<p>So, yes, it is smaller than those majors and MAE, but larger than BioE or Materials Engineering. My ChemE friends tell me that a lot of the people in the major end up knowing one another because there are plenty of required courses that are only offered once a year, and are often part of a series.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about the strength of the program relative to other universities, though I’m sure it’s a top 20 program, like most of the other engineering majors here. From what I understand, it’s a tough curriculum and presents a solid challenge to most students. If you do well enough, there are a good number of energy companies that recruit ChemEs at UCLA.</p>
<p>Hi Flopsy, I just have couple questions about UCLA and the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science</p>
<ol>
<li>Is it possible to double major in both EE and CS?</li>
<li>How is UCLA, particularly the Hengry Samueli School of Engineering and Applifed Science, affected by the the financial crisis in California? Is it much harder for me to get classes I want or need? Will I be able to graduate in 4 or 5 years? </li>
<li>How is the engineering program in UCLA compared to that of UIUC’s?</li>
</ol>
<p>thank you for taking your time to read it and please help me with my questions!</p>
<ol>
<li>Look into the CSE major and EE with the CS option.</li>
<li>The engineering school’s barely affected. I have no trouble getting the classes I need, and I’m on track to graduate in 4 years.</li>
</ol>
<p>Hi guys, I just got accepted to UCLA for aerospace engineering, and Now I have a question:</p>
<p>I am currently taking 2 physics classes at El Camino College in Torrance, I’m taking Phys1B and Phys1D. I took both of these because CSULB was my second choice, and they require 1B, but not 1D. Now UCLA on the other hand, requires 1D, but not 1B. Now that I have been accepted is it OK for me to drop Physics 1B since it is not a requirement for UCLA? It is not listed on the articulation agreement on assist.org for an AE transfer. I want to know because I have a test in Physics 1B on tuesday and it would be really nice if I could drop it and not take the exam.</p>
<p>If anyone has any insight on this please let me know, I can’t call the admissions office yet and ask them because I haven’t gotten my “official acceptance letter”, but I do know I was accepted based on an inside source at the college. However, my source doesn’t know the answer to this question. HELP?!?!?</p>
UCLA handles things like this on a case-by-case basis, so you might be forced to wait for your official acceptance before proceeding. Generally speaking, they’re okay with this sort of thing, but usually only if you notify them beforehand.</p>
<p>I know you want to figure this out right now, but that’s I don’t believe that’s really possible.</p>
<p>
They’re comparable for EE and CS. Take a look at degree course plans for both to see which has more interesting classes and maybe department and career center websites to see who recruits there. In terms of job recruiting, both attract top companies. If you’re interested in graduate school, either one can help you get in anywhere.</p>
<p>Thanks grapesoda, I appreciate the reply. I’m hoping that I can get the official decision online tomorrow, or even Tuesday morning so that I can relax and do better in my other courses. I know I’ll have to speak to them ahead of time, I guess I’m just looking for someone that has some insight to put out the flames of panic, hahaha!!!</p>
<p>Software or hardware? If you like working on UI, algorithms, operating systems, network protocols, or machine learning, then you should pick CS. If you like digital or analog circuits, device physics, MEMS, or signal processing, then you should pick EE. If you like architecture, then pick CSE.</p>
<p>I chose CS because I don’t want to work at or below the assembly language level.</p>
<p>I got accepted into UCLA as a bioengineering major, and I have a few questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I heard that bioengineering is not a credited major at UCLA. What does this mean? And will it affect my chances for getting a job or getting into a good grad school later on?</p></li>
<li><p>I am thinking about changing my major into a different engineering focus, such as chemical engineering. How hard is it to switch majors within the engineering school? And will I have to stay at UCLA for a longer time to finish up if I switch majors (will I be able to still graduate on time)?</p></li>
<li><p>I have also heard that a typical engineering major takes longer to graduate, like maybe 4 and a half years. If I take classes during summer quarters, can I graduate in 4 years?</p></li>
