Transfer Student FAQ

Student Affairs Undergraduate Advisors: Renee Gramlich and Cyril Nierva

Q) I am a CENG major. What classes should I register for during the First Pass?  Are CENG majors guaranteed a spot in CENG classes?
A)  Use your First Pass to enroll in courses that are not CENG.  You are guaranteed to get into CENG courses for Pass Two, since you are a CENG major.  

Q) I am thinking of changing majors to CENG or NANO? How do I do switch?
A) You could change your major on TritonLink.  Keep in mind that if you change majors after the start of the junior year courses in the major (see sample curriculum charts) then plan on not graduating for another 3 years. Pre-requisites for courses will not be waived and courses are only offered once per year. For CENG majors: If you do change into the major before the start of the junior year courses, you need to take both the sophomore and junior year courses in the major concurrently in order to graduate in two years

Q) How do I find out if my major department has received my transcripts? 
A) Your major department does not handle, receive or evaluate your transcripts. If you have questions about your transcripts please contact the Admissions Office. Otherwise, please keep checking to make sure that all courses you have taken at your previous community college/university have transferred in by checking your "Academic History" via Triton Link.

Q) How will I know what courses have transferred to UCSD?
A) The website, Assist.org, is a useful tool that may help in determining equivalent courses. You can also check what transferred in by checking your "Academic History" or “Degree Audit” via Triton Link.

Q) I took a course at my college/university that is similar to a course at UCSD but it’s not articulated on my Academic History. What do I do?
A) Some engineering courses from a community college/university do not transfer. You must come to Department of NanoEngineering Student Affairs Office or email an undergraduate advisor a completed Student Petition form requesting to have the course count as the equivalent CENG course. You must provide documentation from the community college/university course in the form of a full syllabus (not just the course catalog description), homework or graded exams, and a textbook (suggested). Your completed petition will be reviewed by a CENG faculty member for equivalence. If it is determined to be equivalent, you will be notified via the Virtual Advising Center and your Degree Audit will be updated to reflect equivalency. However, you may still encounter registration problems as the computer registration system may not recognize the articulation, even after your Degree Audit has been updated. If your equivalent course is a pre-requisite, please contact Renee or Cyril via the Virtual Advising Center or come to the Department of NanoEngineering Student Affairs Office during advising hours to be cleared in the registration system a few days BEFORE your registration time. DON’T WAIT UNTIL YOUR REGISTRATION DATE AS YOU MAY END UP ON A WAITLIST!

Undergraduate Petitions can be found here: http://registrar.ucsd.edu/forms/UNstudentpetition.pdf

Q) My transfer academic history is incorrect on my Triton Link. Who should I speak to about correcting my academic information?
A) Sometimes, transferable course numbers are listed incorrectly in the Academic History section in Triton Link. The Department of NanoEngineering Major Advisors (Renee and Cyril) can ONLY fix CENG transferable courses when you let us know that a course is listed incorrectly. For math and science course corrections, please see that specific department. (i.e. for a Math course see the Math department). An error like this will keep you from enrolling into other CENG courses.

Q) Triton Link won’t let me enroll in a class. It says I don’t meet the prerequisites but I took it. What do I do?
A) Contact Renee or Cyril through the Virtual Advising Center or come to the Department of NanoEngineering, Student Affairs office during advising hours if you’re trying to enroll in a CENG course and, in most cases, we can rectify the situation.

Q) When can I enroll in classes?  How do I enroll in my classes?
A) Your enrollment time and date will be posted on your UCSD student portal. If you need help finding you registration time or need help with enrollment, please review the WebReg tutorial at:  http://registrar.ucsd.edu/studentlink/WebRegTriton.pdf

Q) Do I have to take all courses for letter grades? 
A) YES, except CENG 1, CENG199, NANO 1 and NANO 199, which you take for pass/ no pass.  

Q) What if the class I want to add is full? 
A) If a class you hope to add is full, add yourself to the wait list. The wait list sequence is first-come, first-served. Be sure to enroll during your appointment time.  An automated computer program will move eligible students off the wait lists and into classes as seats become available. It will run nightly through the end of the second week of the quarter.

Keep in mind that classes fill up fast during the initial registration period. During the first week of the quarter, student will start to drop courses, as they readjust their schedules, opening spaces in the courses. Once space is available students will automatically be enrolled in the course. The Department also contacts the Registrar’s Office and requests larger rooms to accommodate more students, if needed.

Q) What is the difference between college and department advising?
A) Each undergraduate student at UC San Diego has academic advisors in their academic department as well as in their college.

CENG and NANO Academic Advisors
The CENG and NANO Academic Advisors (Renee and Cyril) help students with major curriculum planning, petitions, regulations, degree checks, etc. The advisors can also refer students to faculty for advice on engineering specialization, technical electives and career options.

College Advising
College Advisors help students with four-year curriculum planning and college-specific general education courses.

Q) How do I make an appointment to meet with the Student Affairs Advisors?
A) The Department of NanoEngineering (Chemical and NanoEngineering programs) Undergraduate Student Advising office is open Monday-Friday from 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. and 1:30-4:30 p.m. for walk-in advising ONLY. If these hours don’t work with your schedule, please contact Renee or Cyril through the Virtual Advising Center with any advising questions or to set up an appointment.

Q) What computer/ laptop should I buy?
A) Computer choice for students is a moving target, with the rapid changes in technology. The university provides computers in the labs and libraries with all software needed already installed. But many students find benefits in having their own computers. Many students like the portability and long battery life of notebooks. These lower cost computers can run some engineering software such as Matlab, but they typically will not run Autodesk Inventor and ProE. One solution is to have both a notebook and a higher powered laptop or desktop at home. One can use an Apple computer, but with a partition to run Windows programs, such as Inventor, ProE, and Labview. The computer requirements for Autodesk Inventor can be found at: http://students.autodesk.com

Q) What engineering organizations can I get involved in as an engineering student? 
A) Our engineering student organizations help students develop their leadership skills and connect with the Jacobs School community. Activities range from professional development and career networking to project teams, design competitions and K-12 outreach. The student organization for chemical engineers is AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers); the UCSD website is aiche.ucsd.edu. The student organization for NanoEngineers is NET (NanoEngineering and Technology); their website is https://sites.google.com/site/netorgprototype/home.  For a list of engineering student organizations that you can be involved in please visit here: http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/student/student_org/

A Word to the Wise

Have a great time at UCSD. -Renee and Cyril