The Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering emphasizes fundamental disciplines of engineering and computer science, introducing students to the new technologies necessary for today's highly technical environments. The College offers the following undergraduate majors:
| Major | Degree | |
| Chemical Engineering | ||
| Biochemistry Option | B.S. | |
| Chemistry Option | B.S. | |
| Computer Science | B.S. | |
| Electrical Engineering | B.S. | |
| Environmental Engineering | B.S. | |
| Mechanical Engineering | B.S. | |
These majors, based on the needs of the practicing professional, are founded on a solid core of mathematics and the sciences. Breadth in the educational experience is represented by requirements in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences as well as by emphasis on oral and written communication skills. The principles and practice of engineering and computer science are provided in lecture and related laboratory courses. All students are required to choose a set of technical electives, emphasizing synthesis and design, to complete their undergraduate programs.
For more information on The College, write to The Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521-0144, or call (909) 787-5651.
A major is a coordinated group of upper-division courses (courses numbered 100-199) in a field of specialization. The major may be a group of upper-division courses within a single department or program, or a group of related courses from several departments or programs. Before enrolling in upper-division courses, students may be required to gain appropriate knowledge by completing specific prerequisite courses. With the assistance of a departmental advisor, students are expected to select lower-division courses which prepare them for the advanced studies they propose to follow.
A student may elect to take a second major within The College. A declaration of a second major must be filed by the student with the Dean's Office.
A student registered in The College may elect a second major in another college. A declaration of such second major must be signed by the deans of both colleges and filed by the student with the primary college. A student will meet requirements of both primary and secondary majors and the college requirements of the primary major.
A student may request transfer from one major to another by filing a petition of change with the Dean's Office.
The College currently has a minor in Computer Science. Minors in The College shall consist of not fewer than 20 nor more than 28 units of organized upper-division courses. No more than 4 units of 190-199 courses may be used in fulfilling the upper-division unit requirement for a minor. Courses used, or prerequisite to those used, in fulfilling the minor may be taken on an S/NC basis only on approval of the dean. The department, programs, or interdisciplinary committee offering the minor is responsible for student and administrative issues pertaining to the minor. Students must file a declaration of a minor at least two quarters before graduation and must be in good academic standing at the time of filing. A minor requires the signature of the department chair or chair of the faculty committee which supervises the minor and the signature of the dean of the college. A grade point average of at least 2.0 in upper-division courses in the field of the minor is a graduation requirement. When all other requirements for graduation have been met, the student will be graduated without the minor if the minimum GPA in the minor field has not been met.
The Mathematics, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) Engineering Program (MEP) is an academic program utilizing collaborative learning, enrichment services, and community building. It is an effective intervention for eliminating primary institutional barriers to the educational success of historically underrepresented students in engineering. MEP works in coordination with the statewide MESA organization, campus administration, and faculty of The College, the community, and industry. All students in The College are invited to join. Participation from women, African Americans, Chicano/Latino, and Native American students is particularly encouraged. For more information, call (909) 787-6379.
For a description of the University Honors Program, see the Special Study Resources and Facilities section in the front of this catalog. For a listing of requirements and courses, refer to University Honors Program in the Curricula and Courses section of this catalog.
Prospective Bourns College of Engineering students must complete high school programs that meet University of California requirements as described in the Undergraduate Admission section of this catalog. In addition, appropriate high school mathematics and science course work should include
| Course Work | Years |
| Algebra | 2 |
| Plane Geometry | 1 |
| Trigonometry | 0.5 |
| Chemistry or Physics, with laboratory (preferably both) | 1 |
A supplemental screening process is used for majors in The College of Engineering which places emphasis on the grade point average (GPA) earned in college preparatory course work, especially mathematics and science, and on the aptitude test scores. Qualification for first-year calculus is also expected. Students otherwise admissible to the University, but not qualifying for an engineering major, are offered an alternate major.
Application should be made during the priority filing period (November 1 through 30, 1998) to be considered for Fall Quarter 1999.
All transfer students must meet the University of California requirements for admission as described in the Undergraduate Admission section of this catalog. These are generally sufficient for admission to the Computer Science major, although admission to engineering majors is subject to additional requirements. The Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) does not meet transfer requirements for engineering majors and is not recommended for the Computer Science major, as it does not provide an adequate mathematics or science background.
Students intending to transfer to engineering majors are expected to complete the equivalent of UCR course work required in the first two years of the programs and to apply for transfer starting with their junior year. Such applications are accepted only for fall quarter and should be submitted during the priority filing period noted above. Specific information on transfer requirements may be obtained from the Office of Student Affairs, (909) 787-5651.
The Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering awards several scholarships to its students each year from funds provided by corporate and private sponsors. Other scholarships are available. Further information may be obtained by calling the Office of Student Affairs, (909) 787-5651.
