General Requirements

For graduation each student must satisfy general-education course requirements determined by the student’s college, as well as the major requirements determined by the department. The College System at UCSD require widely different general-education courses, and the number of such courses differs from one college to another. Each student should choose his or her college carefully, considering the special nature of the college and the breadth of general education.

The Structural Engineering B.S. program allows for general elective (GE) courses so that students can fulfill their college requirements. Students must develop a program that includes a total of at least twenty-four units in the arts, humanities, and social sciences, not including subjects such as accounting, industrial management, finance, or personnel administration. It should be noted, however, that some colleges may require more than the thirteen GE courses indicated in the curriculum table. Accordingly, students in these colleges may take longer to graduate than the indicated four-year schedule. Students must consult with their college to determine which GE courses to take.

Major Requirements

Specific course requirements for the major are outlined in a table herein. In addition to the required technical courses specifically indicated, a suggested scheduling of humanities and social science courses (GE) are distributed in the curricula for students to use to meet college general-education requirements. To graduate, students must maintain an overall GPA of at least 2.0, and the department requires at least a C- grade in each course required for the major.  All courses required for the major must be taken for a letter grade, including all lower division math and science courses.

Deviations from the program of study must be approved by the Undergraduate Affairs Committee prior to taking alternative courses. In cases where a student needs to take a course outside UCSD, prior departmental approval is essential. Technical Elective (TE) courses are restricted to meet ABET standards. Courses such as SE 195, SE 197 and SE 198 are not allowed as technical electives in meeting the upper-division major requirements. SE 199 can be used as a technical elective only under restrictive conditions. Policies regarding these conditions may be found in the Undergraduate Handbook available on this website.

Students with different academic preparations may vary the scheduling of lower-division courses such as math, physics and chemistry, but should consult the department prior to doing so. Deviations in scheduling lower-division Structural Engineering courses are discouraged due to scheduling constraints. It is strongly advised that students taking courses outside UCSD seek prior approval from the appropriate departments before doing so. A tentative schedule of course offerings is available from the department each spring quarter for the following academic year.

Structural Engineering

All courses required for the major must be taken for a letter grade, including all lower division math and science courses.