How hard is it to change majors at Cal Poly Slo?

Question

I'm stuck between Industrial, Materials, and Environmental Engineering and I know it's suppose to be hard to switch majors at Cal Poly, but is it still hard if they are all within the same school?

Answer 1

Switching majors can be difficult, however each college has different restrictions. I know the college of business is especially difficult to transfer into, so don't let that person's trouble discourage you. I would reccomend going to each department's website and printing out the flow chart or course curriculm sheet for each major and comparing the classes. Your first quarter take classes that can apply to all majors and set up an appoinment with the college advisor (not the department) to discuss where you belong. It also helps to talk to people in the field you want to go into. At the College of Architecture we reccomend that students make an appointment with an architect in the area to discuss the job and see if the major is a good fit for them.

If you are on top of things, get good grades, and talk openly with your college advisor you should be able to change majors.

Answer 2

It is not as hard if you are switching majors withing the same college. So if you are already in the college of engineering, it should not be nearly as hard as if you were attempting to switch from college of liberal arts, for example. I am attempting to change from college of math and science to business and it is a PAIN IN THE ***! They told me if they look at my high school transcripts and would not have accepted me as an incoming freshmen (into the business department) then there is just no way I can switch. Period.

All in all, it shoudln't be too hard to change majors within the same department. Go talk to the counselor in your college and they will point you in the right direction. It seems to take a couple quarters because you have to take classes for the major you want to switch into, and do well, before you can get signed out of your current major and accepted into the new one. I have been working a lot with my counselor in math and science in order to get my major changed.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

Exactly what Erika said. Changing majors within the same college is MUCH easier than changing to different colleges. There, of course, is still paper work, and you have to talk to people, and it takes some time. But, it is a lot more do-able, and shouldn't cause you very many problem.

Hope this helps!