For a detailed description of the Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CERT), see the Special Study Resources and Facilities section of this catalog.
The Visualization and Intelligent Systems Laboratory (VISLab) is involved in basic and applied research required for the development of intelligent systems for autonomous navigation, automatic object recognition, remote sensing, manufacturing, and various industrial and medical applications. Because of its interdisciplinary character, it attracts faculty and researchers engaged in image processing, computer vision, image and video databases, computer graphics, CAD/CAM, pattern recognition, artificial intelligence, robotics, geometric modeling, perception, man/machine interfaces, machine learning, neural networks, statistics, traffic, environment, and molecular modeling.
VISLab has an industrial associate program, and its state-of-the-art facilities are available to industrial scientists and engineers. In addition, it provides graduate and undergraduate research opportunities and supports postdoctoral and visiting scientist research programs. The Laboratory has access to National Science Foundation supercomputing facilities. Current research in the Laboratory is supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the Army Research Office (ARO), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and industrial grants.
The Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering offers the Bachelor of Science degree for majors in Chemical Engineering (Biochemistry and Chemistry options), Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.
Students must meet three levels of requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree: General University requirements, College requirements, and major requirements.
General University requirements are listed at the beginning of the Undergraduate Studies section. For other UCR regulations including repetition of courses, concurrent enrollment, scholarship regulations, and incomplete (I) grades, see the Academic Regulations section of this catalog.
In addition to the above General University requirements, The Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering has the following unit requirement:
Unit Requirement. Some of the majors in this College require more than the nominal University requirement of 180 units for graduation. However, after having credit for 216 units, a student is not permitted to continue except by approval of the Dean when specific academic or professional reasons are involved.
The Executive Committee of The Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering, in consultation with the faculty, is responsible for determining which courses may be used to satisfy these requirements. Detailed requirements and lists of approved courses are available in the Office of Student Affairs.
Internships and independent study courses may not be used to satisfy breadth requirements.
For the following requirements, a course is defined as a block of instruction which carries credit of 4 or more units.
The College breadth requirements for the Bachelor of Science degree are as follows:
English Composition
Students must demonstrate adequate proficiency in English Composition by completing a one-year sequence of college-level instruction in English Composition with an average grade of "C" or better and no grade lower than "C-." UCR's sequence is English 1A, 1B, 1C. Transfer students who have credit for one semester of English Composition from another institution are required to take two additional quarters, i.e., English 1B and 1C.
Students have the option of using a score of 3 on the College Board Advanced Placement Test in English to satisfy English 1A; they must complete English 1B and 1C. Students with a score of 4 or 5 on the College Board Advanced Placement Test in English have satisfied English 1A and 1B; they must complete English 1C.
Students with an overall grade point average under "C" in the English 1A, 1B, 1C sequence are required to repeat composition courses as necessary in order to meet the required "C" average minimum. It may be necessary to repeat one or more of English 1A, 1B, 1C courses in which a grade of "C-" was earned in order to fulfill the three-quarter English Composition average of "C" or better. However, courses with a grade of "C-" cannot be repeated for credit to alter the transcript grade point average.
Students should enroll in an English composition course each quarter they are registered at UCR until the sequence of Basic Writing/English 1A, 1B, 1C is completed with a satisfactory grade point average. A student may not receive baccalaureate credit for any work in English Composition taken prior to completing the Subject A requirement.
Humanities: 12 units
1. One course in World History
2. One course in one of the areas of Fine Arts, Literature, Philosophy, or Religious Studies
3. One additional course chosen from
No course used to satisfy the English Composition requirement can be applied toward Humanities credit.
Social Sciences: 12 units
1. One course from Economics or Political Science
2. One course from Anthropology, Psychology, or Sociology
3. One additional Social Science course offered by Ethnic Studies, Geography (cultural geography courses), Human Development, or Women's Studies, or one of the disciplines in (1) or (2) above
Courses that are used to satisfy the Humanities and Social Sciences requirements must satisfy the definition of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology:
"Courses that instill cultural values are acceptable, while routine exercises of personal craft are not. Consequently, courses that involve performance must be accompanied by theory or history of the subject."
In order to provide depth in satisfying breadth in the humanities and social sciences, at least two of the courses must be upper-division, and at least two courses, one of them upper-division, must be from the same subject area.
Ethnicity: 4 units
One course dealing with general concepts and issues in the study of race and ethnicity in California and the United States. Courses that satisfy this requirement must concentrate on one or more of four principal minority groups (African American, Asian American, Chicano/Latino, and Native American). These courses must be comparative in nature, analyzing the minority group experience within the present and historical context of other racial and ethnic groups, such as European-American minorities. The courses are to be offered by or cross listed with the Department of Ethnic Studies.
