The waiver exams are designed for incoming transfer students who have taken a C programming or circuits course and wish to receive transfer credit for UC San Diego ECE-015 or ECE-035. The purpose of these exams is to test a student's understanding of the material in these courses.
- Students who did not pass or received a W in ECE-015 or ECE-035 at UC San Diego are NOT eligible to take the exam(s).
- Students are allowed only one chance to take the exams.
- The exams are offered only ONCE A YEAR during week 0 or 1 of the fall quarter, are OPTIONAL and there is NO FEE to take them.
- Results will be e-mailed via the Virtual Advising Center (VAC).
| EXAM | DATE | TIME | LOCATION | SIGN UP FORM (Opens 09/01/26) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ECE-015 | Week 0, FA26 | TBA | TBA | CLOSED |
| ECE-035 | Week 0, FA26 | TBA | TBA | CLOSED |
ECE-015 Waiver Exam:
ECE-015 Resource Website
Sample Question 1
Sample Question 2
Sample Question 3
If you are unable to answer or solve these questions, please take ECE-015.
ECE-035 Waiver Exam:
If you are unable to answer or solve these questions, please take ECE-035.
UCSD Catalog Course Descriptions
ECE 15. Engineering Computation (4)
Students learn the C programming language with an emphasis on high-performance numerical computation. The commonality across programming languages of control structures, data structures, and I/O is also covered. Techniques for using MATLAB to graph the results of C computations are developed. Prerequisites: a familiarity with basic mathematics such as trigonometry functions and graphing is expected but this course assumes no prior programming knowledge.
ECE 35. Introduction to Analog Design (4)
Fundamental circuit theory concepts, Kirchoff's voltage and current laws, Thevenin's and Norton's theorems, loop and node analysis, time-varying signals, transient first order circuits, steady-state sinusoidal response. (Course material and/or program fees may apply.) Prerequisites: Math. 20A–B and PHYS 2A; Math. 20C and Physics 2B must be taken concurrently.
STUDENTS WHO PASS THE EXAM(S):
- must contact the ECE Undergraduate Advisors through the VAC (Virtual Advising Center) to enroll in courses that require ECE-015 or ECE-035. Webreg will not recognize that students have passed a waiver exam. ECE-030 requires ECE-015. ECE-045 and ECE-065 require ECE-035.
- will not receive a grade or units. The community college transfer course will also not be approximated or given equivalency to ECE-015 or ECE-035.
- will have a note on their degree audits indicating that the courses were waived (applies to ECE majors only). Non-ECE CE majors who pass the exam should contact their major department advisor via the VAC regarding their degree audit.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
- Should I enroll in ECE-015 or ECE-035 if I'm planning to take the ECE Waiver Exams?
Yes, you should secure a seat in these courses in case you do not pass the waiver exams. If you do not pass the waiver exams, there is no guarantee seats will still be available in these courses after week 0.
- Seats are filling up in ECE-045 and ECE-065 in the fall. Can I enroll in ECE-045 and ECE-065 before taking the ECE-035 Waiver Exam?
The ECE Department strictly enforces prerequisites in core ECE courses. Students must pass the ECE-035 Waiver Exam before they can enroll in ECE-045 and ECE-065. A limited number of seats are saved in ECE-045 and ECE-065 for students who pass the waiver exam.
- When and how do I get my results?
Results are usually available a few days after the exam and sent to students through the Virtual Advising Center (VAC).
- Is there an ECE-017 Waiver Exam?
The department has decided to discontinue the ECE-017 Waiver Exam.