best-fit majors at UCLA
3 Minors
All minors require that at least 20 units be unique to the minor and not counting towards any other major or minor.
To apply for one of these minors, please submit the following forms to the Petitions/Exceptions Message Center [click here]:
- Have completed at least one quarter at UCLA and minimally be in good academic standing
- Undergraduate Program Change form
- Request to add a Double Major or Minor form with your course plan.
Processing may take longer for Letters and Science majors with 150 total units or more, as we have to submit your request to the College for additional review. You can check the status of this pending review on MyUCLA -> Petitions.
When and How to Apply
(please read through each tab for additional information)
- Application Period for every quarter:
- Submit Application Materials
- Notification and Processing
- Applying to the Engineering Minors
- Adding a Double Major or Minor to an Engineering Major
- Changing Majors to a Non-Engineering major
Once you meet the minimum eligibility requirements detailed below, please submit an application by 5pm on the following dates:
Application Period for 2023-2024 Academic School Year
- Fall Quarter: October 2nd through October 13th, 2023.
- Winter Quarter: January 8th through Jan 19th, 2024.
- Spring Quarter: April 1st through April 12th, 2024.
- Summer Sessions: (tentative and subject to change) June 24th through July 5th, 2024.
Applications will be reviewed in the quarter in which they are submitted based on the previous grades. Submit the paperwork with this in mind. If you meet eligibility with your Winter grades, submit the forms during the Spring application period.
Your application will be DENIED if you do not complete steps 1-3. Please read the instructions carefully.
To submit a change of major request, complete the following steps (only available during the Application Period):
STEP 1: Complete the MyUCLA Forms Survey
This questionnaire will only be active during the Application Period (Application Period(s) listed on the same webpage). DO NOT complete UNTIL you know the final grades from the pervious term. For example, if you are submitting an application in the Spring 2023 Quarter, you will need to know your final grades from the Winter 2023 quarter. This survey will contain questions related to Prep Courses and the grades received in those Courses. This is Step 1.
STEP 2: Complete Undergraduate Program Change Petition
Be sure to complete this editable PDF. DO NOT fill in any sections listed under, “OFFICE USE ONLY”. Once completed, save the file as a pdf, and name it using your 9-digit UCLA ID (e.g., 123456789.pdf). This is step 2. At this point, the Survey should be completed, and you should have completed the Undergraduate Program Change Petition (reminder that everything listed under “OFFICE USE ONLY” should be blank). Please see Step 3 for instructions on how to submit the Program Change Petition.
STEP 3: Submit Reason for Applying and Attach the Undergraduate Program Change Petition to the Change of Major Queue
(This queue will only be active during the Application Period)
The link will take you to our Office’s Change of Major Submissions Queue within Message Center. Note near the bottom of the page, there will be a button that says, “Add Attachment“. This is where you should add the pdf you saved (i.e., Step 2). Please remember that the saved name for your Program Change Petition should be your UID (e.g., 123456789.pdf)
Subject line: Please state the Major you are applying for. This means, if you are applying for Computer Science, your subject line should state, “Computer Science”.
Message: Please provide 1-2 paragraphs on why you wish to change your major (e.g., academic interest, new major aligns with your career goals, you found a passion for this field, etc.).
In most cases, you will be sent a message with the results of your change of major request by approximately the end of week 4-5 of the quarter. (Some decisions may be delayed if there are a high volume of petitions and/or additional time is needed to thoroughly review each case.) Read this message carefully.
- Students who are approved a change of major will follow the catalog year requirements in the effective term they entered the NEW major (e.g. for a change of major effective Winter 2018, you will follow ALL requirements of the 2017-18 catalog).
- Students may petition to follow the previous catalog year that was in effect from their previous major on a case by case basis.
Meanwhile: What about enrolling for the next quarter?
