The Computer Engineering major's objective is to educate broadly-based engineers with an understanding of digital electronics, computer architecture, system software and integrated circuit design. These topics bridge traditional electrical engineering and computer science curricula. The Computer Engineering degree program is conducted jointly with faculty from the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Computer engineers emerging from UCSB's Computer Engineering Program will be able to design and build integrated digital hardware and software systems in a wide-range of application areas. Computer Engineers will seldom work alone and thus teamwork and project management skills are also emphasized by the Program. The undergraduate major in computer engineering also prepares students for a wide-range of positions in business, government and private industrial research, and development and manufacturing organizations.

Teamwork and project management skills will be introduced with the 189 A/B series of coursework. The 189 Senior "Capstone" Project will be the result of the two courses and the projects are highlighted on the "Capstone" Project Presentation Day at the end of the Spring Quarter - more on the 2006-2007 "Capstone" Projects...

For more information about a BS degree from the Computer Engineering Program contact the ECE Student Affairs Office or review the College of Engineering "Announcement".

The Five-Year Bachelor of Science / Master of Science degree program combines a Bachelor of Science from the Computer Engineering program with an additional year of specialization in either the Computer Science or the Electrical and Computer Engineering Master of Science programs. A combined BS / MS program in Computer Engineering provides an opportunity for outstanding undergraduates to earn both degrees in five years.

There are two five-year combined Bachelor of Science / Master of Science degree program options: a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering / Master of Science in Computer Science or a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering / Master of Science in Electrical & Computer Engineering.

For more information about the BS / MS degree from the Computer Engineering Program contact the ECE Student Affairs Office or review the College of Engineering "Announcement".

Information on: Change of Major and Change of College; Five-Year BS / MS; Department Addresses, Faculty, Overview, Requirements, Undergraduate/Graduate Courses; Major Course Requirements; Calendar

Prospective and transfer advising for all undergraduate and advising for Computer Engineering Program graduate degrees with a specialization in Electrical & Computer Engineering.

Advising for Computer Engineering Program graduate degrees with a specialization in Computer Science.

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Undergraduate and Graduate Advising

Undergraduate and Graduate Advising

Senior Elective Requirements: The upper-divison requirements consist of a set of required courses and a minimum of 32 units of additional departmental elective courses comprised of at least two sequences chosen from a set of eight specialty squences. Each sequence must consist of two or more courses taken from the same course/sequence group (see Senior Sequences below) . The department electives must also include a capstone design project (see Senior "Capstone" below).

Senior "Capstone" Design Projects: CMPSC 189A (W) and 189 (B) (4-4 Units) OR ECE 189A and 189B (S) (4-4 Units). Senior Computer Systems Project - Student groups design a significant computer-based project. Groups work independently with interaction among other groups via interface specifications and informal meetings.

Getting answers to questions at any institution can be difficult but we have addressed this issue. There are three resources you can use to direct you to answers for your questions

Internet: Computer Engingeering Program Information Links
ECE Student Affairs Office: Trailer 697, Room 101 - 805/893-2269

All Computer Engineering prospective students were admitted at the Pre-Major level. Students may petition to advance from the Computer Engineering Pre-Major to the Computer Engineering major when they have met either of the following requirements:

Option A : Satisfactory completion at UCSB of at least six core classes required as preparation for the Computer Engineering Major with a grade-point average of at least 3.0. The core classes are: Mathematics 3A-C, 5A; Computer Science 10, 20, 40, 60; Electrical and Computer Engineering 2A-C, 15A-B. If the student has not attained the minimum 3.0 grade-point-average with the first six core classes completed, all core classes subsequently completed will be included in the grade-point average computation.

Option B : Satisfactory completion of all thirteen core classes with a University grade-point-average of at least 2.75.

Option 1:
Satisfactory completion at UCSB of at least four core classes required as preparation for the Computer Engineering major with a grade-point-average of at least 3.0 in all core classes completed. The core classes are: Mathematics 3A-C, 5A; Computer Science 10, 20, 40, 60; Electrical and Computer Engineering 2A-C, 15A-B. Once approved for the pre-major, the student must meet the requirements above for advancing to the full major.

