Exploring Engineering Majors at UCLA: A Comprehensive Overview

The UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science offers a wide array of undergraduate majors, each designed to equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to excel in various engineering fields. This article provides a detailed overview of the engineering majors available at UCLA, including their curricula, specializations, and requirements.

Navigating the UCLA General Catalog

The UCLA General Catalog serves as the primary resource for information regarding courses, curricula, and degree requirements. Published annually in PDF and HTML formats, it strives for accuracy, though all information is subject to change or deletion without notice. Students are advised to consult the Catalog for the most current, officially approved details. Additional information about UCLA can be found in materials produced by the various schools, including Arts and Architecture; Dentistry; Education and Information Studies; Engineering and Applied Science; Law; Management; Medicine; Music; Nursing; Public Affairs; Public Health; and Theater, Film, and Television.

Application Process for Changing Majors

For current UCLA undergraduates seeking to change their major to an engineering discipline, a specific application process must be followed. This process involves three key steps:

Complete the MyUCLA Forms Survey: This online questionnaire, active only during the Application Period, assesses preparedness for the desired major, focusing on prerequisite courses and grades. It's crucial to complete this survey only after receiving final grades from the preceding term.
Complete the Undergraduate Program Change Petition: This editable PDF form requires detailed information about the applicant and their academic record. All sections marked "OFFICE USE ONLY" should be left blank. The completed form must be saved as a PDF file named with the applicant's 9-digit UCLA ID (e.g., 123456789.pdf).

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Submit Reason for Applying and Attach the Undergraduate Program Change Petition to the Change of Major Queue: The Change of Major Submissions Queue within Message Center allows applicants to submit their reason for applying and attach the saved PDF of the Undergraduate Program Change Petition. The subject line should clearly state the major being applied for.

Failure to complete these steps will result in the denial of the application.

Undergraduate Majors at UCLA: A Diverse Selection

UCLA offers over 140 majors, encompassing a wide range of disciplines within the College of Letters and Science and various professional schools. The Samueli School of Engineering offers several specialized majors:

Aerospace Engineering
Bioengineering
Chemical Engineering
Civil Engineering
Computer Engineering
Computer Science
Computer Science and Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Materials Engineering
Mechanical Engineering

College of Letters and Science: A Foundation for Exploration

The College of Letters and Science provides a broad-based education rooted in the liberal arts. Students explore diverse perspectives and develop critical thinking, creative writing, and analytical skills. The College offers over 100 majors across four academic divisions: Humanities, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences.

Applicants to the College select a major of choice but can apply as "undecided/undeclared" if they are unsure of their interests. Some of the majors offered include:

