Admission

Admission to the University

For information on how to apply to the University, please see the UC Santa Barbara Admissions Page or apply directly online through the UC Admissions Page. For TRANSFER STUDENT information, please see this Transfer Admissions Page for requirements.

UCSB Admissions   Transfer Admissions

Admission to the Major

Interested students should apply directly for the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science when you first apply to the University. If you’re a current UCSB student and not a CS major, or want to add CS as a double-major, the minimum requirements for the change of major application process are listed in the sections below.

Students admitted to UCSB as transfer students are only permitted to major in a College of Engineering major if they were directly admitted into that specific major when they matriculated as a transfer student. Transfer students cannot petition to change or to add a College of Engineering major, and therefore are not eligible for the CS change of major application process. 

 

Change of Major or Double-Major (current UCSB students)

Due to limited resources and our focus on providing the current Computer Science majors with an excellent education, changing into or double-majoring in Computer Science at UCSB is very competitive. 

The CS department, despite being midsized, receives the second-highest number of applicants at UCSB, after Biology. As a result, we unfortunately cannot admit every qualified student. Meeting the minimum change of major application requirements offers only the possibility of being reviewed for consideration. Due to capacity limits, we can only admit a limited number of change of major applicants.

Therefore, we strongly advise students to stay on track with their current major while applying to the CS change of major process. No exceptions will be made for students on the basis of falling behind in their current major.

 

Minimum Requirements

Before submitting a change of major or double-major application request, the following minimum requirements must be completed. There are no guarantees of acceptance throughout the process. It is the student's responsibility to meet with a CS Staff Advisor in order to review the minimum requirements listed below: 

  1. Complete these courses on the first attempt and with a letter grade:
    • CMPSC 16*, CMPSC 24**, and CMPSC 40 (or Math 8)**.
      • Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2 for these courses. 
        • *CMPSC 8 is a prerequisite for CMPSC 16, but can be waived with an AP Computer Science A Exam score of 4 or 5.
        • **Can take CMPSC 24 and CMPSC 40 (or Math 8) concurrently.
    • Math 3A (or 2A), Math 3B (or 2B), Math 4A, and Math 4B.
      • Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 for these courses.  
  2. Minimum UCSB overall cumulative 3.0 GPA.
  3. Have never been on academic probation at UCSB.
  4. Complete at least 30 units at UCSB before submitting an application request.
  5. Have completed no more than six regular quarters (not including one summer session) at UCSB, regardless of their expected total number of units accrued. Students may be in their last required change of major application course(s) requirement in their sixth regular quarter. 
    • Students who take a break from UCSB and complete courses at another institution will have those terms counted toward their completed quarter count. 
    • "Regular quarter" is defined as Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. 

How to Submit an Application

Effective as of Spring 2025, there is no longer a need to submit a petition beforehand. See below for the new Change of Major/Double-Major application request process sequence:

  1. Meet with a CS Staff Advisor.
  2. Submit your Change of Major/Double-Major application request:
    • Submit via email. See this link for the Email Template and Study Plan Instructions.
    • Submit your application by the last day of the quarter in which you are completing CMPSC 24 and CMPSC 40 (or Math 8)
      • If completing CMPSC 24 and CMPSC 40 (or Math 8) in Summer, submit your application by the last day of Session B. 
  3. Wait for final grades to be completed for the quarter. 
  4. Applicants will receive a decision from the Department within 2-3 weeks after final grades for the quarter are completed. 
    • If admitted, staff will proceed with the necessary steps and students will be given the necessary information and petition to move forward. 
    • If denied, the decision is NOT eligible for an appeal. 

Email Template and Study Plan Instructions   

Policy on Transfer Courses 

You are allowed to transfer approved equivalents of any of the above courses from another UC or from another accredited institution except CMPSC 24. CMPSC 24 must be taken at the UCSB campus for a student to be eligible to submit a Change of Major application to Computer Science. Additionally, students must earn a B or above in any transferred course they wish to use for their Change of Major application. 

For 2-year CA community college classes, you can check Assist.org for approved equivalencies. If you see the equivalent approved on Assist.org, you may take the class. Once the course is finished, have your official transcripts sent directly to the UCSB Admissions Office. The Registrar's office can take up to a quarter to process transfer work. If the transfer class is a pre-requisite for another CS course at UCSB, you must email the CS undergrad advisor for pre-requisite clearance to enroll (which may give you access to a waitlist, but due to limited space may not guarantee enrollment into a CS course at UCSB).

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NOTE: Transfer work (anything completed outside of a UC campus) will only result in completed credits. The grade does not transfer to your UCSB GPA and will not be taken into account when your Change of Major application GPAs are calculated. The cumulative minimum GPA application requirements (3.2 between CS 16, 24, and 40/Math 8; and 3.0 between Math 3A&B and 4A&B) will be calculated only from the courses completed at a UC campus.

FAQ's

Apart from other College of Engineering majors that require CS lower-division courses for their majors, there are not other majors on campus that receive a significant access advantage to CS courses due to the extremely high demand which far exceeds our course capacity limits. The demand for our courses is such that there is always a very long waitlist and the demand does not nearly meet the capacity we are able to offer any available seats to non-COE majors. We make sure COE students that need course access for their major requirements receive access first and during Pass 1 and 2 during the academic year, i.e., Fall Winter and Spring quarters. The only period in which CS lower-division courses do not have major limit registration restrictions is in Summer Sessions. 

Our classes are heavily impacted, and thus, enrollment is limited due to the extremely high demand which far exceeds our course capacity limits. You can choose to take course equivalents at another 4-year institution (UC/CSU or out of state) or at a community college. To get a 4-year school’s equivalent approved, email the undergraduate advisor with the course information (website, syllabus, etc) BEFORE you enroll in it. They will inform you as to whether or not the class is considered UCSB-equivalent. For 2-year CA community college classes, check on Assist.org. If you see the equivalent approved there, you may take the class. Once the course is finished, have your official transcripts directly sent to the UCSB Admissions Office. The Registrar's office can take up to a quarter to process transfer work. If the transfer class is a pre-requisite for another CS course at UCSB, you must email the CS undergrad advisor for pre-requisite clearance to enroll (which may give you access to a waitlist, but due to limited space may not guarantee enrollment into a CS course at UCSB).

See our Policy on Transfer courses section above for important information regarding transferred courses.

  • "First attempt" is defined as the first time you attempt to complete a course and receive a grade: 
    • Receiving a letter grade of A through F counts as a first attempt.
    • Receiving a P/NP grade counts as a first attempt. 
      • If you receive a P/NP grade on your first attempt, you are ineligible to submit a CS Change of Major application.
    • Withdrawing from a course with a "W" marked on your transcript does not count as a first attempt. 
  • You can repeat/re-take a course for your own GPA improvement purposes, but are ineligible to submit a Change of Major CS application if you are repeating a course for a second attempt to improve a letter grade already received. 

The Data Science Initiative at UCSB continues to grow and has courses specifically for L&S majors to learn coding skills that students can apply skills from toward their future career goals. Students should also make an appointment with the STEM Career Counselor in Career Services as they are an excellent resource to help you find a non-COE major to achieve your goals and/or help frame your resume/experience for engineering jobs/internships as a non-engineering major.