Transfer admissions

Transferring from within the College of Engineering

College of Engineering students who wish to change into any of the four Engineering Science majors will need to review the change of major policies and meet with their ESS advisor.

Change of college within UC Berkeley

Freshmen applicants who were admitted to another college at UC Berkeley (such as Letters & Science) and now wish to major in one of the four Engineering Science majors may apply for a change of college. Students must complete two semesters as a registered UC Berkeley student, and a set of core requirements (with minimum grades earned) before they can apply to the College of Engineering. The process is highly competitive and there is no guarantee the application will be approved, so it is imperative that students simultaneously make progress toward a major in the college they were admitted to. Please visit the College of Engineering‘s Change of college website for complete details on the application process.

Transferring from another university or community college

Applicants must complete the University of California admissions application by November 30 for admission for the following Fall semester. UC Berkeley does not accept new transfer applications for the spring semester. For more information on the admissions process, refer to the Berkeley Office of Undergraduate Admissions website on Transfer Admissions. How well you will compete will depend on the strength of the applicant pool in any given year. However, successful junior college transfer students generally have overall GPA’s of 3.5 or better.

Applicants are evaluated primarily on the following:

• The completeness of the applicant’s preparation at the level considered
• The grades earned through the last semester completed
• Grades in particular courses
• The total units accumulated including work currently in progress
• Total number of semesters it will take the student to graduate
• Personal statement

What courses should I complete in order to be a good candidate?

You should follow the lower-division program for the major. To find the list of courses required for admission from another university of community college, check the assist.org articulation agreement between your current community college and UC Berkeley in your particular major of interest. Missing any of the required courses will make you ineligible for admission. Assist.org also includes a list of recommended courses for each major, and if your community college offers them, or engineering courses with similar topics, it will strengthen your application to complete those as well.

What kinds of information should I include in my personal statement?

• How did you get interested in engineering?
• Why are you interested in this particular major?
• What excites you about this major?
• What experiences influenced your decision? (Job experiences, discussions with faculty, professional engineers or engineering students, related projects, courses, etc.)
• What other experiences, such as co-curricular activities, have you had that you can relate to engineering? You should also include activities that may not relate to engineering. What skills did you learn from these activities that will help you in engineering?
• What are your goals or aspirations? What do you want to do after you graduate?

How are courses in progress treated?

Courses in progress, as listed on the submitted Application for transfer to the College of Engineering are considered completed in the calculation of the lower-division completion rate. However any change to your study list needs to be reported to Engineering Student Services immediately, as it may affect your transfer status. Final acceptance will require satisfactory completion of the term in progress.

Courses in progress through spring are considered completed in the completion rate. Summer work prior to fall enrollment is not considered in the admissions process.