Undergraduate NE Curriculum

The NanoEngineering program (B.S.) is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, www.abet.org.

All students follow the same basic science preparation and core set of classes in NanoEngineering during the first two years.

Every course required for the major (except NANO 4 and NANO 199) must be taken for a letter grade. This includes all MATH, BILD, CHEM, PHYS and NANO courses. All major requirements must have a grade of C- or higher.

All NANO core courses are taught only once per year and are scheduled to be consistent with the curriculum shown below. NANO courses must be taken in the order they are listed on the curriculum plan in order to ensure all required prerequisites are fulfilled prior to enrollment.

The courses listed here other than NANO are under the control of other departments. They may not be offered in the quarter shown here. Each student is responsible for determining the prerequisites, when the courses are to be offered, and making a schedule of taking the courses that fit into his or her own graduation plan.

Tentative NANO and CENG course offerings for 2024-2025 can be found here.
To view the current and past catalog information, please click here.

Taking additional courses beyond twelve quarters (students entering in fall 2019 or thereafter): A student who enrolls as a first-year student is allowed to enroll for twelve quarters to complete all requirements for a bachelor's degree. If a student reaches the twelve-quarter limit and needs more time beyond twelve quarters to complete those requirements, they will be required to submit an academic plan and have it approved by their college prior to enrolling for additional quarters to continue work towards the degree. (summer session, as well as quarters during which students are approved for part-time status or have withdrawn from all courses, will not count toward the allowable number of quarters.) More information can be found in the UC San Diego Catalog.


Curriculum for Incoming Students 

All courses are 4-units unless stated below

FRESHMEN YEAR
FALL WINTER SPRING
NANO 4 (1-unit)1 NANO 11 CHEM 6C
NANO 15 CHEM 6B MATH 184
CHEM 6A MATH 20B MATH 20C
MATH 20A G.E. PHYS 2A
G.E.3    
SOPHOMORE YEAR
FALL WINTER SPRING
NANO 20L (1-unit) NANO 104 NANO 108
NANO 102 BILD 1 PHYS 2D
CHEM 7L MATH 20E G.E.
MATH 20D PHYS 2C G.E.
PHYS 2B    
JUNIOR YEAR
FALL WINTER SPRING
NANO 111* NANO 107 NANO 112
NANO 148 NANO 117 NANO 115L
NE Elective (1)5 NE Elective (2) G.E.
G.E. G.E. G.E.
SENIOR YEAR
FALL WINTER SPRING
NANO 119 (1-unit) NANO 120A NANO 120B
NANO 110 N.E. Elective (4) N.E. Elective (5)
N.E. Elective (3) GE G.E.
G.E. G.E. GE

* NANO 111 will be offered in winter quarter beginning in WI 26. It will no longer be offered in fall quarter after FA 24.

1NANO 4: This course should be taken in the first Fall Quarter at UC San Diego. Students will not graduate without taking NANO 4.

2NANO 15: This course will be offered in the Fall Quarter and may be offered in the Winter. If you cannot register for NANO 15 in the Fall, you may enroll in NANO 15 in the Winter, or MAE 8 in Winter or Spring Quarter, if it is being offered.

3General Education Requirements (various units): This requirement is intended to fulfill the general education requirements (G.E.) from respective colleges. The forty-eight units are shown for Warren College students as an example to fulfill the general education requirements. Students in other colleges need to adjust the plan to match their own college requirements.

4MATH 18: This course was formerly MATH 20F. MATH 18 was moved to YEAR 1 Spring quarter due to addition as prerequisite for MATH 20D, effective Fall 2024.

5NanoEngineering Electives (twenty units): This requirement must be chosen from among the upper-division NANO courses (NANO 100 - 199) offered by the department. Students must petition to use other upper division courses, such as CENG, BENG, MAE, ECE, to fulfill the NanoEngineering Electives requirements.



Curriculum for Incoming Students Prior to Fall 2020

All courses are 4-units unless stated below

FRESHMEN YEAR
FALL WINTER SPRING
MATH 20A MATH 20B MATH 20C
CHEM 6A CHEM 6B CHEM 6C
NANO 15* BILD 1 PHYS 2A
G.E.1 NANO 1 or NANO 4
(1-unit)
G.E.
SOPHOMORE YEAR
FALL WINTER SPRING
MATH 20D MATH 18 **** MATH 20E
CHEM 7L PHYS 2C PHYS 2D
PHYS 2B NANO 101 NANO 106
G.E. G.E. G.E.
JUNIOR YEAR
FALL WINTER SPRING
NANO 102 NANO 104 NANO 103
Engineering Focus, 
(1)
NANO 107 *** Engineering Focus
3)
G.E. Engineering Focus,
(2)
NE Elective,
(1)
G.E. G.E. G.E.
SENIOR YEAR
FALL WINTER SPRING
NANOE 110 NANO 111 NANO 112
Engineering Focus
(4)
NANO 120A NANO 120B
NE Elective
(2)
Engineering Focus
(5)
G.E.
G.E. G.E.  



*NANO 15: This course will be offered in the Fall and may be offered in the Winter Quarters. If you cannot register for NANO 15 in the Fall, you may enroll in MAE 8 in Winter or Spring Quarters, if it is being offered.

****MATH 18: Formerly MATH 20F

General Education Requirements (various units): This requirement is intended to fulfill the general education requirements (G.E.) from respective colleges. The forty-eight units are shown for Warren College students as an example to fulfill the general education requirements. Students in other colleges need to adjust the plan to match their own college requirements.

NanoEngineering Electives (eight units): This requirement must be chosen from among the upper-division NANO courses (NANO 100 - 199) offered by the department.

Engineering Focus (twenty units): After the sophomore year, students must choose an Engineering Focus. Students must select all five engineering courses from within one single major to constitute an engineering focus. However, students may take four courses in one major and the fifth in a different area, should scheduling conflicts occur. Pre-approved courses of each of the five focuses are listed here.