Regardless of the student's college and major, the course may be counted toward the Humanities or the Social Sciences graduation requirements, depending upon the course's content as evaluated by the Committee on Educational Policy. Check with the Office of Student Affairs for the courses that fulfill the Ethnicity requirement.
Natural Sciences and Mathematics: 20 units
1. At least one course in biological sciences
2. At least one course in physical sciences
3. One course in mathematics or computer science or statistics (No more than 4 units may be counted in mathematics, computer science, or statistics.)
No course in cultural geography may be used.
Part of this requirement is satisfied automatically by the lower-division course requirements in each major in The College.
Bourns College of Engineering
Breadth Requirement Unit Summary
| For the B.S. | ||
| English Composition | Varies | |
| Humanities | 12 | |
| Social Sciences | 12 | |
| Ethnicity (4 units)1 | ˜˜ | |
| Natural Sciences and Mathematics | 20 | |
| Total Units | 44 plus English Composition | |
1The 4-unit ethnicity requirement can be applied to the Humanities requirement, depending on content.
Detailed requirements for each major are found under the department listings in the Curricula and Courses section of this catalog, and are available from the Office of Student Affairs, (909) 787-5651. A grade point average of at least 2.00 ("C") in upper-division courses taken in the major field is required for graduation.
For detailed information on UCR policies and regulations see the Academic Regulations section of this catalog.
Detailed information and specifics with regard to the College Regulations governing undergraduate student status as approved by the faculty and contained in the Manual of the Riverside Division of the Academic Senate can be obtained from the Dean's Office.
Students are responsible for meeting deadline dates regarding enrollment, add/drop, change of grading basis, credit by examination, withdrawal, declaration of candidacy, and so forth. The dates are in the Schedule of Classes and must be observed. Counseling can be obtained in The College Office of Student Affairs.
Each student is assigned to a faculty member in the student's area of interest who serves as the faculty advisor. It is the responsibility of The College Office of Student Affairs to inform their students of assignment to an advisor.
All Bourns College of Engineering students are advised on a quarterly basis by either Student Affairs personnel or faculty advisors to assist them in their undergraduate careers. Faculty advisors are also mentors in students' areas of academic interest. Students, however, must be responsible for ensuring that they meet all requirements for graduation.
In consultation with an advisor, every student is required each quarter to plan a detailed class schedule. Class schedules of fewer than 12 units must have the approval of the Dean of The College.
Students who have not met the Subject A requirement are required to enroll in a Basic Writing or qualifier course during their first quarter of residency.
Up to the end of the third week of classes, students may, with the consent of the instructor and the approval of their advisor, add a course. Prior to the end of the fifth week of instruction, students may, with the approval of an advisor and after consultation with the instructor of the course, drop a course without penalty.
A student on probation may enroll for more than 13 quarter units only with the consent of the Dean of The College.
With the approval of the Dean, students may withdraw from the University at any time prior to the end of instruction.
Any changes in a student's class schedule not covered by the above regulations must have the approval of the Dean.
A student in good standing may enroll and receive credit for courses graded "S." However, the "S/NC" grading system cannot be used for any course that is required for graduation, except for a total of 8 units of credit in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Exceptions to this policy may be granted, upon petition, by the student's advisor and the Executive Committee.
Students may change their grading basis in a course from letter grading to "S/NC" (or vice versa) up to the end of the eighth week of instruction.
Regulations governing the Satisfactory/No Credit option are described under Credit and Grades in the Academic Regulations section of this catalog.
A student may petition for the privilege of examination for degree credit without formal enrollment in a particular course, but must be in residence and not on academic probation. Arrangements for examination for degree credit must be made with the student's advisor. Approvals of the advisor, the Dean of The College, and the instructor who is agreeing to give the examination are necessary before the examination may be given. The results of all examinations for degree credit are entered on the student's record as if the student had actually taken the courses of instruction.
The "I" grade denotes work of passing quality but incomplete for good cause. An "I" grade may be assigned by the instructor, and the student must arrange to have the work completed within a time period not to exceed the end of the succeeding quarter. For detailed information, see the Academic Regulations section of this catalog.
At the close of each quarter, the courses, units, grades, and grade points earned are added to the student's cumulative University record. This record summarizes progress toward a degree. Lack of adequate progress may jeopardize continued registration. Students will receive an advisory degree check each quarter that they are enrolled in a declared major in The College.
Applications for graduation are available in The College Office of Student Affairs and must be filed by the deadline established for the quarter in which graduation is intended. The deadline for filing applications for graduation is printed in the Schedule of Classes each quarter. Applications are not accepted after the deadline established for the quarter. If for any reason a student does not meet the requirements for graduation after announcing candidacy, or if a student fails to meet the deadline for filing, an application must be filed for a subsequent quarter.