Increase the value of your CSU degree with unrestricted electives
Customize your education to incorporate more electives from across the university. Gain additional control over your path and preparation to be well-rounded technology leaders, whether that’s acquiring additional soft skills to help you in your first job, or tying your degree to a passion project.
The only limitation is
Imagination
Undergraduate students enrolling in courses in Fall 2026 or later can take up to twelve unrestricted electives to count toward your degree, depending on your major.
Here are a few ideas on how the electives could be used: an engineering concentration, study abroad, co-op, business courses, or courses contributing to an accelerated master’s program (AMP).
Any course in the CSU catalog can be applied, so how you use this freedom is only limited by your imagination. It enables you to customize your world-class CSU engineering education with your passions.
Combine engineering with emerging technologies, data, business, sustainability, or policy
Graduate with a more versatile and competitive academic profile
Graduate prepared to become a technology leader of the future in industry, research, or graduate study
Develop skills that position you to lead innovation, not just participate in it
Students in the majors listed below may apply elective credits as follows:
- Construction Engineering – 6 elective credits
- Chemical and Biological Engineering – 9 elective credits
- Civil Engineering – 12 elective credits
- Computer Engineering (General Concentration) – 12 elective credits
- Electrical Engineering (General Concentration) – 12 elective credits
- Environmental Engineering – 12 elective credits
- Mechanical Engineering – 12 elective credits
Unrestricted electives apply to all students enrolled in the affected programs beginning Fall 2026.
What this means for
Current and Future Students
Students graduating in spring or summer 2026 will not be impacted.
Unrestricted electives apply to all students enrolled in the affected programs beginning Fall 2026.
Unrestricted elective flexibility allows you to choose courses from across the university catalog to fulfill degree requirements.
Some limitations will still apply, including prerequisite requirements, minimum credit standards, and accreditation constraints.
Please note that while this proposal has been fully approved, updates to CSU systems may take time. As a result, these changes may not immediately appear in Degree Audit or the Academic Calendar.
Importantly, this update does not increase the total number of credits required for graduation, and all core engineering requirements remain unchanged.
