• Please monitor your courses on WebReg regularly and ensure you have planned some back-up courses in case you are unable to make it off the waitlist into the class. In the meantime, continue attending the waitlisted course(s) if you wish to enroll in them for this quarter. It is up to you to decide how long you are willing to be on the waitlist and/or enroll in another course if needed. The longer you wait the more you will miss out on a class - the one you are waitlisted for or the one you end up enrolling in. Please make the decision that works best for you.
• All waitlists will be cleared during Week 2 of every quarter. This means if you're waitlisted for a course, you will no longer be on the waitlist for that course and must find another course if you're still in need of units.
• Review the add/drop/change units or grading option deadlines here.

• Unfortunately, these majors are impacted, so you will not be able to switch into them.

• Review the major degree planner that pertains to your admitted year. For example, if you were admitted and began the program in 2019, you must follow the 2019 - 2020 degree planner to ensure you can complete the program in 6 quarters (please count the quarters you have completed in your current graduate program towards the 6 quarters).
• Review the degree capstone (thesis or comprehensive exam) and when you would complete those requirements if and when you switched.
• Talk to the Curriculum Advisor for the depth/major you want to switch into. Please review the Curriculum Advisors Contact Information (scroll to the bottom). In your meeting with the Curriculum Advisor, please discuss:
  • Why you'd like to switch - how it may be a better fit based on your background, passion, career interests,
  • How you will be able to complete the program in 6 quarters - you must count the quarters you have completed in your current program towards these 6 quarters, AND
  • When and how you will complete the degree capstone requirement - the thesis (can be done in any quarter but requires advanced planning) or comprehensive exam.
  • Please review our website for more information about the capstone requirement. 
• If the Curriculum Advisor approves the switch, email, or visit an M.S. Advisor in person to submit your completed degree planner and ECE will send you the link to apply to switch.

If you would like to switch into a non-impacted major, you will need to complete the following: 

• Hold a 3.0+ cumulative GPA
• Review the ECE degree planners to ensure that you can complete the program within the 6 quarter time limit.  Please count the quarters you have completed in your current graduate program towards the 6 quarters.
• Review the degree capstone (thesis or comprehensive exam), when you would complete those requirements if/when you switched.
• Submit a completed degree planner to your M.S. Advisor, via email, for the major that you plan on applying to. 
• Submit an electronic Change of Major Form
  • Be sure to list the appropriate major faculty advisor's @ucsd.edu email address in the application. The system will not allow the @eng.ucsd.edu email
• If approved, it will take 2-3 weeks for the new major to be reflected onto TritonLink. 
  If you have any doubts, please contact your M.S. Advisor for assistance.

• The ECE Department is not accepting M.S. students from external departments to transfer into ECE.
• The ECE Department is not allowing Ph.D. students from external departments to transfer to earn their M.S. in ECE.

Still have questions about this policy?

• Please contact your M.S. Advisor

• Please see the process here.
• If there are any issues with your petition, your M.S. Advisor will email you.
• If there are no issues with your petition and it is approved by the Curriculum Advisor, then your M.S. Advisor will edit your uAchieve (degree audit found on Triton Link) to reflect the change and you will be emailed directly.

• The ECE M.S. Advisors will email you what you need to do to graduate this quarter, inform you of the necessary paperwork, and answer any questions you have.
• Graduation paperwork is due during Week 1 of every quarter.

• Friday of Week 10 of the quarter that the paperwork was submitted.

• Depending on the content of the letter, your M.S. or Ph.D. Advisor can provide one for you.
• Please email them describing the information you need verified, when you need it by, and your PID.
• The staff can only put in writing your status at the moment the letter is being generated. For example, if you took the comprehensive exam and are awaiting the result, then your M.S. Advisor may write in the letter: "Upon successful completion of courses this quarter and passing of the comprehensive exam, the student will be on track to completing the Master's program on (list date)."

