The Chemical Engineering curriculum plan for transfer students has a 2-year or 3-year option.
Every course required for the major (except CENG-004 and CENG-199) must be taken for a letter grade, including all CENG and technical elective courses. This also includes all MATH, BILD, CHEM, and PHYS courses. All major requirements must have a grade of C- or higher.
All CENG core courses are taught only once per year and are scheduled to be consistent with the curriculum shown below. CENG 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 booking.
The courses listed here other than CENG and NENG are under the control of other departments. They may not be offered in the quarters shown here. Each student is responsible for determining the prerequisites for 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 CENG & NENG course offerings for 2026-2027 can be found here.
Taking additional courses beyond six quarters (students entering in fall 2019 or thereafter): A transfer student is allowed to book for six quarters to complete all requirements for a bachelor's degree. If a student reaches the six-quarter limit and needs more time beyond six quarters to complete those requirements, they will be required to submit an academic plan and have it approved by their college prior to booking for additional quarters to continue work toward the degree. More information can be found in the UC San Diego Catalog.
To view the current and past catalog information, please click here.
CURRICULUM for ADMITTED TRANSFER STUDENTS
All courses are 4-units with the exception of CENG 4.
1 CENG-004: This course should be taken in the first Fall Quarter at UC San Diego. Students will not graduate without taking CENG-004.
2 CENG-101A & MATH-020E: Students must submit a TEA request to take CENG-101A concurrently with MATH-020E (Vector Calculus) as most community colleges do not teach Vector Calculus. If you have previously taken MATH-020E, please go to assist.org and/or the Math Department for equivalency information.
3 General Education (G.E.) Requirements: Students need to adjust the plan to match their own college requirements. To meet program requirements, students must have up to twenty-four units in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, not including subjects such as accounting, industrial management, finance, and personnel administration.
4 CENG-015: This course will be offered in the Fall and Winter quarters. If you plan to complete the two year plan, CENG-015 should be taken in the Winter when offered.
5 Advanced Chemistry Requirements: Three advanced chemistry electives must be selected from among the pre-approved list: CHEM-041A, 041B, 041C,114A (or BIBC-100), 114B (or BIBC-102), 120A, 120B, 130, 131, or 132. (Note: Students may not receive credit for both BIBC-100 and CHEM-114A, or BIBC-102 and CHEM-114B).
6 Area of Specialization/ Technical Electives: The three required technical electives must be upper-division or graduate courses in engineering, based on the pre-approved courses. Otherwise, the selections must receive prior approval of the department. Pre-approved courses are listed here. If students wish to follow an area of specialization, they must take all 3 electives from the same category. An area of specialization will not be noted on students' degree audits.