How to Apply to Engineering at UT Austin: 12 Cockrell School Majors with Admission by Major, Calculus Readiness by 1 December, and Admission Routes and Prerequisites for Chinese, Canadian High School and Transfer Students

At The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), undergraduate engineering is offered by the Cockrell School of Engineering. Here is what you need to know for fall 2027 entry, based on official UT Austin information, for students at high schools in China, students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver students), and transfer students.

1. Majors

• 12 undergraduate engineering majors: Aerospace, Biomedical, Architectural, Chemical, Civil, Computational, Electrical and Computer, Environmental, Geosystems Engineering and Hydrogeology, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical, and Petroleum Engineering. The majors page also lists Humanitarian Engineering. Computer Science is in the College of Natural Sciences, not Cockrell.
• Honors: the Engineering Honors Program and the new Cockrell-McCombs B.S./M.S. Honors Program with the McCombs School of Business.

2. Admission by major; changing later is competitive

• Admission by major: you list a first-choice and a second-choice major and check each college’s site for major-specific materials; Cockrell says everyone admitted to the school is admitted to a specific major. List the engineering major you want as your first choice.
• Summer or fall only: there is no spring admission to Cockrell.
• Changing majors (internal transfer): current students moving into Cockrell from another college, or between Cockrell majors, apply online and are admitted competitively on a space-available basis. Requirements include in-residence credit for calculus and other technical courses, a cumulative and technical GPA of at least 3.0, and a 500-word essay. The same page also says Cockrell has no standard GPA requirement for internal transfer and that admitted GPAs and seats vary by semester and major; both statements are listed here. Deadlines are posted in the student system.

3. Calculus readiness and testing

• Calculus Readiness Requirement: first-year applicants to Cockrell must show calculus readiness by the 1 December application deadline with one of: SAT Math 620 or higher; ACT Math 26 or higher; AP Calculus AB or BC 3 or higher; IB HL Mathematics 4 or higher; an official college transcript with Calculus I or higher at B or better; or an official high school transcript with Calculus I or higher at B or better. Send test scores to UT Austin if you use them. UT notes that meeting this does not always exempt you from math placement assessments.
• SAT or ACT required: at least one official SAT or ACT score sent by the testing agency.
• Cockrell does not list separate high school physics or chemistry minimums.

4. Students at high schools in China

• Materials: Common App, essay and required short answers; US$90 international application fee, no waivers. Submit secondary records equivalent to US grades 9 to 12. UT does not say whether the Gaokao is accepted.
• Calculus: without AP or IB, you can use SAT Math 620 or ACT Math 26, or an official high school transcript showing calculus with a B or better.
• English: China is not on the exemption list; submit TOEFL iBT 79 (4 on the new scale), IELTS Academic 6.5 or Duolingo 115.

5. Students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver)

• English exemption: Canada (except Quebec) is on the exemption list.
• SAT or ACT is still required, and calculus readiness must be shown by 1 December. UT does not publish BC course requirements; ask whether your BC calculus course meets the “high school Calculus I or higher with a B or better” option.

6. Fall 2027 timeline

• Early Action closes on 15 October, supplemental materials by 22 October;
• Regular closes on 1 December, supplemental materials by 10 December; Cockrell lists 1 December as its application deadline.
• Early Action applicants get a decision or deferral by 15 January 2027; deferred and Regular applicants get decisions by 15 February 2027.

7. Costs and scholarships

• 2026-27 estimate (full-time undergraduate, fall and spring): non-resident tuition US$42,554 to 51,106 depending on college; total cost 64,204 to 72,916. The cost page does not single out Cockrell’s rate, so use UT’s cost estimator.
• Cockrell scholarships: Cockrell says undergraduates received more than $10 million in merit awards last year, for first-year and current students, and applicants are considered for available support after applying. A competitive scholarship of $1,000 or more can make a student eligible for an out-of-state tuition waiver, but Cockrell says waivers are rarely available to undergraduates. UT does not say which awards international students can receive.

8. External transfer students

• Who counts: students with 24 hours of transferable credit; no associate degree needed. International transfer applicants need 24 hours completed after high school, not including courses in progress.
• Fall only, 1 March deadline. Students are admitted to a specific major; standards are higher than for the university overall, seats are limited, and calculus, chemistry and physics grades are reviewed closely.
• Prerequisites: at least M 408D, M 408L or M 408M (TCCN MATH 2415) and PHYS 303K (PHYS 2425) or equivalents, plus four technical courses in total (math, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, computer science or engineering), which can include those two.
• Time to degree: Cockrell says most transfer students need at least five long semesters at UT and usually take six to seven. Electrical and Computer Engineering counts at most 25 hours of electrical engineering transfer courses.
• Students admitted to another major who want Cockrell later need a year at UT first and then a competitive internal transfer.

Checklist

Students at high schools in China:

• List a specific engineering major first; apply by 15 October (EA) or 1 December
• Show calculus readiness by 1 December (SAT Math 620, ACT Math 26, AP Calculus 3, IB HL Math 4 or calculus with B or better)
• Official SAT or ACT required; TOEFL 79 (new scale 4), IELTS 6.5 or Duolingo 115

Students at Canadian high schools (including BC and Vancouver):

• Canadian students outside Quebec are generally exempt from English tests
• SAT or ACT required; show calculus readiness by 1 December

Transfer students:

• 24 transferable hours; fall entry only, apply by 1 March
• Complete one of M 408D/L/M, PHYS 303K and four technical courses in total; apply to the major you want

Sources: The University of Texas at Austin, Cockrell School undergraduate admissions; Cockrell undergraduate majors; Calculus Readiness Requirement; Internal transfer; External transfer; Financial support; Freshman application and dates; International applicants; Cost of attendance. Information is for fall 2027 entry (2026-27 cost estimates). Check UT Austin for the latest details.