• The Registrar automatically sends diplomas to students' permanent address on file in Triton Link. 
• During the quarter you graduate, the ECE Student Affairs Office reminds you to verify your permanent address in Triton Link to ensure this is the address you wish to have your diploma mailed to.
• International students needing to make special arrangements for their diplomas may do so by sending an email to Registrar-AcademicRecords@ad.ucsd.edu.  The email should include the following information:

My name is _________. My PID is A____________. I am an international student. Due to immigration regulations, my permanent address in TritonLink must be an address outside of the USA; however, I would like my diploma sent to the following US address instead:

Name

Address

City, State, Zip Code

If you have any questions, I can be reached at (email address) or (phone number).

Sincerely,

(Student's name)

• If you are an international student,
  • Talk to ISPO.
  • If ISPO approves, then complete a reduced course load with ISPO.
  • Please note that you would be paying full tuition for less than full-time units.
• If you are a domestic student, 
  • You do not have to complete any actions. Please note that you would be paying full tuition for less than full-time units.

• If you are an international student,
  • Talk to ISPO.
  • If ISPO approves and it is your last quarter, then drop your classes until waitlisted/enrolled = 6 units or less.
  • Wait 24 - 48 hours, and then email your M.S. Advisor for the link to apply online.
  • Apply for half-time online by Friday of Week 2 to pay only half of tuition.
  • You must also apply for a Reduced Courseload through iPortal.
• If you are a domestic student, 
  • Drop your classes until waitlisted/enrolled = 6 units or less.
  • Wait 24 - 48 hours, and then email your M.S. Advisor for the link to apply online.
  • Apply for half-time online by Friday of Week 2 to pay only half of the tuition.
• From the time you apply for half-time status, do not waitlist or enroll in more than 6 units. Doing so will cancel your half-time status application (even if it is still pending). You will automatically be charged for full-time tuition so please be careful when making enrollment changes. For help, please email your M.S. Advisor directly.

• Search the Schedule of Classes to see if the instructor has a 501 course, 
  • If they have a 501 course, then the student can submit an EASy request. 
    • Once the instructor approves, the student can add the course on WebReg.
    • If the instructor does not approve, no other action is needed.
  • If the instructor does not have a 501 course, please email Christina or Sueky. Then they will email you to complete the steps above.

• If you have worked as a TA, Tutor, or Reader before, you will not need to redo hiring paperwork.
• If any hiring paperwork is needed, you will be contacted by the ECE Financial Support Coordinators via email.

• See ISPO’s instructions at UC San Diego website.

• If you plan to do the thesis, we highly encourage you to still register for the course-hosted comprehensive exams in case you do not pursue the thesis later. Many times students change their minds about pursuing the thesis and we'd rather you have registered for the course-hosted comprehensive exams as a backup. In the end, the decision is up to you. If you plan on doing the thesis, please email your M.S. Advisor by the end of your first year.

• /courses
  • Class listings and faculty on this page are finalized but can be subject to change. Click on the instructor's name for the class website.
  • Please note if you see a professor's name in a box below, it means the course is being offered the quarter listed. If there is a blank box, then the course is not being offered that quarter.

• You can take a look at the faculty biographies for all of the engineering professors using this search tool. Additionally, on the ECE faculty page, you can take a look at the professor's biography/webpage, which showcases some of their current research work. See if their lab has any open spots/projects that are available. 
  • Once you find a professor that will allow you to conduct research in their lab, ask the professor if you can enroll in their ECE 299 course, which is a research credit course. If they approve, please add the course on WebReg or EASy.
  • If pursuing the comprehensive exam, you can use 4 units of 299 towards your ECE tech electives. If you are pursuing the thesis option, you can use 8 units of 299. 
• We recommend reaching out to the faculty via email and setting up an appointment to meet and discuss your interests and commitment.

• Please read the UCSD Graduate Division Transferring Credit policy and procedures for more detailed information.
• Choose the correct drop-down menu below to obtain more information about the GD / ECE policies and procedures for transferring coursework.