Option 2 :
a) An overall UCSB grade-point-average of at leasts 3.0; and,
b) Satisfactory completion at UCSB of at least six of the core classes with a grade-point-average of at least 3.0. If the student has not attained a minimum 3.0 grade-point-average with the first six core classes completed, all core classes subsequently completed will be included in the grade-point-average computation; or,
c) Satisfactory completion of all thirteen core classes with a University of California grade-point-average of at least 2.75.

PLEASE NOTE: Pre-major status does not guarantee admission to the major status. To be admitted to the major, the student must meet the requirements described in Option A or B or 2 above. No exceptions will be made to the GPA rule.

Students who have completed more than 105 units will not be considered for a change of major/change of college unless they can demonstrate that they will be able to complete all the degreee requirements for the proposed program without exceeding 200 total units.

Applications for transfer to the Computer Engineering Program may be obtained from and submitted to ECE Student Office in Trailer 380, Room 101.

These forms are available at the ECE Student Office in Trailer 380, Room 101.

Minors are not open to students in the College of Engineering. Students can use their free elective units like "informal minors". For example, a student could take the bulk of their free electives in business economics and end up with what would be equivalent (in number of units) to a minor in business economics (actually there is no minor in business econ, even for L&S students). The student can then tell any potential employer or graduate school that in addition to the major in computer engineering, they have 'X' number of units in business econ, music, or whatever. This also has the advantage that in the College of L&S minors, students must complete specific courses; in these "informal minors", the students can pick any classes they feel will be helpful to them so long as they have the prerequisites.

With regard to double majors, the COE has had a very small number of students who double major. It generally takes an additional year, and the student must determine if it is worth it to them to spend an extra year getting two undergraduate degrees, or if they would be better off spending that year being all the way or at least 2/3 of the way through a master's degree, or having gotten a year of experience in industry. Students also need to understand that only a maximum of 8 units of upper division coursework can be counted towards both majors (double counted). Students may sometimes think they can acquire a second major in something by just taking a few extra courses, and that isn't the way it works. You have to do two degrees worth of work to get two degrees. Also, the COE doesn't let students double major in two engineering majors.

You will need to take the new prerequisites. Students are responsible for any updates or changes in prerequisites. Check with the ECE Student Affairs Office (ECE courses) or the CS Student Affairs Office (CS courses) regularly for updates and changes in curriculum.

All Math classes require a C or better to pass and all ECE classes require a C - or better to pass and meet minimum prerequisites for later classes.

Many students have 'jumped ahead' of schedule and taken MATH 5A prior to ENGR 5A (which should be taken concurrently), it is possible to substitute ENGR 5A with a petition (the course used for substitution must be a College of Engineering course taken at UCSB). Please note that if you choose to substitute this 1 unit class, you must make-up this required unit with another engineering class that is not used to fulfill any other graduation requirements. Since there are a very limited number of engineering classes that are only 1 unit, you will probably have to use a 3-4 unit class to make-up the ENGR 5A class. Please pick-up the petition from the ECE Student Office in Trailer 380, Room 101.

Students who are not yet fully admitted to the Computer Engineering major may find difficulty in registering for certain classes. In this instance, you may try to petition into the class. In order to petition into a class, you must obtain a petition form from the ECE Student Affairs Office in Trailer 380, Room 101.  

Contact the the ECE Student Affairs Office in Trailer 380, Room 101 and they will work with you on the problem.

The first computer course (CMPSC 10 - Intro. to Computer Programming) is designed for those students who have some programming background. If you have any questions or doubts as to whether you are knowledgeable enough for your first computer course (CMPSC 10 - Intro. to Computer Programming) we suggest that you first take CMPSC 5 - Intro. to Computer Programming and Organization (usually offered in JA - Java) to gain basic exposure to computer programming. Although the CMPSC 5JA class is not required for graduation, it is a valuable tool for your own personal knowledge and can be implemented as a Free Elective.