<li><p>I want to minor in something, but many people have told me that majoring in some sort of engineering field is “hard enough.” Based on what I’ve heard about bioengineering at UCLA, i am looking into majoring in chemical engineering with a minor in biomedical research. Is this a good idea?/Any suggestions about doing this?</p></li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li> The reason that Bioengineering at UCLA is not accredited is because ABET (the accreditation board) last came through UCLA in 2006, and the BE major only began in 2004. They hadn’t even graduated a class yet, so they were not reviewed. ABET will be coming through again in 2012 (they do accreditation every 6 years), and the major will be accredited at that time, barring some unforeseen circumstance.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>So far it has not hurt any graduates as far as I have heard.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Depends on when you switch and how good your grades are. Also depends on how impacted the major is. If you have good grades (B’s or better in the math/science courses), then you should have a good chance to be able to switch in to Chem Engr. Some majors (Mechanical and Aerospace in particular) are very impacted and hard to get in to . Same with Bioengineering.</p></li>
<li><p>Typical time to graduation is usually 4 years and a quarter. But you should be able to graduate in 4 if you want to, assuming you are not doing a minor, double major, or studying abroad. Also, you should be taking 4 classes a quarter if you want to finish in 4.</p></li>
<li><p>That’s fine, but it will probably cause you to stay longer than 4 years unless you really pack the classes in.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I have a question about the writing II requirement as there are two contradictory statements on the website:</p>
<p>For those students that are following the 2005-2006 and later catalogs (2006-07, 2007-08 etc), where Writing II is required, completing ENGR 183EW (formerly 183) or ENGR 185 (formerly 185) will satisfy the Writing II Requirement and you no longer need to take an additional “W” Writing II course. This is also the case for students that had previously completed ENGR 183EW (formerly 183) or 185EW (formerly 185). *Bioengineering majors who complete Bioengineering 165 before F08 will also be granted Writing II credit. Writing II credit for Bioengineering 165 taken F08 or later is still under review. No petitions are required.</p>
<p>General education courses are grouped into three foundational areas: Foundations of the Arts and Humanities, Foundations of Society and Culture, and Foundations of Scientific Inquiry.</p>
<p>Five courses (24 units minimum) are required. One of the five courses must be an approved Writing II course - (W) denotes a Writing II course.</p>
<p>So do we have to take a GE with writing II in it or can we just take only regular GE’s since ethics should fulfill the requirement.</p>
<p>Hey guys, I am an international admit to UCLA and UIUC CS programs and now I am COMPLETELY CONFUSED between the two and have VERY LITTLE TIME left to reply. I have some questions about UCLA CS and it would be greatly helpful if you can provide your insights on all of these questions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Wherever I see the rankings UCLA is in top 15, whereas UIUC is always top 5. UIUC has a huge and amazing CS department building and their curriculum also looks pretty good, whereas UCLA has one building with many other engineering majors within it too… Now how much of a difference does this really make when it comes to quality of education and job training?</p></li>
<li><p>Now I like UCLA because it has everything else… good location, weather etc. Whereas the only thing that excites me about UIUC is the academics and department building (Siebel Center). But how is it like to live like a CS major in UCLA? Is the classroom and building environment satisfactory enough or is it overcrowded and congested? If just the study takes up all the time, and we’re gonna sit inside always, how does the location make any difference then, what the use of being in LA? What else, if anything, are CS majors able to do besides academics practically? (social life etc.)</p></li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li><p>What about the research opportunities at UCLA? I heard from a UCLA representative on a chat that not many people do research in CS. Is it hard to get or what? I could not find much on the department website, whereas UIUC’s department website lists it pretty well…
Do we ever get to know professors well enough to get good recs for grad school? And do CS students from UCLA get into placs like MIT, Stanford?</p></li>