 UCSD Undergraduate Degree (Waiving Courses)

To transfer/waive courses/units from your UCSD undergraduate record to reflect on your ECE M.S. graduate record, here are the guidelines:

• Course(s) must have been used in excess (CANNOT count towards any aspect of your undergraduate major or college requirements, this would be in the electives section at the end of your Degree Audit Report)
  • Taken for a letter grade
  • Must be B- or better
  • Only courses that count towards the ECE M.S. graduate degree can be transferred
  • Up to 24 units (6 courses) can be transferred from your UCSD undergraduate record
  • Please read the UCSD Graduate Division Transferring Credit policy and procedures for more information.
  • Grades from your transferred undergraduate courses will NOT apply to your graduate GPA. Only the units transfer, not the grades.

Steps That Student Needs to Take:

• Run the undergraduate Degree Audit Report
  • Go to TritonLink under the 'Advising & Grades' tab click 'Degree Audit' and run a new audit in PDF format. 
  • If the degree audit is correct, please download/save the PDF format with the following information as the title: 
    • Last Name, First Name_PID_ECE
  • The UCSD Registrar's Office will not accept the HTML version of this document so please save it as a PDF.
  • Students DO NOT need to sign this document just save it as a PDF. 
• Highlight the courses you are looking to transfer in the “Units In Excess” box on the bottom of your degree audit and email this to your M.S. Advisor.
• Your advisor will submit an UG Waiver/Transfer Credit form on your behalf via DocuSign.
• You will need to sign off on this form electronically.  
• The transfer will be completed in a few weeks so please plan accordingly with any graduation paperwork submission deadlines. 
• Your M.S. Advisor will inform you when the Registrar's Office has processed the forms. 

In any given quarter, please email your M.S. Advisor to transfer your courses/units at the start of the M.S. program so that there are no delays with your graduation paperwork.

 Another UC Campus / UCSD Extension

To transfer/waive courses/units from another UC Campus or UCSD Extension to reflect on your ECE M.S. graduate record, here are the guidelines:

• The student must have been in graduate student standing when taking the course(s). No exceptions.
• The course(s) must have been used in excess and CANNOT count towards any aspect of your degree requirements at another UC campus / UCSD Extension.
  • Taken for a letter grade
  • Must be B- or better
  • Only courses that count towards the ECE M.S. graduate degree can be transferred
  • Up to 24 quarter units (6 courses) can be transferred
    • If transferring courses from UC Berkeley or UC Merced please use the semester to quarter unit conversion table below to assist with calculating the quarter units. 
  • Please read the UCSD Graduate Division Transferring Credit policy and procedures for more information.
  • Grades from your transferred courses will NOT apply to your graduate GPA. 
  • Only the units transfer, not the grades.  
  • The class name will not be listed on the transcript.

Steps That Student Needs to Take:

• Compile a list of course(s) that will be requested to be transferred.
• Gather the syllabus and Course Catalog from the school that you took the courses from. 
• Compare that with the UCSD ECE Course Catalog and narrow down which courses might be equivalent.
• Contact your ECE major's curriculum advisor, via email, who can assist you with determining the course equivalency to the UCSD courses.
• Present all of these components to the faculty and have them confirm the equivalency. 
• Once confirmed, email ECE M.S. Advisor and cc the Curriculum Advisor onto the email. 
  • Include the course names and UCSD equivalency
  • UCSD Course catalog description and the Course Catalog description from another UC Campus
  • Original course syllabus
• Did you disclose these courses on your Graduate Division admission application?
  • If not, you will need to provide a justification as to why you did not include them. 
• Did you submit official transcripts that included these classes with your Graduate Division admission application?
  • If you did, you do not need to submit these transcripts again because they have them on record.
  • If you did not, you will need to submit the official transcripts to the Graduate Division so that they have them on record. 
• Your M.S. Advisor will submit a Transfer Credit form on your behalf via DocuSign and upload all of the attached documents that you provided via email. 
• You will need to sign off on this form electronically.  
• The transfer will be completed in a few weeks so please plan accordingly with any graduation paperwork submission deadlines. 
• Your M.S. Advisor will inform you when the Registrar's Office has processed the forms. 

