The Engineering Core is a set of courses all e+ students take, regardless of the chosen emphasis. These courses are the heart of an e+ degree and are fundamental to the skills needed to develop as a top engineer. The Core includes project courses, statics, circuits and many more. Many of the core courses offer the opportunity to take the traditional departmental courses or to take a hands-on version of the same course, taught by e+ faculty. While both courses cover the same material, the e+ version of the course is taught with a hands-on, design-based approach.
It’s important to declare your emphasis by the end of your first-year at the latest to keep on track for graduation. Students work with the e+ academic advisor, once an emphasis is declared, to start an academic plan that helps maximize opportunities and interests. Typically, students declare their concentration by the end of their sophomore year.
Students must complete one of our six disciplinary emphases:
At this time, there are no additional emphasis options.
Yes! Students with specific interests that do not match a pre-existing concentration may elect to create their own customized concentration. For more information on our Self-Directed Concentration.
Your degree would read as follows:
- Major in Engineering Plus
- Emphasis in (selected area of engineering)
- Concentration in (selected area of interest)
In Engineering Plus, we see the value of teaching interdisciplinary skills that help make students uniquely qualified in the job market and prepare them for a broad range of opportunities post-graduation.
Yes! There are many job opportunities for Engineering Plus graduates. Graduates of e+ pursue a variety of jobs in industry, teaching, business and more. Many students go onto graduate school and professional programs post-graduation. With the program focus in leadership, collaboration and communication, students are equipped with skills to lead in a broad range of opportunities. Recent graduates have become managers within Arrow Electronics or are monitoring avalanches for the State of Colorado.
The Boulder Campus CU catalog lists prerequisites with the course descriptions.
Yes, prerequisites are enforced on all courses. If a student enrolls in a course in which the prerequisite has not been met, they will be dropped from the course at the beginning of the next term. Speak with the e+ academic advisor for additional information on prerequisites.
Generally, yes. The College of Engineering and Applied Science looks for a technical writing course, so AP credit will not satisfy the writing requirement.
If beginning the program as a first-year student, it’s perfectly okay to be undecided about an emphasis and/or concentration. We ask that students have a firm stance on an emphasis by April of their first-year, when they begin to register for sophomore year. Depending on the chosen concentration, students start them their sophomore or junior year. In order to stay on pace for graduation, the earlier an emphasis and concentration are declared, the better.
Yes, read through the policy for Humanities & Social Science courses that the CEAS accepts.
And, read through the detailed list of H&SS course options.
Taking courses at a community college over the summer should be discussed with the e+ academic advisor. The last 45 credit hours of an e+ degree have to be completed at the CU Boulder campus. Any questions about transfer credit can be viewed at transferology.com.
Students can enroll in up to 17 credit hours during their first term at CU Boulder. After first term, the maximum is up to 19 credit hours as an engineering student. More information can be found under the College of Engineering and Applied Science Academic Policies.
Students can drop a course up to the tenth-week of the semester on the myCUinfo portal. It is strongly recommended to check in with the e+ academic advisor before dropping any classes.
Yes. All undergraduates in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences are eligible to enroll in the E+ degree program. If your current major (i.e. Electrical) has an equivalent emphasis in E+ (i.e. Electrical), you may pursue that emphasis so long as you are in good academic standing when you leave your current major (i.e. not dismissed/discontinued).
No. If you have been dismissed from your current major (i.e. Aerospace), you may not pursue the equivalent emphasis (i.e. Aerospace) in the E+ program. You may, however, pursue a different emphasis (i.e. Civil) through E+.
Per the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Repeated Courses policy, you may not enroll more than three times in a course that applies towards degree requirements. Furthermore, after your third attempt, you may not substitute an equivalent course. This means that a student has a maximum of three opportunities to show sufficient mastery of particular content, whether the course is from CU-Boulder or through another collegiate institution. Furthermore, the most recent occurrence of the subject/course is the grade which is applied to meet a grade required for a pre-requisite course.
Yes! All students are required to take the FE Exam prior to graduation. You must take the FE exam in order to graduate and get your degree. Find more information about exam registration and preparation on our FE exam page.