- While awaiting a decision on your change of major request, enroll in any Math, Science, Computing or GE course for which you meet the prerequisite(s) and that is open to your present major. Keep in mind, your change of major is not guaranteed. You are advised to explore other back up major options.
- You should look in the Engineering Announcement for the courses required for your major of interest.
Bioinformatics, Data Science Engineering, and Environmental Engineering are available to EVERY UCLA major.
You must be admitted to these minor programs before your last term. Keep in mind that at least 20 units must be unique to your minor and not overlapping with any other major or minor in your degree program.
To apply for one of these minors, please submit the following documents through Message Center.
You may submit these at any time. This is different from major requests which are only accepted once a quarter during weeks 1&2. Please allow 2-4 weeks* for processing. Notification will be via MyUCLA Message Center.
*Processing may take an additional 7-10 business days for Letters and Science majors with 150 total units or more, as we have to submit your request to the College for additional review. You can check the status of this pending review on MyUCLA -> Petitions.
Adding a minor or second major must be requested for consideration at minimum 2 quarters before degree completion
- A student whose current major is in the College of Letters & Science would need to meet the eligibility requirements as described below to change their primary major to Engineering and then request to add double major.
- Double majors involving two majors within Engineering is not allowed (e.g. Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science) For double majors, your primary major must be in Engineering and the other must be a major outside Engineering (e.g. Aerospace Engineering and Math of Computation).
- If requesting Majors and minors housed in the College of Letters and Science, please note that those departments may not approve you once you have 150+ units completed.
- If you are already in an Engineering Major
- Meet with 2nd major/minor department advisor. Are there any minimum course or grade requirements required before you can declare?
- Submit a quarter by quarter course plan to our Message Center Petition Queue to add a major or minor to your program. Pay attention to requisites, as well as tentative or past course offerings when making your plan. You t have to know every course, but you should be able to put in required courses and at least specify, Elective, Tech Breadth, etc.
- Once you meet the eligibility requirements for your 2nd major or minor and you have your pre-approval from OASA, then submit an Undergraduate program change form signed by the department of your 2nd major or minor. This form should be submitted to our Petition Queue as well.
It is helpful to notify an Engineering counselor of your intent to change majors. This is more of a courtesy, but if there are any complications we have the note that you are in the middle of changing majors and can help resolve things quickly.
Minimum Eligibility requirements to apply
- Meeting the minimum criteria explained below does not guarantee approval but gives you your best chance for a successful change of major.
- The Earliest a Freshman admitted student may apply is after completing a minimum of two quarters (note that it may take longer to meet requirements for Com Sci, Com Sci & Engr, or Com Engr. See additional requirements below)
- The Latest a Freshman admitted student may apply is weeks 1 and 2 of Fall Quarter of their third year. (This is based on your grades through your 2nd year; you must meet the minimum eligibility no later than the end summer of your 2nd (sophomore) year. This includes requests within the same department like from CSE to CS.)
- Normally only one change of major to an Engineering major will be approved. Students are encouraged to research the various engineering disciplines thoroughly before filing for a change of major.
Junior Transfer Students
Junior transfer students admitted to a major outside of Engineering (e.g. Math), are not eligible for change of major or double major consideration with an Engineering major because of the competitiveness of admissions.
Junior transfer students admitted to a major within Engineering, may request a change of major to another Engineering major at the beginning of their 2nd quarter in residence at UCLA except for the majors listed below.* Such requests are rare and considered on a case by case basis if the student would have originally applied and been directly admitted to the desired major during the admissions process.
*Because they are severely impacted majors, it is NOT possible for transfer students change into the Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering majors.
Undeclared Engineering Majors
Being an Undeclared Engineering student means you are guaranteed the Engineering major of your choice if you meet the following criteria:
- Declare your major between the beginning of Spring quarter of your freshman year and the beginning of Fall quarter of your sophomore year. This would after completing at least two quarters at UCLA with engineering workloads from the preparatory course list posted HERE.
