Advising Office FAQs

As a Baskin Engineering student, you are required to complete the declaration classes for your major by the end of your 5th quarter (summer doesn’t count as a quarter). If you started as a freshman, your 5th quarter will be winter quarter of your sophomore year. However, this may be different if you took a Leave of Absence or Withdrew from the University. If you are unsure which quarter you are in, please email your college advisor to confirm.

Review the list of your major’s qualification requirements. Please note that you must follow the declaration criteria from a single curriculum year. You can’t mix and match declaration criteria from multiple years. Students are not permitted to follow a curriculum year that is earlier than their first year at UCSC.

Transfer students who were accepted as a proposed Baskin Engineering major have completed major qualification courses at their time of acceptance. Most transfer students officially declare their major in their first or second quarter at UCSC. If you haven’t declared your major yet, please send an email to bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu with the subject line, “Undeclared Transfer Student.” Make sure to include your first name, last name, and student ID in the email.

Your first step is to complete our Major Qualification Verification Form for your major. The form will open on March 29, 2021 and close on April 16, 2021.

After submitting the form, we will email you with your next steps for declaring your major. Please note that It can take up to 10 business days to receive a response but don’t panic — you will hear from us!

Since you do not meet your major’s declaration criteria, you will need to submit an appeal in order to declare your major. Find more information about appeals, as well as a detailed explanation of all the steps involved.

Appeals are reviewed by faculty in your major’s department. If your appeal is granted, you will be eligible to declare your major. If your appeal isn’t granted, our office and your College Advisers will work with you to identify a different major to declare.

Your first step in appealing your major will be to submit a Major Qualification Verification Form. After submitting the form, we will email you with your next steps for appealing your major. Please note that It can take up to 10 business days to receive a response but don’t panic — you will hear from us!

If you are in your 6th quarter at UCSC (end of your 2nd year), you need to start the major declaration process in Spring, even if you still have major qualification courses still in progress. To start the process view the Major Qualification Verification Form.

You’re eligible to add on a minor after you’ve officially declared in your major. You’re not required to complete a set number of classes before declaring a minor.

If your declared major is outside of the Baskin Engineering:

Have your major advisers sign an Academic Plan and Major/Minor Declaration Petition.

Email PDFs of the signed forms to bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu with the subject line: “Minor Declaration — YOUR STUDENT ID.” Please include your first and last name, minor you’d like to declare, and an Academic Plan detailing the quarters you plan to complete your minor requirements.

If your declared major is within the Baskin School of Engineering:

Send an email to bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu with the subject line: “Minor Declaration - YOUR STUDENT ID.” Please include your first and last name, major, minor you’d like to declare, and an Academic Plan detailing the quarters you plan to complete your minor requirements.

Please refer to Baskin Engineering Advising for timelines on when you will receive a response. Depending on your situation, advisors may be able to declare your minor via email. In some cases, you may be required to schedule a phone or zoom meeting to meet with your Baskin Engineering Adviser before the minor can be declared.

If you need to complete less than 12 units in order to satisfy all of your graduation requirements, you are eligible to go part-time in your final quarter. Review deadlines and more specific information about the Part-Time Program at UCSC.

The steps to go Part Time in your final quarter are as follows:

1. Obtain your College Adviser’s, Major Adviser’s, and Minor Adviser’s signatures on the Undergraduate Part-Time Final Quarter Approval Form. You can have your advisers all sign separate documents or have one adviser sign it at a time. To request a signature from our office, please send an email to bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu with the subject line: “Part Time Final Quarter Approval - YOUR STUDENT ID.” The body of the email should include your first and last name, major and minor, and cruz ID.

2. We will email you a PDF of your signed form if you qualify.

3. Complete the online Part Time Application and attach a pdf version of your completed form(s).

Beginning Spring 2020 the process for verifying VA benefits has changed. The VA office has informed us that they are instead asking students to directly submit their unverified VA forms to vets_benefits@ucsc.edu. The VA office will then email the forms directly to the student’s major/minor and college advisers for verification of coursework.

If you need extra quarters to complete your degree, and the financial aide office is requesting a signature on a plan for extending your financial aide eligibility, please fill out the Petition to Extend form. Once you have filled out the form please email it to bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu with the subject line: “Financial Aid - YOUR STUDENT ID.” You should include your first and last name, major and/or minor(s), and a brief explanation of your situation in the body of your email.

Yes! Please confirm that the course you’re planning to take is equivalent to a UCSC course. You can find the listed course equivalencies on assist.org. After you’ve passed the class, follow the steps below to transfer the course credit to UCSC:

*Send an email to bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu with the subject line, “Community College Transfer Credit - YOUR STUDENT ID.” You should attach your unofficial transcript from your Community College in the email.

*Request that your Community College send your official transcripts to UCSC Office of the Registrar. Find more detailed information about transferring credits.

If your summer course is a prerequisite to a UCSC class that you hope to take in the Fall, you will not be able to enroll in the Fall course until you’ve completed your Community College class.

Yes, but you will need to submit a petition to your major’s Department and obtain approval to use the course towards your degree. You can enroll in the Community College class after your Petition has been approved.

Each major/minor has a slightly different process for reviewing petitions. Review the instructions for your major/minor.

Yes, but you will need to submit a petition to your major’s Department and obtain approval to use the course towards your degree. You can enroll in the class after your Petition has been approved.

The petition process varies depending on your major and the particular major requirement that you are hoping to replace at UCSC. Please send an email with the subject line, “Course Review - YOUR STUDENT ID,” to bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu for more detailed instructions about how to submit your petition. Your email should include the following: Your full name, Major and/or minor, Title of major requirement you’re hoping to replace, Title of course you plan on taking at another University, Course Syllabus and/or list of course topics from the course you’re planning to take

A Baskin Engineering Adviser will respond to you with more detailed instructions on how to submit your petition.

