Coursework and Degree Requirements

Coursework and Degree Requirements

The Master of Engineering degree from the University of California, Berkeley is awarded after the successful completion of 25 approved units that must be taken for a letter grade (with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0) in residence at the University of California, Berkeley. The MEng program consists of three major components, comprising a technical specialization (4 pre-approved courses), a curriculum of engineering leadership courses (8 units), and an integrative two semester capstone project (5 units). A minimum of 25 units is required. Extra courses that do not count towards your degree (taken in addition to the 25 units required for the MEng degree) can be taken on a pass/no pass basis; they do not need to be taken for a letter grade. For a current, online program overview please visit the MEng Program Design webpage.

Some programs may have higher performance standards than the minimum requirements stated by the Graduate Division. For example, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) has higher passing grade (B-) and GPA (3.5) requirements required for graduation. Please check with your degree-granting department for further information. 

Program Requirements (minimum 25 units)

The MEng Degree requires at least 25 total units of credit that must be taken for a letter grade and comprehensive exam. Those credits are allocated across three essential areas:

• 4 courses in Technical Department area of concentration

  • • • 12-16 units depending on department

• 4 units of Fung Institute Business & Leadership classes (total, fall and spring)

  • • • 2 units of boot camp short courses in mid-August

        • • ENGIN 270A Organizational Behavior & Negotiations

          • ENGIN 270B R&D Tech Management and Ethics

      • 2 units of boot camp short courses in early January

        • • Choose 2 x 1-unit electives (Note: Electives listed below are subject to change)

            • ENGIN 270D: Entrepreneurship for Engineers

            • ENGIN 270G: Marketing & Product Management

            • ENGIN 270H: Accounting & Finance

            • ENGIN 270I: Digital Platform Strategy

            • ENGIN 270J: Industry Analysis 

            • ENGIN 270L: Global Leadership Expertise

            • ENGIN 270M: Professional Ethics in Tech, Law & Business

            • ENGIN 270N: Innovation Management 

            • ENGIN 270P: Power and Persuasion for Engineering Leadership

            • ENGIN 270R: Product Management for Engineering Leaders

            • ENGIN 270Q: The Power of Diversity and Inclusion for Engineering Leaders

  • 4 units of Communications (total, fall and spring)

    • • • • 2 unit of ENGIN 295 Communication for Engineering Leaders (fall, spring).

          • 1 unit of ENGIN 270C Teaming & Project Management (fall)

          • 1 unit of ENGIN 270K Coaching for High Performing Teams (spring) 

• 5 units of ENGIN296MA and ENGIN296MB Capstone Project (total, fall and spring)

  • • Includes a final team report

    • Students receive a final capstone grade at the end of Spring semester. Several weeks after receiving the final grade for E296, the spring and the fall records are reconciled and “IP” is removed.  More information about In Progress (IP) grades is listed in the A203 Berkeley Academic Senate webpage.

• Plan II Masters Comprehensive Exam: pass both leadership and technical parts

UC Berkeley Policy on Grades

Special Provisions: Graduate Students

Only courses graded A, B, C (with or without plus or minus signs) are accepted in satisfaction of [MEng] degree requirements. [S grades are not accepted for the MEng degree requirements.] Courses graded below C- do not yield unit credit toward a higher degree, regardless of your overall GPA. Graduate students must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 in all upper division and graduate coursework undertaken in graduate standing in the University of California or its exchange programs.

Note: Departments may have a higher performance standard than the minimum B average (3.0 GPA) required by the Graduate Division. 

Changes of Grade

All grades except I and IP above are considered final when assigned by an instructor at the end of a term. An instructor may request a change of grade when a computational, clerical, or procedural error occurred in the original assignment of a grade, but a grade may not be changed as a result of reevaluation of your work. No final grade may be revised as a result of reexamination or the submission of additional work after the close of the term.

Grade Appeal Process

If you have a grievance about a grade, you should first try to speak with your instructor and/or the student ombuds. If that does not resolve your grievance, you may initiate a formal appeal through the academic department where you received the grade. The following are grounds for appeal: the application of non-academic criteria, such as the consideration of race, politics, religion, sex, or other criteria not directly reflective of performance related to course requirements; sexual harassment; or improper academic procedures that unfairly affect your grade. Formal procedures may not be activated unless you (the student) and the instructor in charge have failed to resolve the dispute informally. You (the student) may opt to include an ombuds (or any mutually accepted third party) and/or the department chair in assisting in resolving the dispute informally. The formal process must be initiated within one calendar year from the last day of the semester in which the final grade for the course was posted. The formal process, once initiated, is to be completed at the unit level (academic department) within 20 working days and at the Senate level within 40 working days if both parties are in residence and the University is in regular session (excluding summer session).

More information on academic policy on grades

Technical Coursework by Department 

If you have questions about your technical coursework or requesting a signature on your OPT I-20 form, please contact your relevant department at the link below. 

Plan II Master’s Comprehensive Exam

Passing the comprehensive exam is a mandatory requirement to graduate with the Master of Engineering degree. The exam is not part of a grade for any course, and is administered in two parts: leadership and technical.  The leadership exam is a oral exam administered by the Fung Institute towards the end of the fall or beginning of the spring semesters.

The technical exam may be oral or written, based on the format the engineering department technical faculty deem most effective. The technical exam may be administered at the end of the fall semester or in the spring semester, as determined by the department. 

A student will generally be given two opportunities to pass each part of the comprehensive exam. A student who fails one or both components of the exam may, with the concurrence of the examining committee and Graduate Advisors, re-take the component(s) of the exam that he or she failed. Students who fail one component of the exam and then fail the re-take of that component of the exam will either be recommended to the Dean of Graduate Division for dismissal from the program (in consultation with Graduate Advisors) or opt to voluntarily leave the program. In rare circumstances, the examining committee (again, in consultation with Graduate Advisors) may recommend to the Dean of the Graduate Division that a student be dismissed without the opportunity to re-take the failed portion(s) of the comprehensive examination.

A student who has been dismissed from graduate standing will no longer be permitted to register. Once dismissed, a student is granted access to campus resources, including faculty time, only to the degree that such access is accorded the general public.

1. Leadership comprehensive exam-administered by the Fung Institute: 

The Fung Institute will administer the MEng leadership comprehensive exam that will be held early in the spring semester. The format will be an individual, oral exam related to your capstone leadership experience (e.g., teaming, stakeholder management, conflict resolution, and project scoping). The exam details and pass/fail assessment criteria will be shared on bCourses.

2. Technical comprehensive exam-administered by the engineering department in which the student is enrolled:

Your individual engineering departments will communicate their technical exam format and timing to students directly.  The exam timing and format will vary by department. Some departments hold their exams in the fall; others -- in the spring. In some cases, it's based on capstone projects; in others -- on coursework. Please inquire with your GSAO for details about your department's technical exam.