Selective Major Guidance

• Data Science (all majors)
• Public Health (all majors)
• Jacobs School of Engineering:
  
  • Bioengineering (all majors)
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Computer Science and Engineering (all majors)
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering (all majors)
  • Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (all majors)

Note: As of spring 2025, Biological Sciences majors are no longer selective.

First-year admitted students

• When to apply: Applications for first-year students will be open once per year between summer and fall quarters.
  • Available: by August 1 - will be posted on this page.
  • Deadline: September 1 each year.  
  • NOTE: Starting summer 2026, the summer application cycle will be open to first-year admitted students only.
• When to expect final decisions: Decisions will be made after UC San Diego Summer Session grades are finalized.  
  • Students will be notified of their selection status once all spaces in the major are filled. If offered a spot, students will need to accept the offer by a given deadline.

Transfer-admitted students 

Only Public Health and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering have application cycles for continuing students originally admitted to UCSD as Transfer students. All other selective majors will not allow continuing Transfer students to apply for selective majors.

• Public Health will have a cycle for Transfer-admitted students between Fall and Winter quarter of their first year (e.g., at the end of Fall 2025 for Fall 2025 admitted transfer students)
• Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering will have a a cycle for Transfer-admitted students between Winter and Spring quarters of their first year (e.g., at the end of Winter 2026 for Fall 2025 admitted transfer students). 

Academic Requirements

• Students must have completed the required screening courses for the desired major with a C- or higher in each course.
  • Screening courses are set by individual departments to ensure students have foundational knowledge for success. See linked department pages above for a list of the screening course requirements for each major.
• Students must have a minimum 2.0 UC GPA.

 Student Status

• Must be a continuing student at UC San Diego. 
  • New Freshman Admits (NFRS): Students who have been enrolled for 1-6 quarters at UC San Diego (not including summer) may apply, typically after their first or second year. 
  • Transfer Students (TRAN): Transfer students do not typically change their majors after matriculation because of the impact on their time to degree.  
    • For Fall 2025 and after: Transfer students admitted to UC San Diego Fall 2025 and after will no longer be allowed to apply to selective majors in the Summer application cycle after their first year. Selective majors may opt to admit Transfer students after the Fall or Winter in their first year at UC San Diego but are not required to do so.
      • after Fall 2025: Public Health will select Transfer students who have been enrolled at UCSD for 1 quarter
      • after Winter 2026: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering will select Transfer students who have been enrolled at UCSD for 2 quarters
• Note about Enrollment Status:
  • Eligibility extends to students who are full-time or part-time during Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. Summer quarters are not counted.
  • Quarters with full withdrawal or non-enrollment do not count.

Selection into the selective major will be based on a point system. Students with the highest number of points will be selected into the major until the number of slots available is reached.  Points are awarded based on the following:

• 3.0 GPA or Higher average for major screening courses taken at UC San Diego: 1 point
• California Residency: 1 point
• Pell Grant Eligibility: 1 point
• First-Generation College Status: 1 point (Based on initial UC San Diego application information)

Tiebreaker: When students at the cutoff boundary have the same number of points, students will be selected from this group via a uniform random process.

See the FAQ page for questions about how points are determined.

If you are not selected into a selective major, please consider one of these alternative options.

Not sure yet which major to choose? Explore your options.

Review the full list of UCSD majors.

For questions about screening courses and the timeline to plan courses, students should contact the department advisors via the Virtual Advising Center.

For questions about the selective major application process and policies not answered on this page or the FAQ page, students should contact selective-majors@ucsd.edu.