How to Apply to Engineering at Florida Atlantic University: Admission Starts in the Pre-Professional Engineering Program, Calculus and Physics Come First, and How Admission and Prerequisites Work for Domestic, International (Including China) and Transfer Applicants

Florida Atlantic University (FAU) is a public university in Florida with its main campus in Boca Raton. Undergraduate engineering is offered by the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Computer science is not covered here; this guide covers the engineering majors.

1. Engineering majors

• Engineering BS degrees on the college’s undergraduate page: biomedical, civil, computer, electrical, environmental, geomatics, mechanical and ocean engineering.
• ABET (as the website states it): the civil, computer, electrical, environmental, geomatics, mechanical and ocean engineering pages each say the BS is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET. The biomedical engineering undergraduate page read does not mention ABET accreditation; ask the department.
• Credits: civil engineering 128 credits; environmental and geomatics engineering 120 credits each; the other program pages do not give a total, so check the university catalog.
• Biomedical engineering: three tracks—bio robotics, biomaterials and tissue engineering, and smart health and biomedical devices—plus 4+1 joint programs with the MS in Biomedical Engineering or the MS in Artificial Intelligence.
• Other: an Innovation Leadership Honors Program invites students who have completed the Pre-Professional Engineering Program and meet its eligibility requirements. Paid co-op placements are not described on the pages read; ask the college’s advising and career staff.

2. How admission works: pre-engineering first, then a major

• Admitted as pre-engineering: the Pre-Professional Engineering page says entering freshmen and all transfer students in the BS engineering programs are admitted to the college’s preprofessional program as pre-engineering students, and apply to their major after finishing the core courses.
• Core courses: for civil, computer, electrical, environmental, mechanical and ocean engineering, Calculus with Analytic Geometry 1 (MAC 2311, 4 credits) and General Physics for Engineers 1 (PHY 2048, 3 credits); for geomatics engineering, MAC 2311 only. A C or better is required in each. The core-course table does not list biomedical engineering; how to enter that major is not stated, so ask the college.
• AP: AP scores of 4 or above earn credit, with a 5 counted as an A and a 4 as a B.
• Attempts: at most two attempts at each listed course; failing the second attempt (including withdrawals) is grounds for denial of admission to an engineering or computer science program.
• Based on performance: admission to a major depends on performance in the core courses; the pages read give no GPA cut-off or number of places.
• Not guaranteed: a denial can be appealed through the academic petition process, with new academic or personal information and extenuating circumstances.
• Students with engineering degrees from ABET-accredited institutions: the page says they are directly admitted to the engineering or computer science programs of their choice.
• Entry-level math: Calculus with Analytic Geometry 1. Students placed in lower-level math may struggle to find courses accepted in engineering or computer science, which can delay entry to a program. Pre-engineering students who are not ready for college calculus but show promise are considered for the STEM Bridge Program.
• Changing in from another FAU major: apart from the core-course rule above, the pages read do not give other conditions; contact the Center for Advising and Student Engagement (561-297-2780, engineering-services@fau.edu).

3. Prerequisites

• University high school units: English 4 (with substantial composition), mathematics 4 (Algebra 1 level and above), natural science 3 (2 with lab), social science 3, foreign language 2 (same language) and academic electives 2, 18 units in total.
• Extra advice for engineering and computer science: Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Precalculus/Trigonometry and Calculus 1 or AP Calculus are strongly recommended; statistics, math for college readiness and financial algebra are not recommended in their place. The pages read do not set specific physics or chemistry requirements.
• AP/IB and other exam credit: the international FAQ says up to 45 semester hours from AICE, AP, IB and CLEP; for the pre-engineering core courses see section 2. Which other engineering requirements those scores replace is not stated on the pages read.

4. Rounds, cost to apply and materials

• First-year dates (the page prints no year; check they are for fall 2027): Early Action application deadline October 15, materials October 22, decision December 4; Rolling Decision deadline March 12; spring September 15. Automatic merit scholarship consideration requires a complete application by January 15. Deposit deadlines: May 1 for summer and fall, October 15 for spring.
• Application fee: USD 30, non-refundable.
• Essays and recommendations: the pages read list no engineering-specific essay or recommendation; not stated.
• Tests: first-year applicants, domestic and international, must submit ACT, SAT or CLT scores (a Florida public university requirement). Middle 50% of admitted first-year students (labelled Student Profile 2026): GPA 3.66-4.29 (recalculated on academic core courses; requirements vary by major), SAT 1090-1270, ACT 22-28.