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African American Studies (B.A.)
African and Middle Eastern Studies (B.A.)
American Indian Studies (B.A.)
American Literature and Culture (B.A.)
Ancient Near East and Egyptology (B.A.)
Anthropology (B.A. and B.S.)
Arabic (B.A.)
Art History (B.A.)
Asian American Studies (B.A.)
Asian Humanities (B.A.)
Asian Languages and Linguistics (B.A.)
Asian Religions (B.A.)
Asian Studies (B.A.)
Astrophysics (B.S.)
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (B.S.)
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences/Mathematics (B.S.)
Biochemistry (B.S.)
Biology (B.S.)
Biophysics (B.S.)
Business Economics (B.A.)
Central and East European Languages and Cultures (B.A.)
Chemistry (B.S.)
Chemistry/Materials Science (B.S.)
Chicana and Chicano Studies (B.A.)
Chinese (B.A.)
Classical Civilization (B.A.)
Climate Science (B.S.)
Cognitive Science (B.S.)
Communication (B.A.)
Comparative Literature (B.A.)
Computational Biology (B.S.)
Data Theory (B.S.)
Disability Studies (B.A.)
Earth and Environmental Science (B.A.)
Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution (B.S.)
Economics (B.A.)
English (B.A.)
Environmental Science (B.S.)
European Language and Transcultural Studies (B.A.)
European Languages and Transcultural Studies with French and Francophone (B.A.)
European Languages and Transcultural Studies with German (B.A.)
European Languages and Transcultural Studies with Italian (B.A.)
European Languages and Transcultural Studies with Scandinavian (B.A.)
European Studies (B.A.)
Gender Studies (B.A.)
Geography (B.A.)
Geography/Environmental Studies (B.A.)
Geology (B.S.)
Geology/Engineering Geology (B.S.)
Geophysics (B.S.)
Global Studies (B.A.)
Greek (B.A.)
Greek and Latin (B.A.)
History (B.A.)
Human Biology and Society (B.A. and B.S.)
International Development Studies (B.A.)
Iranian Studies (B.A.)
Japanese (B.A.)
Jewish Studies (B.A.)
Korean (B.A.)
Labor Studies (B.A.)
Latin (B.A.)
Latin American Studies (B.A.)
Linguistics (B.A.)
Linguistics and Anthropology (B.A.)
Linguistics and Asian Languages and Cultures (B.A.)
Linguistics and Computer Science (B.A.)
Linguistics and English (B.A.)
Linguistics and Philosophy (B.A.)
Linguistics and Psychology (B.A.)
Linguistics and Spanish (B.A.)
Linguistics, Applied (B.A.)
Marine Biology (B.S.)
Mathematics (B.S.)
Mathematics, Applied (B.S.)
Mathematics/Applied Science (B.S.)
Mathematics/Economics (B.S.)
Mathematics, Financial Actuarial (B.S)
Mathematics for Teaching (B.S.)
Mathematics of Computation (B.S.)
Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics (B.S.)
Middle Eastern Studies (B.A.)
Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology (B.S.)
Neuroscience (B.S.)
Nordic Studies (B.A.)
Philosophy (B.A.)
Physics (B.A. and B.S.)
Physiological Science (B.S.)
Political Science (B.A.)
Portuguese and Brazilian Studies (B.A.)
Psychobiology (B.S.)
Psychology (B.A.)
Religion, Study of (B.A.)
Russian Language and Literature (B.A.)
Russian Studies (B.A.)
Sociology (B.A.)
Southeast Asian Studies (B.A.)
Spanish (B.A.)
Spanish and Community and Culture (B.A.)
Spanish and Linguistics (B.A.)
Spanish and Portuguese (B.A.)
Statistics and Data Science (B.S.)
Individual Field of Concentration (B.A./ B.S.)
Undeclared

Samueli School of Engineering: Shaping the Future

The UCLA Samueli School of Engineering offers a range of majors focused on applying scientific and mathematical principles to solve real-world problems. The curriculum is designed to provide a strong foundation in engineering fundamentals, along with opportunities for specialization and interdisciplinary studies.

Electrical Engineering B.S.

The Electrical Engineering B.S. program provides a comprehensive education in the core areas of signals and systems, circuits and embedded systems, and physical wave electronics. The curriculum emphasizes both theoretical knowledge and practical application, preparing students for careers in diverse fields such as telecommunications, power systems, and microelectronics.

Students can tailor their studies through elective courses and a two-term capstone design course, allowing them to delve deeper into specific areas of interest. The technical breadth area requirement enables students to combine electrical engineering coursework with courses from other UCLA Samueli majors, fostering specialization in interdisciplinary domains like Bioengineering and Informatics (BI), Computer Engineering (CE), and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS).

Computer Engineering B.S.

The Computer Engineering B.S. program focuses on the design and development of computer systems, encompassing both hardware and software aspects. The curriculum covers fundamental principles in data science and embedded networked systems, preparing students to address challenges in areas such as the Internet of Things, human-cyber-physical systems, and robotic systems.

Students can choose to specialize in Networked Embedded Systems, focusing on the integration of embedded devices with networks and physical systems, or Data Science, emphasizing the analysis and utilization of massive sensory data for decision-making and control. The technical breadth area requirement allows for interdisciplinary specialization by combining computer engineering coursework with courses from other UCLA Samueli majors or computer science.

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General Requirements for UCLA Samueli Majors

To earn a bachelorâs degree in any UCLA Samueli major, students must complete a minimum of 180 units. Enrollment beyond 213 quarter units requires special permission from the associate dean. Students must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA in all courses taken at any UC campus, as well as in all upper-division courses satisfying the subject and elective requirements of the curriculum. A 2.0 minimum GPA is also required in upper-division mathematics, upper-division core courses, and the major field. Of the last 48 units completed for the BS degree, 36 must be earned in residence at UCLA Samueli.

Writing Requirements

Students admitted to the school must complete a two-term writing requirement: Writing I and Engineering Writing. Non-native English speakers may need to take English Composition 1A, 1B, and 2I before enrolling in a Writing I course. The Engineering Writing requirement can be satisfied by selecting an approved Engineering Writing (EW) course or an approved Writing II (W) course, completed with a C or better grade.