In any given quarter, please email your M.S. Advisor to transfer your courses/units at the start of the M.S. program so that there are no delays with your graduation paperwork.

 

 Non-UC Institution

To transfer/waive courses/units from a Non-UC Institution to reflect on your ECE M.S. graduate record, here are the guidelines:

• The student must have been in graduate student standing when taking the course(s). No exceptions.
• The course(s) must have been used in excess and CANNOT count towards any aspect of your degree requirements at another UC campus / UCSD Extension.
  • Taken for a letter grade
  • Must be B- or better
  • Only courses that count towards the ECE M.S. graduate degree can be transferred
  • A maximum of eight quarter units of work completed while in graduate standing
    • Please use the semester to quarter unit conversion table below to assist with calculating the quarter units
  • Please read the UCSD Graduate Division Transferring Credit policy and procedures for more information
  • Grades from your transferred courses will NOT apply to your graduate GPA
  • Only the units transfer, not the grades
  • The class name will not be listed on the transcript

Steps That Student Needs to Take:

• Compile a list of course(s) that will be requested to be transferred.
• Gather the syllabus and Course Catalog from the school that you took the courses from. 
• Compare that with the UCSD ECE Course Catalog and narrow down which courses might be equivalent.
• Contact your ECE major's faculty advisor, via email, who can assist you with determining the course equivalency to the UCSD courses.
• Present all of these components to the faculty and have them confirm the equivalency. 
• Once confirmed, email your ECE M.S. Advisor and cc the Curriculum Advisor onto the email.
  • Include the course names and UCSD equivalency
  • UCSD Course catalog description and the Course Catalog description from another UC Campus
  • Original course syllabus
• Did you disclose these courses on your Graduate Division admission application?
  • If not, you will need to provide a justification as to why you did not include them. 
• Did you submit official transcripts that included these classes with your Graduate Division admission application?
  • If you did, you do not need to submit these transcripts again because they have them on record.
  • If you did not, you will need to submit the official transcripts to the Graduate Division so that they have them on record. 
• Your M.S. Advisor will submit a Transfer Credit form on your behalf via DocuSign and upload all of the attached documents that you provided via email. 
• You will need to sign off on this form electronically.  
• The transfer will be completed in a few weeks so please plan accordingly with any graduation paperwork submission deadlines. 
• Your M.S. Advisor will inform you when the Registrar's Office has processed the forms. 

In any given quarter, please email your M.S. Advisor to transfer your courses/units at the start of the M.S. program so that there are no delays with your graduation paperwork.

 

• No. Only the units transfer, not the grades.

• Graduate Division processes these petitions on a priority basis. If you are not graduating in the quarter that you submitted your petition to transfer courses, it may take up to 1 quarter for the transferred units to show up on your Academic History in TritonLink. 
• Please note, course names and titles will not show up on your Academic History. You will only see “X# units transferred from undergraduate record” under the quarter that your request was processed in Academic History.

• Please e-mail your M.S. Advisor if your transferred courses/units are not showing up with the following information:
  • Which courses need to be transferred
  • In which part of your major degree planner should these courses be under (Core Courses, Additional Units, Technical Electives)

• Graduate research courses from other engineering departments may be counted toward the degree. This includes CSE 298; all other engineering departments use 299.
• Graduate research courses outside of engineering departments require a 1-paragraph summary of the research you will/have conducted and how it relates to your major. Please submit this in the body of an email to your M.S. Advisor. This will be passed onto the ECE Chairs for review. Your M.S. Advisor will notify you of the result of your request and edit your degree audit accordingly. 
• Graduate research courses (i.e., ECE 299) are the only courses where the S/U grading option is allowed.

Yes! Please find it here on our resources page