This is an archived copy of the 2014-16 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.utexas.edu/.

Admission and Registration

Admission

Admission and readmission of undergraduate students to the University is the responsibility of the director of admissions. All students who wish to major in engineering must be admitted to the University according to the procedures given in General Information .

Information is available from The University of Texas at Austin, Engineering Student Services and Advising, Cockrell School of Engineering, 2407 Speedway, C2108, Austin TX 78712. The telephone number is (512) 471-4321.

Students who have questions about the requirements of a specific degree plan should contact the appropriate departmental advising office. Additional information about academic advising can be found at http://www.engr.utexas.edu/undergraduate/advising .

Freshman Admission

Freshman applicants seeking admission to the Cockrell School must meet the calculus readiness requirement by the official admissions application deadline. More information about calculus readiness is available at http://www.engr.utexas.edu/undergraduate/admission/calculus/ .

Applicants to the Cockrell School should use the online application at http://www.applytexas.org/  and select engineering as a first-choice major. When selecting a second-choice major, freshman applicants may choose from one of the many other majors offered at the University, but are encouraged to choose a second engineering major when applying to the Cockrell School.

Transfer Admission

Internal Transfer

Internal transfer within the Cockrell School

An engineering student who wants to transfer to another major within the Cockrell School of Engineering must submit an application by the December 15 deadline for spring admission and the May 15 deadline for summer/fall admission. Students who are applying during their first semester enrolled must meet the following requirements to be eligible for consideration:

  1. Completion of at least fourteen semester hours of coursework in residence.
  2. Completion of Mathematics 408C, or a subsequent calculus course, taken in residence.
  3. Completion of a second technical course in residence that counts toward the engineering degree. Technical courses include courses offered in math, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, or engineering.

Engineering students who are applying after completing at least one semester must meet the requirements listed in the internal transfer from another division of the University section below.

Internal transfer from another division of the University

A student may transfer to the Cockrell School of Engineering from another division of the University in accordance with the regulations given in General Information . All students must submit an internal transfer application by the May 15 deadline for summer/fall admission.

Internal transfer applicants must meet the following requirements to be eligible for consideration:

  1. Completion of at least twenty-eight semester hours of coursework in residence at the University.
  2. A cumulative in-residence grade point average of at least 3.00.
  3. Completion of Mathematics 408D, Physics 303K, and 103M, or their equivalents.
  4. Completion of a minimum of four technical courses in residence that count toward the engineering degree. Technical courses include courses offered in math, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, or engineering.

Additional information for all internal transfer applicants:

  • Only currently enrolled students may apply.
  • Students may apply during the semester they are completing the minimum requirements to be eligible for consideration.
  • Application forms are available online at http://www.engr.utexas.edu/undergraduate/admissions/changeofmajor .
  • Admission to all engineering majors is offered as space is available to the students who are best qualified. For equally qualified applicants, preference is given to the student who has completed more of the required technical courses for the requested major.

Some degree programs may have additional admission considerations; these are described in the individual degree plans.

External Transfer

External transfer applicants will be required to meet the following minimum criteria to be considered for admission to an engineering major:

  • Transfer credit for Mathematics 408L, 408M, or 408D
  • Transfer credit for Physics 303K and 103M
  • Transfer credit for a minimum of four technical courses. Technical courses include courses offered math, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, computer science, or engineering.

Admission applications that are not complete by the March 1 deadline may be held to a higher admissions standard than those that are complete if enrollment limits are reached.

Guidelines for Transfer Students

  1. Students who wish to transfer to the University from another college or university must apply to the Office of Admissions as described in General Information . Requirements for admission as a transfer student vary, but all transfer applicants must submit transcripts of all college and high school coursework.
  2. Only courses listed in the student’s engineering degree program, or equivalent courses accepted by the department chair and approved by the dean, may be counted toward an engineering degree. A course may therefore be accepted for transfer credit but not be applicable toward an engineering degree.
  3. Courses that are common to all degree programs in the Cockrell School are listed in Requirements Included in All Engineering Degree Plans . These may be taken at any school offering courses acceptable for transfer to the University.
  4. Completion of sequences of technical courses in the major area sometimes requires five or more semesters. Therefore, most transfer students should anticipate a minimum of five semesters or the equivalent in residence at the University.
  5. Transfer students with more than forty semester hours of credit in an engineering or pre-engineering program may be eligible for admission to a major sequence as explained in the following section.

Admission to a Major Sequence

The major sequence in an engineering degree program is a set of courses in which the student learns to put to engineering use the concepts learned in the basic sequence. Major sequence courses are normally taken in the last two years of undergraduate study.

Students must apply online for admission to a major sequence. The following requirements apply both to students seeking to transfer to the school from another institution and to those currently enrolled at the University, either in another college or school or in a basic sequence of courses in the Cockrell School. Those in another college or school must also meet the requirements given in General Information for transfer from one division to another within the University.

  1. Applications for admission to the major sequence are evaluated by the engineering departments each semester. The criteria for admission vary from semester to semester; current criteria are published at http://www.engr.utexas.edu/undergraduate/policies/sequence/ .
  2. To be eligible for admission to a major sequence, the applicant must have received credit from the University for the basic sequence of courses of the degree plan, either by completing the courses at the University or by receiving transfer credit for equivalent courses taken elsewhere. The student must not be on scholastic probation according to University regulations and must not be on engineering probation according to the regulations of the Cockrell School. For the basic sequence of courses in each degree plan, see the outline of the plan later in this section.
  3. No engineering student may register for a course identified as a major sequence course in any of the degree plans of the Cockrell School unless the student has been admitted to the major sequence.
  4. An applicant who has not previously been registered at the University must be admitted to the University as described in General Information . Admission to the University does not imply or guarantee admission to a major sequence in the Cockrell School. A student’s application to the major sequence is considered only after the student has been admitted to the University.
  5. Application for admission to a major sequence must be made online at http://www.engr.utexas.edu/undergraduate/policies/sequence/ .
  6. Priority deadlines for submitting completed applications for admission to a major sequence are October 1 for entrance in the following spring semester and March 1 for entrance in either the following summer session or the following fall semester.
  7. A student who has been admitted to a major sequence but does not enroll, and who wishes to enter in a subsequent semester, must reapply for admission to a major sequence and must meet all requirements in place at the time of reapplication. A student who has been out of the University for at least one long-session semester must apply for readmission to the University.
  8. Any student who has been denied admission to a major sequence will not be considered for admission for a subsequent semester unless reapplication is made.

Registration

General Information  gives information about registration, adding and dropping courses, transfer from one division of the University to another, and auditing a course. The Course Schedule , published online before registration each semester and summer session, includes registration instructions, advising locations, and the times, places, and instructors of classes.

To register for a course, a student must fulfill the prerequisite given in the catalog or course schedule. If the student has not fulfilled the prerequisite, he or she must obtain the approval of the department offering the course before registering for it.

Concurrent Enrollment

Concurrent enrollment refers to taking courses through The University of Texas at Austin Extension (UEX) program, or taking courses at another university or a community college. An engineering student must have the approval of the dean for concurrent enrollment. Application for this approval should be made online at http://www.engr.utexas.edu/undergraduate/forms . A student may not enroll concurrently in any course counted toward the degree in the semester he or she will be graduating. More information about the approval process is available in the Engineering Student Services and Advising Office (ESSA), located in the Engineering Student Services Building (ESS), by email at student-affairs@engr.utexas.edu ; or by phone at (512) 471-4321.