Changing Your SEAS Major

electrical engineering research.

SEAS students may be considered for admission to other undergraduate engineering or applied science majors within the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Major Change for SEAS Students

SEAS students may be considered for admission to any other undergraduate major within the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

First-year admits within the first year of study

Students admitted to SEAS as a first-year (freshman) may change their major at any time during the first year of study. Specifically, students who join UB during the fall semester are permitted to change their major prior to May 31 of the same academic year. Students who join UB during the spring semester are permitted to change their major prior to December 31 of the next academic year.

For such students, a change of major within SEAS requires submission of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Major/Minor Change Application by the deadlines noted above.[1]

General case

Transfer students (internal and external to UB) and first-year SEAS admits beyond the first year of study seeking to change major within SEAS must meet program-specific GPA criteria.

A change of major within SEAS requires the following:

  1. UB and SEAS academic good standing.
  2. Submission of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Major/Minor Change Application.[1]
  3. Students seeking to move from a computer science to an engineering program (or vice versa) must satisfy a core course (see below) requirement. There are two paths to meet this requirement.
    • Standard: Completion of four core courses with a combined core course grade point average of at least 2.5.
    • Fast-Track: Completion of at least two of the four core courses (graded on an A-F basis) with a combined core course grade point average of at least 3.0.
  4. The minimum cumulative GPA required for the major or approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students can meet the GPA standard by attaining an overall cumulative GPA or UB cumulative GPA (with minimum of 12 earned UB credits) that meets or exceeds the minimum value. The GPAs required to join a program vary by academic year and requested major. The table below provides the GPA requirement for the 2022-23 academic year. Learn more about cumulative GPA requirements for previous academic years.

Core Courses

Engineering Courses:

  1. Calculus 1 (MTH 141 or MTH 153)
  2. Calculus 2 (MTH 142 or MTH 154)
  3. General Chemistry 1 (CHE 101, CHE 105, or CHE 107)
  4. General Physics 1 (PHY 107 or PHY 117)

Computer Science / Bioinformatics Courses:

  1. Calculus 1 (MTH 141 or MTH 153; students applying for the BA computer science degree may complete MTH 121 or MTH 131)
  2. Introduction to Computer Science for Majors 1 (CSE 115)
  3. Introduction to Computer Science for Majors 2 (CSE 116)
  4. Discrete Structures (CSE 191 or MTH 191)

Overall GPA Requirements

Major Overall GPA
Aerospace, Computer, and Mechanical Engineering;
Computer Science (BA and BS); Bioinformatics and Computational Biology		 2.8
Biomedical, Chemical, Civil, Electrical, Environmental,
and Industrial Engineering; Engineering Physics		 2.5
Engineering Science 2.0

[1] Note: the Major/Minor Change Application opens around the seventh week of the fall/spring semester and closes at the end of the drop/add period. This opening date provides adequate time for students to change their major before the registration period opens.