UTexas

Admission and Registration

On This Page

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 the General Information Catalog.

Information is available from The University of Texas at Austin, Engineering Education and Research Center (EER), Cockrell School of Engineering, 2501 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 may submit the ApplyTexas application or the Coalition for College Access, Affordability and Success application 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, and choose a second major that aligns with their interests.

Transfer Admission

Internal Transfer

Internal transfer describes the process of a currently enrolled undergraduate student at The University of Texas at Austin moving from one college to another or moving within the Cockrell School from one major to another.  Students must apply for internal transfer into Cockrell School majors through an online application. Admission is competitive and based on space availability.  Students must meet ALL of the requirements below to be considered for transfer into a major in the Cockrell School of Engineering. Coursework and GPA for the semester in which a student applies for a change of major will be included in the transfer application.  The University of Texas at Austin degree holders seeking a second degree in engineering should contact Engineering Student Services for information on a separate application process.

Requirements and Application Deadlines

All applicants will be required to submit a short 500-word essay, utilizing the listed guidance in the Cockrell School’s Change of Major/Internal Transfer website. Conditions for accepting a new engineering major (or adding an engineering major as a second major) are also listed on the Change of Major/Internal Transfer website. If admission to a new engineering major is accepted, a student is ineligible to apply to internally transfer to a different engineering major for two long semesters. After two long semesters, if the student meets all internal transfer requirements, they will be eligible to apply. This cannot be appealed.

First-Semester Engineering Students

  • Proposed semester for transfer: spring
  • Current college of enrollment: Cockrell School of Engineering
  • Required in-residence credit hours completed: 12 hours minimum (credit by exam, UT Correspondence, UT Extension, and transfer hours from another university are not counted)
  • Minimum cumulative in-residence GPA 3:0
  • Minimum GPA in all required technical courses for proposed major: 3:0
  • Credit for Mathematics 408C (or math course beyond M 408C) in residence; a minimum of one other in-residence technical course toward your proposed major. Technical courses include math, science, and departmental courses for proposed engineering major. Please refer to the engineering Degrees and Programs section of this catalog for in-residence technical course options within each linked degree major program. For additional information, see the Change of Major/Internal Transfer website.
  • Application deadline: December 15 (application opens November 15)

Continuing Engineering Students

  • Proposed semester for transfer: summer, fall, or spring
  • Current college of enrollment: Cockrell School of Engineering
  • Required in-residence credit hours completed: 24 hours minimum (credit by exam, UT Correspondence, UT Extension, and transfer hours from another university are not counted)
  • Minimum cumulative in-residence GPA 3:0
  • Minimum GPA in all required technical courses for proposed major 3:0
  • Credit for Mathematics 408D or 408M; Physics 303K and 103M; a minimum of four in-residence technical courses toward the proposed major. Technical courses include math, science, and departmental courses for a proposed engineering major. Please refer to the engineering Degrees and Programs section of this catalog for in-residence technical course options within each linked degree major program. For additional information, see the Change of Major/Internal Transfer website.
  • Application deadline: December 15 for spring transfer (application opens November 15) or May 15 for summer/fall transfer (application opens April 15)

All Other UT Austin Students

  • Proposed semester for transfer: fall
  • Current college of enrollment:  Any UT Austin college except the Cockrell School of Engineering
  • Semesters completed at UT Austin before transfer: four long semesters (fall/spring) or less
  • Required in-residence credit hours completed: 24 hours minimum and 60 hours maximum (credit by exam, UT Correspondence, UT Extension, and transfer hours from another university are not counted)
  • Minimum cumulative in-residence GPA: 3.0
  • Minimum GPA in all required technical courses for proposed major 3.0
  • Credit for Mathematics 408D or 408M; Physics 303K and 103M; a minimum of four in-residence technical courses toward the proposed major. Technical courses include math, science, and departmental courses for a proposed engineering major. Please refer to the engineering Degrees and Programs section of this catalog for in-residence technical course options within each linked degree major program. For additional information, see the Change of Major/Internal Transfer website.
  • No more than one previous attempt to transfer into the Cockrell School of Engineering is permitted. Third applications are not allowed. An application for two different engineering majors in the same semester counts as one single attempt. 
  • Application deadline: May 15 (application opens April 15)

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 at least four technical courses, including the mathematics and physics coursework listed above. Technical courses include courses offered in math, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, computer science, or engineering.
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 the General Information Catalog. 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 in residence at the University.

Registration

The General Information Catalog 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.