As of July 2023, the Academic Senate and Provost have approved the Computer Science, or CS, major to be moved from the College of Letters and Science to the College of Engineering.
Please review the FAQs below for more information.
Current CS Students (admitted Fall 2023 or earlier)
Current CS students will have the option to move to the new CS major under the College of Engineering or remain in their current Computer Science major under the College of Letters and Science.
- Will my major requirements change?
- No, the CS major requirements will remain the same at this time. Please review the CS major checklist or the University Catalog for a full list of major requirements.
- Will my general education (GE) requirements change?
- No. GE requirements are the same regardless of college.
- Since I’m already a CS major, can I follow College of Letters and Science rules and policies? (Example: P/NP)
- Yes. If you are already in the CS major and choose to remain in the College of Letters and Science, you will follow that college’s rules, policies and requirements.
- What are the main differences between the two colleges?
-
College of Letters and Science College of Engineering Pass/No Pass (P/NP) is allowed for any course including major courses, as long as the student doesn’t exceed ¼ of their total units.
Unit cap of 225
64 upper division unit requirement
GPA requirements for graduation:
2.0 GPA across all major courses
2.0 across all upper-division major courses
Pass/No Pass (P/NP) is not allowed for any College of Engineering courses or major courses. P/NP is allowed for GE courses.
No unit cap
No 64 upper division unit requirement
GPA requirements for graduation:
2.0 GPA across all College of Engineering courses, regardless of if the course is used for the CS major
- Who do I go to for advising?
- For major advising, you will work with your CS department advisors. For GE & university requirements, Academic Probation, Permission to Drop requests or other late action, you will work with the Engineering Undergraduate Office moving forward.
- Is the CS major now going to be accredited under ABET?
- At this time, the CS major will not be accredited under ABET.
- How do I change to the CS major in the College of Engineering?
- Submit a major change request through OASIS. All students will be required to meet the requirements to change to the College of Engineering.
- Can I still take courses P/NP for my major?
- If you remain with the CS major in the College of Letters and Science, you can take P/NP courses for your major. If you switch to the CS major in the College of Engineering, you cannot take P/NP courses for your major or any course taught by a department in the College of Engineering.
- Can I change back to the College of Letters and Science later if I choose to switch to the College of Engineering now?
- No. All changes are final.
- Are CS and CSE still two different majors or are they being combined?
- CS and CSE are still two different majors. They are not being combined.
- If I change to the College of Engineering, will my P/NP grades be automatically reverted to a letter grade?
- No. The department and college do not have the power to retroactively change the grade mode. After meeting with a CS or EUO advisor and submitting a major change request through OASIS, you would need to submit a Petition for Retroactive Change to the Grade Change Committee to request a retroactive change. The petition should be submitted by June 28, 2024 for courses taken prior to Fall 2023. There is no guarantee that the petition will be approved. If approved, your P/NP grades would revert to whatever grade you earned. Please note, your major change in OASIS will remain pending until the Petition for Retroactive Change has been reviewed.
Current UC Davis Students Interested in Changing to CS Major
- Will I be in the College of Engineering when I change majors?
- Yes. Effective July 2023, all students requesting to change to CS will be applying to the major in the College of Engineering.
- Will the requirements to change to CS be different now that the major is in the College of Engineering?
- Yes. College of Engineering rules will apply. The requirements to change to CS will be:
- Complete the following courses with a 3.0 cumulative GPA and a C- or higher: MAT 21A, MAT 21B, ECS 20, Choose one option: (a) ECS 32A and ECS 32B and ECS 32C (offered in fall quarters) and ECS 34 (offered in winter quarters) OR (b) ECS 36A and ECS 36B and ECS 36C.
- Have an overall UC GPA of 3.0
- Have a GPA of 2.0 or better in all other completed MAT, PHY, BIS, and CHE courses required for your intended major, and have received a C- or better in each of these courses.
- Have completed no more than 135 cumulative units (excluding AP units). Students who have completed more than 135 units will be considered on a petition basis only.
- Have received a letter grade for all courses that satisfy College of Engineering degree requirements (no P/NP allowed).
- Have no grade lower than a C- in any completed engineering course required for your intended major(s) taken at UC Davis.
- Have at least a 2.0 UC GPA in all completed engineering courses. Engineering courses are any courses taught by ENG, ECS, MAE, EEC, EAE, EBS, BIM, ECH, ECM, ECI, EMS, EME.
Transfer students must meet transfer admissions requirements in addition to those listed above. - I’ve been pursuing the CS major prior to this decision being made. Will I be admitted to the CS major based on the change of major requirements outlined by the College of Letters and Science?
- No, students who are not already declared in the CS major must meet all requirements specified by the College of Engineering to be eligible to change their major to CS.
- What if I took a major course as P/NP prior to Fall 2023?
- The College of Engineering does not allow major courses to be taken on a P/NP basis, in addition to other P/NP guidelines found here. Students petitioning to change to the CS major will need to submit a Petition for Retroactive Change to the Grade Change Committee. There is no guarantee that the petition will be approved. If approved, your P/NP grades would revert to whatever grade you earned. Courses taken P/NP in fall 2023 or later are unlikely to be approved for retroactive grade mode change. The petition should be submitted by June 28, 2024.
- What if I took non-major courses (example GE) for P/NP prior to Fall 2023?
- The College of Engineering has parameters regarding P/NP grading and all students changing to the CS major must adhere to them. Please view the guidelines here.
Prospective Students
- What college will I be under when I enroll at UC Davis?
- All students admitted for enrollment in the CS major beginning in Fall 2024 or later will be in the College of Engineering.
- Will the admission process change now that the major is in the College of Engineering?
- Please contact Undergraduate Admissions if you have questions about the admission process.