Application to a major information for current CSE students

Listing an intended major

Before you have been admitted to your major, you can list an intended major on your APAS (a record of your courses and grades). Listing an intended major helps with course planning and advising, but does not guarantee admission into the major.

At this stage, you can change your intended major by visiting the CSE Academic Advising Office in 105 Lind Hall or emailing cseadvising@umn.edu.

Applying to a major

Admission to a major in the College of Science and Engineering is a competitive process based on the successful completion of specific technical courses and a grade point average (GPA) based on technical courses (the technical GPA*). Students who have completed the necessary technical courses and have a 3.2 or above technical GPA* at the end of fall semester will be guaranteed admission to that major.

All other students who have completed the necessary technical coursework for their intended major (as identified by each department) and have a 2.0 or above technical GPA*, will be considered for admission to that major on a space-available basis. 

* The technical GPA is comprised only of courses taken at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. An unbracketed technical GPA is used in the admission to the major process, meaning that all attempts at a course (which resulted in a letter grade of A-F) are factored into the GPA.

Admission to the Major Timeline

To apply for admission to your major, log in to the admission to the major database. All applicants will be notified of their admission decision via email within three weeks of the application deadline.

Admission to the major

Once all grades for the semester have been posted, applications will be processed. All required courses must be successfully completed at this time. Students will be notified of their admission decision via email once all applications have been processed. All decisions will be made within three weeks of the deadline to apply.

Students who have completed the necessary technical coursework for their intended major (as identified by each department) and have a 3.2 technical GPA* at the end of fall semester will be guaranteed admission. All other students who have completed the required courses will be considered for admission on a space-available basis. Admission following spring semester is based on space- availability. While a 2.0 is the minimum Technical GPA* to be considered for a major in the College of Science and Engineering, many of our majors do have a cutoff at a higher technical GPA due to limited space. Learn more about the historical technical GPA cut off points. 

If it is determined that a student is not eligible to complete the degree to which they are applying because of course repeat issues, their admission may be denied. Once the needed degree requirement(s) has been successfully completed they may reapply for admission to the major.

If you have any questions or concerns in regard to this process, please contact your college academic advisor.

*The technical GPA is comprised only of courses taken at the U of M Twin-Cities campus. The Technical GPA is unbracketed meaning that all attempts at a course (which resulted in a letter grade of A-F) are factored into it. Learn more about which classes count in your Technical GPA.

Adding/changing majors

If you have already been admitted to a major in the College of Science and Engineering (upper-division) and would like to change your major or add an additional major, you can apply to do so using the admission to the major database. Applications are processed using the timeline listed above.

Changing majors outside the college: One Stop has information about applying for transfer to another college within the University.