Cal Poly Pomona is one of the campuses of the California State University System (CSU). We're located about 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. The campus as a whole has about 18,000 students. The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (ECE) is accredited with a diverse student body of about 1600 Undergraduate and 100 Masters students. What follows are the highlights of our program. See the Cal Poly Pomona Catalog as well as the CSUmentor for more details. Note that students are admitted as both First Time Freshman and as Transfer Students.

THE CAL POLY POMONA ECE PROGRAM

The primary focus of the ECE program here at Cal Poly Pomona is on students who plan to go to work as Engineers right after graduation. The overall goals of the program are to:

• Help students develop the technical skills needed to be good engineers.
• Help students develop the communication skills needed to be good written and oral communicators.
• Help students develop a sense of responsibility as both engineers and members of society.

We endeavor to accomplish these goals with a program having the following three main characteristics:

• First, the ECE Curriculum is highly structured with Engineering classes beginning in the Freshmen year. This not only gives our students an early start in their engineering studies but also gives them the opportunity to decide at an early stage whether they really want to pursue engineering.
• Second, classes are taught with a "learning by doing" approach to education. Virtually every Electrical and Computer Engineering class has a Lab taught by a Faculty member that gives students first hand opportunity to explore the results developed in class as well as test out their own ideas and designs.
• And third, every student does an individual or group Senior Project. These capstone projects are in general not only great learning experiences but also great to talk about in job interviews.

VISITING THE CAMPUS

Feel free to visit us any time you would like. Campus tours are scheduled on a regular basis. Email Larry Hinkle at lchinkle@csupomona.edu or call him at 909-869-2769 for information and scheduling. You can get Campus Tour Information at 909-869-3529. Admitted students are invited to new student orientation sessions.

WHEN TO APPLY FOR ADMISSION

Primary times to file for admission to Cal Poly Pomona are as follows:
 

Note, however, that admissions to many programs including ECE usually stay open after the primary time to file applications. See the Admissions Page for more information and online application forms. Also see CSUmentor.
 
 

FRESHMEN ADMISSION

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR FRESHMAN ADMISSION

Admission to Cal Poly Pomona as a Freshman is guaranteed when you apply in November if you satisfactorily complete the following classes:

• English, 4 years.
• Mathematics, 3 years: algegra, geometry, intermediate algebra.
• U.S. History or U.S. History and government: 1 year.
• Science, 1 year with laboratory: biology, chemistry, physics or other acceptable laboratory science.
• Foreign Language, 2 years in the same language (subject to waiver for applicants demonstrating equivalent competence).
• Visual and Performing Arts, 1 year art, dance, drama/theater or music.
• Electives, 3 years: selected from English, advanced mathematics, social science, history, laboratory science, foreign language, visual and performing arts and agriculture. and have an overall high school GPA of at least 3.0. Lower GPA's can be compensated for by higher SAT scores. See the Cal Poly Pomona catalog or the following page from Admissions for the details. Another good source of information is CSUmentor.
• 
  ADDITIONAL PREPARATION FOR ECE FRESHMEN APPLICANTS

  Students wanting to major in Electrical and Computer Engineering should take more high school math and science than the minimum. In particular, you should take courses in

  • Both chemistry and physics - with biology recommended
  • Trigonometry and precalculus - and if offered AP Calculus
  • Computer literacy

  But simply "taking" these classes is not enough. You need to learn the material well enough to be able to pass the Math Placement Test discussed in the next section. If you do not pass this test at a high enough level you will have to take preparatory math classes and invariably take longer to graduate.

  We also highly recommend that you take a look at the following Math and Physics Problems to get an idea, while you're still in high school, of how well prepared you should be as an entering Freshman in Electrical and Computer Engineering. And finally here are some math and science books we suggest you take a look at to help you with your preparation:

   

  • Discovering Geometry   by Michael Serra
  • Functions Modeling Change   by Eric Connally, Debroah-Hughes Hallett et al.
  • Improve Your Physics Grade   by Ronald and Robin Aaron

  
  PLACEMENT TESTS FOR ENTERING FRESHMEN

  All new Engineering Freshmen admitted to CSU campuses must take math and English placement tests unless they score high enough on the SAT or have appropriate transfer credit as follows:

