Engineering

Courses, Degrees, & Transfer

Below you will find the courses to take your first semester at Cabrillo and the process for mapping out your semester-by-semester plan at Cabrillo.

  • CG 51-STEM
  • ENGR 5
  • Choose your level of math: Math 5A (Calculus I) or Math 4 (Pre-Calculus) or Math 1 (College Algebra)
  • Choose your level of chemistry: CHEM 1A (College Chemistry) or CHEM 3/3L (if you did not receive an A or B in high school chemistry)

Other Course Options if you want to take another major core course in your first semester:

ENGR 25 (All Engrs) or ENGR 12 (Mech & Aero Engrs only) or ENGR 1A (Civil Arch & Structural Engrs only)

  • CG 51-STEM
  • ENGR 5
  • Choose your level of math: Math 5A (Calculus I) or Math 4 (Pre-Calculus) or Math 1 (College Algebra)
  • Choose your level of computer science: CS 11 (C Programming) or CS 12P (Python Programming, for UCSC) or CS 1/L (if you need more experience using computers)

Other Course Options if you want to take another major core course in your first semester:

PHY 4A (College Physics) or PHY 11 (if you did not receive an A or B in high school physics)

Selecting Best Fit Transfer Universities

  • City or small town

  • Isolated college town or near city life

  • Near Santa Cruz or far (consider travel time)

  • 4 seasons or no 4 seasons

  • Weather: cold, humid, etc

  • Outdoorsy?

  • Campus layout: close together or spread out

  • Social/political views: liberal or conservative

  • Cooperative or competitive environment

  • Commuter or live-in school: % of freshman who live in dorms and % of sophomores who live in dorms?

  • Is there housing for all four years?

  • Gender diversity: female/male in engineering? In college/university?

  • Ethnic diversity: ethnicity/race?

  • Small or large school? Number of students enrolled?

  • Number of students in your engineering major/in the College of engineering?

  • Faculty: young or old

  • How do they get incoming freshman connected? Freshman orientation, program during summer, etc, and for how long?

  • Freshman: first-year experience

  • Mainly local students or spread from all states?

  • International students?

  • Residential dorms? Only engineering?

  • What projects are engineering student clubs working on? Are there active clubs?

  • Connection between faculty and student

  • Sports?

  • Fraternities/Sororities?

  • What percentage of their junior year is transfer students from community colleges?

  • How are the transfer students connected?

  • ABET: accred. Individual engineering programs

  • Focus on undergraduate education? BS/MS; graduate education? BS/MS/PhD

  • Who is teaching courses? Faculty or graduate students

  • Focus on practical hands-on or theoretical research?

  • Are freshman doing design in their first year?

  • If hands-on: makerspace? machine shop?

  • Faculty projects? i.e. some of the projects that the engineering faculty are working on

  • Humanitarian engineering/service-learning projects

  • Abroad/global programs (Engineers Without Borders & Engineers for a Sustainable World)

  • What do general education courses look like? breadth or depth?

  • Emphasis on sustainable design?

  • Minors: entrepreneurship? mechatronics (robotics)? sustainability?

  • Possible/process to switch majors after first year if interests change?

  • Jobs on campus? Makerspace? Working with professors on projects?

  • Co-ops? 5-yr program?

  • Tuition costs

  • Merit aid or financial aid

  • Scholarships

  • Student housing or off campus?

  • Transportation costs: accessible public transportation or car