COE-TEST PAGE-Declaring a COE Pre-Major
This information is for pre-major and undeclared undergraduate students intending to declare a COE pre-major. For general information about changing your major or declaring a minor, see Student Records: Change of Major (Undergraduates).
When admitted to CSULB, undergraduate students are assigned to a pre-major, major, or Undeclared status. All students must fully declare a major by completing the Major Specific Declaration Requirements (MSDR) for that major before earning 60 units.
If you are currently a COE pre-major and wish to switch to another college, please contact that college’s advising center.
COE Pre-Major Change Criteria
First-Time Freshmen (FTF) are students who were admitted directly to CSULB right after high school. FTF in their first semester who were admitted to a non-STEM pre-major are not eligible to switch into a COE pre-major until they complete their first semester.
Students who were admitted as either Undeclared or outside of COE may request a change to a COE pre-major if they meet the minimum requirements and demonstrate good academic progress towards meeting mandatory declaration requirements for their intended major. See chart below for intended pre-major's requirements.
Minimum Requirements:
- CSULB GPA: 2.5+
- Ability to fully-declare in the major by 60 units
- Ability to meet the intended major’s requirements within Timely Graduation
- Make satisfactory degree progress in their pre-calculus math courses
- Make good academic progress in intended major's specific declaration requirements (See intended major's criteria below)
*The following criteria applies only to Pre-Aerospace Engineering (Pre-AE), Pre-Biomedical Engineering (Pre-BME), Pre-Chemical Engineering (Pre-ChE), Pre-Civil Engineering (Pre-CE), Pre-Electrical Engineering (Pre-EE), Pre-Environmental Engineering (Pre-ENV), Pre-Mechanical Engineering (Pre-ME).
Semester | Eligible Students | Criteria for Engineering Pre-Majors* |
|---|---|---|
First Semester | First-Time Freshmen (FTF) in a STEM Pre-Major | Students must be currently enrolled in or have credit for MATH 122 (Calculus 1). |
Second Semester | First-Time Freshmen (FTF) | Students must either be enrolled in MATH 122 after earning a grade of “B” or better in Pre-Calculus courses or have completed MATH 122. |
Third Semester | First-Time Freshmen (FTF) | Students must have completed MATH 122 and are currently enrolled in MATH 123 (Calculus 2). |
Students are generally not permitted to change to a COE Pre-Major in their 4th semester. However, exceptions may be considered for those who have their final MSDR in progress and are showing strong academic performance in other lower-division major courses.
Semester | Eligible Students | Criteria for Pre-CpE and Pre-CS Majors |
|---|---|---|
First Semester | First-Time Freshmen (FTF) in a STEM Pre-Major | Students must have completed MATH 122: Calculus 1 or CECS 174: Intro to Programming and Problem Solving.* |
Second Semester | First-Time Freshmen (FTF) | Students must have completed MATH 122 or CECS 174.* |
Third Semester | First-Time Freshmen (FTF) | Students must have completed MATH 122 and CECS 174, are currently enrolled in MATH 123, and are demonstrating good academic progress in other lower-division major courses. |
*Pre-major changes will not be processed for students who have these courses in progress.
Students are generally not permitted to change to a COE Pre-Major in their 4th semester. However, exceptions may be considered for those who have their final MSDR in progress and are showing strong academic performance in other lower-division major courses.
Semester | Eligible Students | Criteria for Pre-ADS Majors |
|---|---|---|
First Semester | First-Time Freshmen (FTF) in a STEM Pre-Major | Students must be currently enrolled in CECS 180 and on track to completing it within their first year. |
Second Semester | First-Time Freshmen (FTF) | Students must have completed CECS 180 and are either currently enrolled in the prerequisites for MATH 170, be enrolled in MATH 170, or have completed MATH 170. |
Third Semester | First-Time Freshmen (FTF) | Students must have completed CECS 180 and are currently enrolled in CECS 174 and MATH 170. |
Students are generally not permitted to change to a COE Pre-Major in their 4th semester. However, exceptions may be considered for those who have their final MSDR in progress and are showing strong academic performance in other lower-division major courses.
Semester | Eligible Students | Criteria for Pre-CEM, Pre-CET, and Pre-EET Majors |
|---|---|---|
First Semester | First-Time Freshmen (FTF) in a STEM Pre-Major | Students must be demonstrating satisfactory progress in pre-calculus math courses. |
Second Semester | First-Time Freshmen (FTF) | Students must be demonstrating satisfactory progress in pre-calculus math courses and/or be enrolled in MATH 122: Calculus 1. |
Third Semester | First-Time Freshmen (FTF) | Students must have completed MATH 122 and are currently enrolled in PHYS 100A: General Physics. |
Students are generally not permitted to change to a COE Pre-Major in their 4th semester. However, exceptions may be considered for those who have their final MSDR in progress and are showing strong academic performance in other lower-division major courses.
