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) Incoming transfer students enrolling in their first quarter at UC San Diego have one pass to enroll in classes. These students are recommended to enroll in all specified core courses (CENG and NANO), and Chemistry, Physics, and Math courses*. Students enrolling in their second quarter or more (continuing students) are allotted two passes during the enrollment period. These students are recommended to enroll in any required Chemistry, Physics, and Math courses during their first pass, and their major core courses (CENG and NANO) in their second pass*.
*All students should contact their college advisor for General Education enrollment information.
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 UC San Diego?
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 UC San Diego but it’s not articulated on my Academic History. What do I do?
A) Not all engineering courses from a community college/university will transfer. You must submit a completed Student Petition form requesting to have the course reviewed for NANO/CENG course equivalency. You must provide documentation from the community college/university course in the form of a full syllabus, course catalog description, and optional documents such as homework or graded exams. Your petition will be reviewed by a NANO/CENG faculty member and Undergraduate Academic Chair for equivalency. If your petition is approved, your degree audit will be updated. If your equivalent course is a pre-requisite and you still encounter an issue with registration, please contact a major advisor via the Virtual Advising Center or come to the Department of NanoEngineering Student Affairs Office during advising hours as soon as possible. Any delay may cause you to end up on a waitlist.
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 can only fix NANO/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 NANO/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 a major advisor 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 NANO/CENG course and, in most cases, we can rectify the situation.
Q) Triton Link says I need pre-approval to enroll in a course. What do I do?
A) If you meet the pre-requisite for the course, you must submit a Course Pre-authorization request, including the Section ID for which you are seeking approval. Please review the process of how to submit a request here.
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 UC San Diego student portal. If you need help finding your registration time or need help with enrollment, please review the WebReg tutorial.
Q) Do I have to take all courses for letter grades?
A) Yes, except CENG 4, CENG199, NANO 4, 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 waitlist. The wait list sequence is first-come, first serve. 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.
If you get on a waitlist, we recommend staying on the waitlist. Keep in mind that classes fill up fast during the initial registration period. During the first week of the quarter, students 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 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 a CENG or NANO Academic Advisor?
A) NanoEngineering Student Affairs does not schedule same-day appointments. Appointments are not required during the morning advising hours so walk-ins are welcome. Appointments are required in the afternoon for long term planning due to a high-volume of advising sessions. After reviewing the advising hours and circumstances that require an appointment, please e-mail the advisors at ne-ugradinfo@eng.ucsd.edu with three dates and times that you are available to meet. An advisor will respond to your request within 72 hours. Please click here to see the hours of operation.
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.
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 student organization for nanoengineers is NETS (Nanoengineering and Technology Society). For a list of engineering student organizations that you can be involved in please visit JSOE’s website.
Q) Can I double major?
A) UC San Diego does allow students to double major, however, you cannot double major or major and minor in two engineering majors. For example, you can double major in Economics and Electrical Engineering but you cannot double major in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. To learn more about how to declare a double major once you are a current student at UC San Diego, please visit here to view the requirements.