After your petition has been approved AND you’ve completed the class, please follow the steps listed below to insure that your credit is transferred to UCSC:

Send an email to bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu with the subject line, “University Transfer Credit - YOUR STUDENT ID.” You should attach your unofficial transcript from the university in the email. Request that the University send your official transcripts to UCSC Office of the Registrar.

If your summer course is a prerequisite to a UCSC class that you hope to take in the Fall, you will not be able to enroll in the Fall course until you’ve completed your summer class.

You will need to submit a petition to your major’s Department and obtain approval to use the course towards your degree. You can enroll in the class after your Petition has been approved.

Each major/minor has a slightly different process for reviewing petitions. Review the instructions for your major/minor.

Please check the campus commencement website for updates: https://commencement.ucsc.edu/index.html If you have questions, you may send an email to Lindy Boisvert at boisvert@ucsc.edu with the subject line, “Graduation Question - YOUR STUDENT ID.” Please include your first and last name, major, and brief explanation of your question in the body of the email.

There are multiple reasons why it’s important that you’re able to create your own academic plan. For one, course offerings are subject to change year to year, and you’ll need to know how to adjust your academic plan accordingly. Along a similar vein, being able to create your own academic plan will help you feel more prepared when faced with unexpected events such as failing a course or needing to take a leave of absence. Here are some resources to help you create your academic plan:

Baskin Engineering Course Schedule: https://courses.engineering.ucsc.edu

Course Prerequisites: https://catalog.ucsc.edu/Current/General-Catalog/Courses

Curriculum Charts: https://undergrad.soe.ucsc.edu/curriculum-charts

UCSC Summer Courses: https://summer.ucsc.edu/

If you would like some guidance on your plan we recommend going to our Peer Advisor Google Chat hours.

The Academic Advisement Report (AAR) is incorrect for most Baskin Engineering majors. There are several major requirements that are outdated. In addition, transfer credit and course substitutions are also not reflected accurately.

It is okay if your AAR is incorrect for your major requirements. The Baskin Engineering Advising Office doesn’t use the AAR for any University processes.

If you have specific questions about what isn't correct in your AAR for your major, please send an email with your questions to bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu.

If a course you have taken seems similar in content to one of our courses but your school is not listed, you can fill out a Petition for Course Substitution or Waiver form and email it to bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu. Submit the form along with a detailed course description and/or syllabus, your grade report for that class, and what text and/or chapters were covered in the class to the Undergraduate Office to be evaluated. If you don't have all of the material listed above, try to submit as much information about the class as possible.

Please send an email to bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu with the subject line, “Readmission Plan Request - YOUR STUDENT ID.” The body of the email should include your name, your student ID number, the major that you’re hoping to readmit to, and the quarter that you are planning to readmit to. We will respond to you with information about your next steps.

Individual Studies Petition Form

1. Work with a faculty sponsor to determine the details (credits, time of work, hours, etc.) of your Individual Studies. These details should be reflected on your Individual Studies Petition.

2. Your faculty sponsor has the option of either signing your petition and emailing it back to you or they can email the form directly to bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu. If they email it back to you, please email the form to bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu.

3. If you are pursuing a Senior Thesis Individual Study (e.g CSE - 195), the Undergraduate Director for your major will also need to sign the form. You do not need your Undergraduate Director’s signature if you are completing general research (e.g CSE - 198) or a Field Study (e.g CSE - 193).

4. You will receive instructions detailing how to enroll in your Individual Studies after your petition has been emailed to: bsoeadvising@ucsc.edu. Contact the Advising Office for timelines on when you can expect to receive a response.

Please note: this information is intended for students pursuing Individual Studies coursework sponsored by Baskin Engineering. If your credits will not be sponsored by Baskin Engineering, please consult the department with whom you are pursuing Individual Studies coursework.

View more detailed information about Baskin Engineering Individual Studies.

Enrolling in your thesis and getting your thesis approved by your major’s Department are different processes.

Please follow the instructions listed under “How do I enroll in an Individual Studies,” for steps on how to enroll in your thesis. Instructions on how to get approval from your major’s Department can be found below.

In order to write a thesis, you need to identify a faculty sponsor who is willing to supervise your research. Additionally, the thesis topic/question needs to be approved by your major’s Undergraduate Director. If a Baskin Engineering faculty member has agreed to supervise your research and writing, please contact your major’s Undergraduate Director to have it approved. View the Baskin Engineering Undergraduate Director’s contact information.

We understand that it's frustrating when you don’t get into a course you’re passionate about taking or need in order to graduate on time. However, if you’re willing to go the extra mile to get into the class, there is still a chance that you can enroll. Put yourself on the waitlist as soon as it opens during 2nd pass enrollment. Make sure to use the "If enrolled drop," function, so that if you get in off the waitlist, the enrollment system will automatically swap the desired class with one of your backup courses. Find instructions on how to add yourself to the waitlist, and review an informational video.

In most cases the answer is no. However, it's always a good idea to waitlist in case the department can open up more spaces in the class. Make sure that you are enrolled in a backup class in case you are unable to get into the course that you are waitlisted for. Make sure to use the "If enrolled drop," function, so that if you get in off the waitlist, the enrollment system will automatically swap the desired class with one of your backup courses. Find instructions on how to add yourself to the waitlist, and review an informational video.

Please refer to the Registrar’s FAQ page! This page includes enrollment related information.

If you would like support in walking through your enrollment issues with someone, please reach out to our peer advisors during their Google Chat hours as they can assist you!