<li><p>Recruitment: Iv’e seen that UIUC grads gets heavily recruited all across the US including Silicon valley and PayPal and Youtube were created by them too… Google, Microsoft, Yahoo are all the major recruiters there and Bill Gates said they hire the most grads from UIUC. What about UCLA? I know its closer to Silicon Valley, but won’t they prefer higher ranked ones like MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, CMU, UIUC first for the best jobs before coming to UCLA? Are Google, Microsoft, Yahoo major recruiters here or they hire very few from UCLA?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>(One reason though UCLA seems favorable is because of the proximity to gaming industry and film studios in case entertainment industry happens to be my interest. UIUC is good in technical areas and is rather far away from the hard-to-get-into entertainment industry)</p>
<ul>
<li><p>UIUC has a rather spacious learning environment because of its CS building… how and where do CS majors in UCLA study, except for the classrooms and lecture halls? How in general is the whole infrastructure of the entire computer science program (incuding EVERYTHING one may use in the entire day related to the studies)</p></li>
<li><p>What are the strongest areas of the program? </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Hope to get some replies soon! It would be really very helpful. All comments and views are welcome. Thank you.</p>
The ethics classes will fulfill the Writing II requirement, so you won’t have to take an additional Writing II GE.</p>
<p>
Keep in mind that rankings have more to do with research than course offerings and quality of education. UCLA provides a very strong CS foundational curriculum, so I wouldn’t be too concerned with that. You’ll learn more than enough to make an impact in industry. If you really want to make an effective comparison, look at course offerings from each school and see which ones interest you more.</p>
<p>
The building environment is satisfactory. Boelter is aging, but that doesn’t make it insufficient as a place to learn, and it’s definitely not congested. Obviously, it’s not Stanford or anything, but you could have guessed that.</p>
<p>You’ll have plenty of free time to do things in LA. It’s not uncommon to have weekend excursions to nearby points of interest, and the good weather only makes that easier. Most CS majors definitely have a social life, and having lots to do outside definitely helps with that.</p>
<p>
It may be challenging to get research opportunities right off the bat since professors prefer that you have some experience with upper division coursework first. Having said that, there are definitely some things you can get involved with, like CENS. The best way to go is just to meet with a professor and show what you know.</p>
<p>Getting recommendations is definitely possible; you just need to put in the effort to meet with professors. They’re very friendly and most of them enjoy meeting students. I will be attending a top school next year, and I know others who will be as well.</p>
<p>
The job recruitment situation here is pretty good since UCLA is in California. The career fairs host practically all of the biggest tech companies. Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, Intel, Qualcomm, NVIDIA to an extent, and others have connections here and I’ve seen people work at all of those companies. I’ve had an internship with a major company every summer.</p>
<p>What’s missing? Silicon Valley startups like to stick to Stanford and Berkeley. Also, Apple surprisingly makes no effort to recruit here.</p>
<p>
We have some computer labs, lounges, and meeting rooms scattered throughout Boelter. I’ve usually worked from my dorm/apartment and used SSH as needed.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what you mean by “infrastructure,” but we have enough resources to get work done. We get plenty of free software, remote access to lab machines, and a solid course website framework.</p>
<p>
This is subjective, but there seems to be some good research going on in computer architecture, computer science theory, and networking. I would say systems as well, given the brilliance of Eddie Kohler, but he’s the only true systems professor here.</p>
<p>
A combination of core computer science courses and a selection of circuits courses from the electrical engineering department. It’s for people who are interested in digital circuits, logic design, embedded systems, and computer architecture.</p>
<p>@grapesoda: That was really informative. Thanks a lot. @splitme: Well, I * was * in the same dilemma and I’m almost sure I am gonna pick UCLA. Do check out some threads I had created a while back comparing the CS programs of the schools. </p>
<p>They all have strong futures and very similar job opportunities. The more important question is: what kind of job do you want after graduating?</p>
<p>If I had to pick, it seems like there’s more demand for CS than EE, at least at the undergraduate level. If you plan on getting a graduate degree, you really can’t go wrong with either.</p>