- Have a minimum 2.700 GPA in Engineering preparatory courses at the time you declare.
- Receive grades of C or better in all required major prep courses for the major in which you are interested.
- Take and pass an introductory engineering course from the major you are mostly likely to choose, or take and pass an Engineering 96 Freshman Seminar – Introduction to Engineering Design.
Students applying to Computer Science or Computer Science and Engineering must also complete COM SCI 31 with a C or better (not a C-) on the first attempt AND COM SCI 32 and 33 with a B- grades or better on the first attempt. Students applying to Computer Engineering must complete COM SCI 31 and EC ENGR 3 with a grade of C or better on the first attempt AND COM SCI 32 and EC ENGR M16/COM SCI M51A with a B- or better on the first attempt.
This guarantee only applies toward the first major change. Any subsequent major changes are not guaranteed; therefore make sure you are applying for a major in which you are genuinely interested.
1) Enroll in an Engineering Workload
What is an Engineering Workload?
For current Non-Engineering Students working towards changing their major, an Engineering Workload is going to consist of:
1) You must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 units per term.
2) You must be enrolled in at least one (1) Math and one (1) science/Engineering course from our linked list of prep courses.
Current Engineering Students should already be enrolling in an Engineering Workload and most often will be enrolling in additional major courses.
When can you apply as a Non-Engineering Student?
For current Non-Engineering students:
First year students may apply after completing at least two (2) quarters that meet an Engineering Workload.
Second year students may apply after completing at least three (3) quarters that meet an Engineering Workload.
2) Meet the minimum GPA requirement. The required GPA varies by requested Department. Your GPA is going to be calculated based on the Prep Courses you completed.
Aerospace Engineering, Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering
The Preparatory GPA Requirement for these majors is 3.500
Electrical Engineering
The Preparatory GPA Requirement for Electrical Engineering is a 3.400.
Civil Engineering and Materials Engineering
The Preparatory GPA Requirement for Civil Engineering and Materials Engineering is 3.000
Additional requirements for requests to CS, CSE, CE
Applicants to the Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or Computer Science & Engineering majors must have ALSO completed the all courses with a minimum grade indicated below and they must have earned the minimum grade or better on the first attempt in those courses. (Repeat grades will not be considered). These are firm requirements.
| COM SCI 31 | COM SCI 32 | COM SCI 33 | EC ENGR 3 | EC ENGR M16/ COM SCI M51A | |
| Computer Engineering | C | B- | C | B- | |
| Computer Science | C | B- | B- | ||
| Computer Science & Engineering | C | B- | B- |
For all students applying to an Engineering major, please note the following:
For current non-engineering students working towards a change of major this is a hard GPA requirement to ensure a successful transition to taking 3-4 Engineering courses a quarter. We highly recommend that you take the minimum Engineering workload described above and no more to give the space to build strong foundation skills as well as give you your best chances at a successful change of major.
For current engineering majors, this is not a hard GPA requirement based on the work you already did to be admitted to Engineering, however you must demonstrate at minimum:
1) Good academic standing with 2.000 or higher in term and cumulative GPA and “C” or better in each of your courses in your most recent completed quarter
2) Show grades of B’s or better in most of your engineering and major prep course work
- For courses taken Spring 2020 – Summer 2021, we will consider P grades to meet change of major requirements. However, P/NP grades do not factor into the prep GPA, so you must have taken at least 1 course for Letter Grade by Fall 2021 to meet the minimum GPA requirement for the major to which you are applying.
- As of Fall 2021, all Engineering majors are required to take all major courses for Letter Grade.
- Effective Winter 2022, for non-engineering majors, if you are taking courses to meet the Engineering workload and Prep GPA requirements as detailed below, plan to take them for a Letter Grade, even if your current department/college allows you choose Pass/NoPass.
- Frequently Asked Questions by College of Letters and Science students who are interested in changing majors into UCLA Samueli School of Engineering.