Students who are already fully declared in their majors are unable to declare into a pre-major. Please visit Declaring a COE Major to determine if a major change into a fully declared COE major will be possible.
If you meet the COE pre-major declaration criteria outlined above and wish to switch your pre-major to COE, please use the following form to submit your request. Submitting a form does not guarantee your major change. Requests are typically reviewed and processed within ten (10) business days. If you have already submitted a request and are awaiting a decision, do not submit an additional request, as it may result in delays.
Requests must be submitted within the Pre-Major Change Period below in order to be processed prior to the registration period of that semester.
Term | Pre-Major Change Period | Registration Period |
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | June 1st - October 1st | First week of November |
| Spring Semester | January 1st - March 1st | Last week of March |
Requests submitted after the deadline will not be processed until the next Pre-Major Change Period. ESSC Advising is not responsible for registration delays that may occur while requests are being reviewed and/or processed.
Please note that this form is for changing into COE pre-majors ONLY. If you are trying to declare/change into a pre-major in another college, please visit that college's website for instructions.
If you do not meet the pre-major declaration criteria outlined above, a pre-major change will not be possible.
However, you may review the fully-declared major declaration criteria on Declaring a Major, to determine if a fully-declared major change will be possible.
If you still do not meet either set of criteria, no major change will be permitted. We recommend meeting with the University Center for Undergraduate Advising (UCUA) to explore a major change to a different college.
If you are interested in changing your major to a major outside of Engineering, please contact the appropriate advising center for that major. See Advising Centers by college, below.
Advising Centers by College | |
|---|---|
| College Advising Center Link | Majors Within These Colleges |
| College of the Arts (COTA) Advising Center | Art (Art; Art Education; Art History; Ceramics; Drawing and Painting; Graphic Design; Illustration; Illustration–Animation (Pre-Production); Photography; Printmaking; Sculpture/3-D Media; Fiber/Metal/Wood); Cinematic Arts; Dance (Dance; Dance Science); Design (Design; Industrial Design; Interior Design); Music (Music; Music—Performance; Music—Education; Music—Composition); Theatre Arts (Theatre Arts; Technical Theatre—Scenery/Costume/Lighting Design; Performance—Acting) |
| College of Business (COB) Advising Center | Business Administration (Accountancy; Finance; Human Resource Management; Management Information Systems; International Business; Marketing; Supply Chain Management); Business Economics |
| College of Education (CEd) Advising Center | Liberal Studies (Liberal Studies; ITEP Pathway) |
| College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) Advising Center | Family and Consumer Sciences (Child Development and Family Studies; Family Life Education; Consumer Affairs; Fashion Design; Fashion Merchandising); Criminology and Criminal Justice; Dietetics and Food Administration (Nutrition and Dietetics; Food Science); Health Care Administration; Health Science (School Health Education; Community Health Education); Hospitality Management; Kinesiology (Exercise Science; Fitness; Physical Education—Teacher Education; Sport Psychology and Leadership); Nursing; Recreation (Recreation; Recreation Therapy); Social Work; Speech-Language Pathology |
| College of Liberal Arts (CLA) Advising Center | Africana Studies; American Sign Language (English Interpreting; Linguistics and Deaf Cultures); American Studies; Anthropology; Asian American Studies; Asian Studies; Business Economics; Chicano and Latino Studies (Chicano and Latino Studies; Special Track); Chinese Studies; Classics (Classics; Greek Civilization; Roman Civilization); Communication Studies (Communication Studies; Communication, Culture and Public Affairs; Interpersonal and Organizational); Comparative World Literature (Language and Literature; World Literature); Economics (Economics; Mathematical Economics; Economic Theory); English (Creative Writing; English Education; English Literature; Rhetoric and Composition; Special Emphasis); Environmental Science and Policy; French and Francophone Studies (French and Francophone Studies; Interdisciplinary French Studies); Geography (BA; BS); German; History; Human Development; International Studies (International Studies; Dual Track); Italian Studies; Japanese; Jewish Studies (Modern Jewish Studies); Journalism; Linguistics (Linguistics; Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages; Translation Studies); Philosophy; Political Science; Psychology; Public Relations; Religious Studies; Sociology; Spanish (Spanish; Interdisciplinary Spanish Studies); Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. |
| College of Natural Science and Math (CNSM) Advising Center | Biological Sciences (Biology; Biology Education; Molecular Cell Biology and Physiology; Zoology, Botany, and Ecology; Marine Biology; Microbiology); Chemistry and Biochemistry (Biochemistry; Chemistry; Materials Science); Earth Science (Earth Systems; Geology); Environmental Science and Policy; Mathematics and Statistics (Mathematics; Applied Mathematics; Mathematics Education; Applied Statistics); Physics and Astronomy (Physics; Materials Science). |
| University Center for Undergraduate Advising (UCUA) | For students exploring multiple majors or who are working toward eligibility for their intended pre-major. |
