Admission Policy

High School Preparation for Engineering Students

It is recommended that high school students intending to apply to a Baskin School of Engineering (BSOE) major have completed four years of mathematics (through advanced algebra and trigonometry) and three years of science in high school. Comparable college mathematics and science courses completed at other institutions also serve to properly prepare students for these majors.

Admission Information for First-Year Students

Students interested in declaring a BSOE major are encouraged to do so during their first year at UCSC. Some students may be admitted directly into their BSOE major of choice at the time they are admitted to UCSC. First-year applicants to UCSC may apply for direct acceptance to a BSOE major by indicating the major as their first or second choice on the UC application. Applicants will be granted direct acceptance based on their high school grade point average, courses completed in mathematics and sciences, scores on standardized tests, and/or their personal statement.

To take advantage of direct acceptance, first-year students must complete the declaration of major process in their first term at UCSC or forfeit their direct acceptance status.

Students not directly admitted may still apply during their first year, and their acceptance into their selected major will be based upon their BSOE GPA, their high school grade point average, courses completed in mathematics and sciences, and scores on standardized tests.

Admission Information for Transfer Students

The BSOE strongly encourages applications from transfer students. Due to the prerequisite structure for upper-division courses, prospective transfer students should have completed as many of the lower-division requirements for the respective majors as possible to complete the degree within a reasonable time. Students must plan carefully because many courses must be taken sequentially.

Transfer students should not follow the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) because it will not provide transfer students with enough mathematics and engineering courses to allow them to complete BSOE programs at UCSC in two years.

Students who apply as transfer students with junior status (60 semester units or 90 quarter credits or more of transfer credit) who wish to earn a degree from the BSOE must indicate a BSOE major as their first choice on their UC application. (Students may also indicate an alternative BSOE major as their second choice.)

Junior transfers who do not list a BSOE major on their application to UCSC will not be considered for admission to such majors after the first day of their first quarter on campus.

Acceptance into the major is based on the student’s academic college record. Applicants are encouraged to take and excel in as many courses that are equivalent to the department’s foundation courses as possible. For many BSOE majors, completion of a year of calculus (accepted as equivalent to Mathematics 19A-B), linear algebra, differential equations, a year of calculus-based physics courses (accepted as equivalent to Physics 5A, 5B, 5C), and two programming courses (accepted as equivalent to Computer Science 12A, Computer Science 12B, or Computer Engineering 12/L) are strongly recommended. An applicant will be approved, conditionally approved, or declined. Only students who have completed most or all of the foundation courses will be approved or conditionally approved for the major.

Note: If the student is coming from a community college or a four-year college that does not have an articulation agreement with UCSC, coursework will have to be evaluated for equivalency to the foundation courses. This will require submission of course descriptions and syllabi for each course to be considered.

APPROVED: Students who are approved for acceptance and who have course credit for all the foundation courses for their major must declare the major in their first term of enrollment at UCSC. The status of students who are approved for acceptance but who, upon review of their transcripts, are found not to have course credit for all the foundation courses for their major will be changed to conditionally approved.

CONDITIONALLY APPROVED: Students who are conditionally approved must complete the remaining required foundation courses for their major in their first term at UCSC and declare the major at the beginning of the following term at UCSC. Conditionally approved students will be evaluated based upon their performance in the foundation courses attempted during their first term at UCSC. Students who are conditionally approved for the major should be prepared to declare an alternative major outside of the BSOE in case they are unsuccessful in their attempt to complete their remaining foundation courses.

DENIED: Students whose petitions are denied may still be admitted to UCSC, but they may not reapply for acceptance to engineering major(s) for which they were originally considered.

Appeal Process

Appeal of an admissions decision concerning a BSOE major will be evaluated by the academic program to which the student applied. Appeal letters must be submitted in writing to the Undergraduate Student Affairs Office within the time frame given in the letter of denial. Late appeals will not be considered. Letters of appeal should describe any extenuating circumstances that might affect the faculty’s evaluation of the record. To strengthen the appeal, students may send a grade report from the current term if it indicates an improved grade point average, or if the information confirms completion of additional foundation courses for the major.

Students whose petitions and appeals have been turned down may not reapply for the same major.

If students were denied because they did not return a Supplemental Application form, they must contact the BSOE Undergraduate Advising Office as soon as possible to obtain a current Supplemental Application form. The completed form must be submitted with the appeal.

The committee will consider appeals upon receipt, and students will receive a response within two weeks. This process must be completed prior to the start of the student's first quarter on campus. Otherwise, the right to appeal is forfeited.

Appeals or requests to change majors should be mailed to:

University of California, Santa Cruz
Baskin School of Engineering
Attn: Undergraduate Admissions Committee
1156 High St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95064

Appeals or requests to change majors may also be e-mailed to

An appeal must be received no later than November 3, 2009.

If you have further questions concerning the appeal process, please contact the Undergraduate Student Affairs Office at (831) 459-5840 or e-mail