  • EPT - English Placement Test. The EPT is for those who score less than 550 on the English part of the SAT or don't have appropriate college transfer credit. If you do not pass it you will have to take preparatory English.
  • ELM - Entry Level Math Test. The ELM is for those who score less than 560 on the Math part of the SAT or don't have appropriate college transfer credit. If you do not pass the ELM test you really need to think seriously about whether you want to major in Engineering. Very few students who fail the ELM go on to graduate in Engineering.
  • MDPT - Math Diagonistic Placement Test. The MDPT (for those who have passed the ELM test) determines whether you can take Math 114 and begin the calculus sequence. You must take the MDPT unless you have a score of 3 or higher on the AP Calculus test or have appropriate college transfer credit. If you do not pass high enough on the MDPT you will need to take "preparatory" classes in trig and precalculus that do not count toward your engineering degree and as a result will invariably delay your graduation. So the MDPT is very important. We strongly advise that you prepare and do your best on it. Information on the MDPT is not only available from the Math Department but also from the Learning Resource Center.

   

  TRANSFER STUDENT ADMISSION

  MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSFER STUDENT ADMISSION

  • Lower Division Transfer Requirements - If you have completed fewer than 56 transferable semester (84 quarter) units, you will qualify for admission if you have a grade point average of 2.0 (C) or better in all transferable units attempted, are in good standing at the last college or university attended, and meet the admission requirements for first-time freshmen, i.e., you have completed with a grade of C or better each of the courses in the comprehensive pattern of college preparatory subject requirements and have a qualifiable eligibility index. If you did not complete all the subject requirements in high school, appropriate college courses may be used to make up the missing subjects. Nonresidents must meet the eligibility index for nonresidents.
  • Upper Division Transfer Requirements - If you have completed at least 56 transferable semester (84 quarter) units, have a grade point average of 2.0 (C) or better in all transferable units attempted (nonresidents have must a grade point average of 2.4), and are in good standing at the last college or university attended, you may become eligible one of two ways:
  • 
     
    1. You have complete at least 30 semester (45 quarter) units of college courses with a grade of C or better in each course to be selected from courses in English, arts and humanities, social science, science and mathematics at a level at least equivalent to courses that meet general education requirements. The 30 semester (45 quarter) units must include all of the general education requirements in communication in the English language (at least 9 semester or 12 quarter units to include written communication, oral communication, and critical thinking) and mathematics (at least 3 semester or 4 quarter units) or, if completing the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum, English communication (at least 9 semester or 12 quarter units in English composition, oral communication, and critical thinking) and the requirement in mathematics (at least 3 semester or 4 quarter units).
    2. 
        
    3. You have completed all subject requirements required for first-time freshmen. If you did not complete all the subject requirements in high school, appropriate college courses may be used to make up the missing subjects.

    
    For upper division transfers seeking admission to the fall term 2000 or later, the second option will not be available to establish eligibility for admission. All applicants with 56 or more transferable semester (84 quarter) units will be required to have completed at least 30 semester units of courses at a level equivalent to courses that meet general education requirements. The 30 semester units must include all of the general education requirements in communication in English language (3 courses) and at least the three semester units (typically 1 course) required in mathematics. Applicants who graduated from high school in 1987 or earlier who have not completed the subjects requirements in (1) and (2) above should contact the admission office at the campus to which they plan to submit an application for admission to inquire about alternative admission programs.

  ADDITIONAL PREPARATION FOR ECE TRANSFER STUDENTS

  In addition to the minimum requirements, students planning to transfer into the ECE program should make it a point to take as many lower division General Education classes as possible that are transferable to Cal Poly Pomona as well as

   

  • Two years of calculus and differential equations
  • One quarter (or semester) of college chemistry
  • One year of calculus based physics
  • C and C++ if available

  
  COMMUNITY COLLEGE TRANSFER CREDIT

  The following links provide transfer credit information for Community Colleges in the vicinity of Cal Poly Pomona. Additional information is available from the Articulation Agreements between Cal Poly Pomona and all Community Colleges in California.

  Select a College Chaffey Community College Citrus Community College East Los Angeles College Fullerton College Glendale City College Mt. Sac Community Colleg Pasadena City College Riverside Community College