Technical Breadth Requirement

The technical breadth requirement consists of three courses that provide breadth outside the studentâs core program. A list of approved courses is available online or in the Office of Academic and Student Affairs. Deviations from the list require approval from the associate dean for Academic and Student Affairs.

Ethics and Professionalism Requirement

The ethics and professionalism requirement is satisfied by completing one course from Engineering 181EW, 182EW, 183EW, or 185EW with a C or better grade.

General Education (GE) Requirements

General education courses provide perspectives and intellectual skills necessary to understand and think critically about the world. Five courses (24 units minimum) are required, and students may take one GE course per term on a Passed/Not Passed (P/NP) basis if they are in good academic standing. Engineering writing requirement courses also approved for GE credit may be applied toward the relevant GE foundational areas.

GE courses are divided into three areas:

Foundations of the Arts and Humanities: These courses furnish the basic means to appreciate and evaluate the ongoing efforts of humans to explain, translate, and transform their diverse experiences of the world through such media as language, literature, philosophical systems, images, sounds, and performances.
Foundations of Society and Culture: These courses introduce students to the ways in which humans organize, structure, rationalize, and govern their diverse societies and cultures over time.
Foundations of Scientific Inquiry: These courses ensure that students gain a fundamental understanding of how scientists formulate and answer questions about the operation of both the physical and biological world.

Transfer students from California community colleges may fulfill UCLA lower-division GE requirements by completing the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) prior to transfer. The IGETC must be completed entirely before enrolling at UCLA; otherwise, students must fulfill UCLA Samueli GE requirements.

Preparation for the Major

UCLA Samueli departments typically set two types of requirements for degree completion: preparation for the major (lower-division courses) and the major (upper-division courses). A major requires completion of a set of courses known as preparation for the major. Students must maintain a scholarship grade-point average of at least 2.0 (C) in all courses within their major to remain in the program. Each course in the major department must be taken for a letter grade.

Transfer Student Considerations

Transfer applicants may complete courses in addition to those mentioned above that satisfy degree requirements. Although GE or transfer core courses are degree requirements rather than admission requirements, students are advised to fulfill them prior to transfer.

Coursework Guidelines for Transfer Students

Specific coursework is recommended for students planning to transfer into engineering majors:

English: Two transferable courses in English composition are required.
Mathematics: Calculus and analytic geometry, calculus of several variables, differential equations, and linear algebra. Aerospace engineering and mechanical engineering do not require differential equations but instead require a mathematics of engineering course.
Physics: Calculus-based courses with labs in mechanics of solids, vibration, wave motion, sound, fluids, heat, electricity and magnetism, electromagnetic waves, light, and relativity.
Chemistry: Two terms of general chemistry with lab. Note: Only one course in general chemistry is required for electrical engineering. One year of chemistry with lab and two terms of organic chemistry are required for bioengineering and chemical engineering. Computer engineering, computer science, and computer science and engineering do not require a chemistry course.
Computer Programming: One course in Java, C, C++ or MATLAB. Applicants to electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, or computer science and engineering should take C++.

Additional Information for Transfer Students:

Minimum GPA: 3.4
IGETC required: No; partial IGETC not accepted
Double-major possible: Yes

Additional Programs

School of Theater, Film and Television

One of the leading programs of its kind in the world, the School of Theater, Film and Television is unique in that it formally recognizes the close relationship among these media. From study of the ancient origins of traditional theater to avant-garde video and technologically advanced stage and film production, students develop analytic skills while acquiring applied knowledge and experience in their chosen fields.

Applications are limited to the fall quarter and are reviewed for admission by the department to which you apply. For Theater majors, this review may include an audition. Transfer applicants must complete lower-division preparation coursework specific to their intended majors.

Note: Due to recent changes to the Department of Theater curriculum, it is impossible for Theater majors to change their major to Film and Television at the end of the sophomore year.

School of Education and Information Studies

The School of Education and Information Studies is reframing conversations on education and information studies from theory to practice. The Department is known as a leader in the study of urban education and the development and support of teachers and school leaders strongly committed to social justice.

The new B.A. in Education and Social Transformation prepares students to analyze current issues in education through a social justice lens and to emerge as effective advocates for positive change.

Students entering UCLA as first-year students as well as first-term transfer students who indicate Education and Social Transformation as their first-choice major on the general UC Application will be admitted as pre-majors.

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