Degree Requirements

As a student in the College of Engineering, you must satisfy the following requirements before you can become eligible for candidacy for a bachelor’s degree:

  • University requirements, which apply to all Colleges;
  • General Education requirements, which apply to all Colleges;
  • College requirements; and
  • Major requirements

You are responsible for seeing that all of your degree requirements are fulfilled. The following Graduation Requirement Self-Check will help you ensure that all requirements are met.

Graduation/Degree Requirement Self-Check (GE3) (GE3 Effective Fall Quarter 2011)

University Requirements

  • Entry Level Writing Requirement (ELWR)
  • The University of California requires every undergraduate student to demonstrate college-level proficiency in English composition. Satisfaction of the ELWR is a prerequisite to all other undergraduate courses in English and must be fulfilled before General Education courses can count toward the General Education Writing Experience Requirement. 

    Click here for more information about the ELWR.

  • American History and Institutions Requirement (AHIR)
  • The American History and Institutions requirement ensures that every graduating student will have at least a minimum knowledge of the background of this country’s development and an understanding of the political, economic and social interrelationships of its way of life. 

    Click here for more information about the American History and Institutions Requirement.

  • General Education Requirement (GE)
  • The General Education (GE) requirement promotes the intellectual growth of all undergraduates by ensuring that they acquire a breadth of knowledge that will enlarge their perspectives beyond the focus of a major and serve them well as participants in a knowledge-based society. It seeks to stimulate continued intellectual growth by providing students with knowledge not only of the content but also of the methodologies of different academic disciplines. It involves students in the learning process by its expectation of considerable writing and class participation. It encourages students to consider the relationships between disciplines. 

    Click here for more information on the GE requirements.

  • University Unit Requirement
  • A minimum of 180 quarter units is required for graduation. These must be distributed according to the minimum requirements set forth by the faculty of your college.

    A maximum of 15 units of Internship Courses (92, 192, or a combination) may be counted toward the 180-unit bachelor’s degree requirement. The acceptability of transfer courses for unit credit is determined by Undergraduate Admissions.

    The acceptability of such courses toward specific requirements is determined by the individual college or school.

    Students should refer to the Advanced Placement Examination chart and their transcripts to eliminate the possibility of duplication of credit.

  • University Residence Requirement
  • The minimum residence requirement for a bachelor’s degree at the University of California is one academic year (three quarters). Thirty-five of the final 45 quarter units completed by each candidate must be earned while in residence on the UC Davis campus. Each summer session in which a student completes a course of at least 2 quarter units may be counted as half a quarter’s residence.

    Regularly approved courses (laboratory, field, or other individual work) done outside of a regular session but under the direction of a department of instruction may be accepted upon the recommendation of the department in partial fulfillment of the residence requirement for the bachelor’s degree. Registration is with the consent of the instructor only.

    UC Davis Extension courses are not accepted as part of the university residence requirement.

    With the approval of the dean of a student’s college or school, a candidate for the bachelor’s degree who was in active service in the armed forces of the United States in the year preceding the awarding of the degree may be recommended for the degree after only one quarter of university residence in which the candidate completes at least 16 units or passes a comprehensive examination in the major or field of concentration.

  • University Scholarship Requirement
  • To receive a bachelor’s degree, you must obtain twice as many grade points as units (a 2.000 GPA) for all courses you have attempted in the university. There are additional scholarship requirements for students enrolled in the College of Engineering. 

College of Engineering Requirements

  • Unit Requirement
  • Each candidate must complete a program of study under an approved curriculum in Engineering, totaling at least 180 units.
  • Residence
  • College of Engineering students must meet the university residence requirement. There are no additional college residence requirements.

    Limitation on Credit for UC Davis Extension Courses. Students may apply a maximum of 16 units of credit for courses taken in the Open Campus Program through UC Davis Extension towards the unit requirement of their major. Courses may be taken only when written approval has been obtained from the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies. The grade points earned when enrolled in Open Campus courses will count toward the calculation of the student's UC GPA upon your admission or readmission to regular student status at UC Davis. Students registered at UC Davis may not enroll in Open Campus courses.
  • Scholarship
  • In addition to meeting the university scholarship requirement, College of Engineering students are required to maintain at least a 2.000 grade point average for all undergraduate course work within the College of Engineering at UC Davis.
  • English Composition
  • All students admitted to the University must complete the Entry Level Writing Requirement before credit for any composition course or general education writing experience course will be granted.

    Once the Entry Level Writing Requirement has been satisfied, there are two distinct composition requirements for engineering students: 

    Lower-division composition. This requirement can be satisfied by completion of an Advanced Placement English exam with a score of 4 or 5; International Baccalaureate credit for English 3; or completion of certain coursework with a grade of C- or better. Courses allowed vary by major. Please see your program advisor to determine coursework that has been approved for your major.

    Upper division composition. Requirements for upper division composition vary by major. Please see your program advisor to determine the coursework that has been approved for your major. Please note that when you use coursework to satisfy either of the composition requirements, you must earn a grade of C- or better.
  • Current Catalog Curriculum
  • In order to ensure that students graduate with the most current engineering knowledge, College of Engineering Students must complete the major requirements in effect in the academic year of graduation or in the immediately preceding academic year.