Progression

Students are directly admitted into the College of Engineering with the flexibility to change majors at the end of their first year. By the end of their first year, students must meet a set of requirements in order to continue in an engineering major. These are called progression requirements and include course and GPA requirements.

During their first year, students work closely with their academic advisor to make sure they are selecting the right courses to meet progression and degree requirements.

The progression application period opens at the end of the fall and spring semesters. Students will declare their intent to progress in an engineering program of their choice at the end of their second semester on campus.

Progression Requirements

Progression Requirements (regulation 3-7 of the College of Engineering Official Regulations) are outlined below.

To automatically progress in a College of Engineering degree program (major) after direct admission or to switch between engineering degree programs, students must complete the following requirements after their first two semesters of residency at UW-Madison:

  1. 24 credits completed at UW-Madison. Special topics, independent study, seminar, pass/fail, and credit/no credit courses will not be included in the 24 credits except for English as a Second Language courses.
  2. General Education Communications Part A (Comm A) requirement. If Comm A is not completed as a graded course at UW-Madison (i.e. completed through placement test, AP/IB, or transfer credit), then a liberal studies course of at least 3 credits with a breadth designation of Humanities, Literature, or Social Sciences must be taken on a graded basis at UW-Madison.
  3. Introduction to Engineering: course specified by degree program or InterEGR 170 for Engineering Undecided students.
  4. Math course sequence through Math 222 or Math 276
  5. Four core courses, required for engineering degree programs (majors), completed at UW-Madison, as defined below:
    1. Math: A minimum of two math courses numbered 217 or above; or one math course 300 level or above. If the math requirement for the degree program (major) is complete or the student has completed the calculus sequence through Math 234, then additional math courses numbered 217 or above or additional courses from the science requirement in Regulation 3.E.2. can be taken to complete the four core course requirement. Excludes Math 228, Math 473, special topics, independent study, seminar, pass/fail, and credit/no credit courses.
    2. Science: A minimum of two science courses required for engineering degree programs (majors) as defined in the table below. If the math and science requirements for the degree program are complete, then departmental engineering courses 200 level and above can be taken to complete the four core course requirement. Excludes EPD, InterEGR, special topics, independent study, seminar, pass/fail, and credit/no credit courses.
    Degree Programs (Majors) Science
    Chemical Engineering (i) one course must be Chemistry 104 or higher

    (ii) one course must be Physics 201/EMA 201 or higher

    Materials Science and Engineering

    (ii) one other science course, from the following:

    F. Core and Overall GPA requirements must be satisfied as defined by College of Engineering departments for each engineering degree program (major) (http://progression.engr.wisc.edu). All graded UW-Madison courses referenced in E.1. and E.2. above and any departmental engineering courses level 200 or above will be counted in the Core GPA (excludes EPD, InterEGR, special topics, independent study, and seminar courses). All graded UW-Madison courses are counted in the Overall GPA. For one and only one of these core courses that a student has repeated, the more recent of the two grades will be used in the calculation of Core and Overall GPAs. Students may not be on academic probation for GPA reasons for automatic completion of first year progression requirements.

    Students who do not meet the first year progression requirements to automatically progress in a degree program (major) can be considered for non-automatic progression (Regulation 4) or extension (Regulation 5).