5. Three kinds of applicants

US domestic applicants

• Review: admission is based on high school GPA, grades in academic core courses, course selection, college readiness in math, writing and reading, class rank and test scores.
• Tuition (2026-2027, undergraduate, per credit hour including fees): Florida residents USD 203.29, non-Florida residents USD 799.72. The nine-month full-time tuition and fees budget is USD 5,984 for Florida residents and USD 22,888 for non-Florida residents.
• Scholarships: freshman merit scholarships need no separate application; eligibility is set at admission, with a complete application by January 15. Florida residents receive four-year awards of USD 2,000 to 20,000 by GPA and test score (from a 3.7 GPA with SAT 1200). Non-Florida residents (US citizens or permanent residents) can receive USD 4,000 to 40,000, and there is the State University System Grandparent Waiver for students with a Florida-resident grandparent. Awards require full-time enrollment, 30 credits a year and a 3.0 FAU GPA.
• Engineering differential tuition: the cost-of-attendance page read lists none; not stated.

International applicants

• How to apply: first-year applicants use the Common App; transfer and second-degree applicants use the FAU application. The fee is USD 30, and only one application should be submitted.
• Transcripts: for first-year students without a US curriculum, high school records must be evaluated course by course by a NACES-accredited agency, including an overall GPA and a separate mathematics-only GPA.
• Tests: first-year applicants and transfers with fewer than 60 transferable credits submit official SAT, ACT or CLT scores. The how-to-apply page says scores must come from test dates within the last 5 years, while the international FAQ says scores are valid for two years; these differ, so confirm with Admissions.
• English: an SAT EBRW of 490, or ACT Reading 19 and English 17, can exempt you from an English exam. Otherwise meet one of: at least three years of secondary education in a school with a fully English curriculum; three years in a country where English is the majority native language; 30 post-secondary credits including ENC 1101 and ENC 1102 (or equivalent) with a C or higher; or 60 post-secondary credits or an associate degree or higher. Otherwise submit an exam: TOEFL iBT 4.5 (as printed on the page) or PBT 550, IELTS 6.5, Cambridge English 180, PTE 55, Duolingo 110, ELS 112 and others. Applicants below the minimum may use the Conditional Admissions Track (CAT) at the Intensive English Institute.
• International scholarships: the President’s International Scholarship is USD 6,000 a year for F-1 or J-1 students—renewable up to four years for freshmen (3.5 GPA or higher, SAT/ACT/CLT scores and English proficiency) and up to three years for transfers (3.5 transfer GPA, two years of university up to 60 credits or an AA degree, and English proficiency). Admitted students are considered automatically; deadlines are January 15 (priority) and March 15 for fall and August 15 and October 15 for spring. Awards are for fall and spring entry only and are limited.
• Cost: the page estimates a year (24 credits, fall or spring entry) at USD 17,324 tuition and fees, USD 1,320 books, USD 25,758 living expenses and USD 1,844 medical insurance, USD 46,246 in total; for summer entry (36 credits) the total is USD 54,908.
• Proof of funds: the application pages read do not state an amount; confirm I-20 requirements with International Student Services.

Applicants from China

• Academic minimum: the country page for China says an evaluated equivalent GPA of at least B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale), or 80 or B on the 5-point scale or 75 or B on the 4-point scale.
• Graduation exam: the page says applicants should submit the Certificate of Results of the General Examination for High School Graduates (spelled “HUIKAO” on the page).
• Gaokao: the website does not say whether gaokao results are used. First-year applicants must still submit SAT, ACT or CLT scores.
• Other: the China page names no interview or specific credential agency; the NACES evaluation rule above applies. Contact admissions@fau.edu for anything else.

6. Transfer

• General conditions: a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher on college coursework and good standing at the last institution are the usual minimums; Florida public AA graduates are listed at 2.0. The College of Engineering and Computer Science is described as selective with additional requirements.
• Entering an engineering major: transfers also enter the Pre-Professional Engineering Program and complete MAC 2311 and PHY 2048 (geomatics: MAC 2311). Applicants with 90 or more attempted credits who have not completed prerequisites for the intended program will likely not be admitted, and those who failed core courses more than twice will not be admitted; the page’s example is Calculus I for engineering.
• AA preparation (civil engineering as an example): 6 credits of English composition, the full calculus sequence, Engineering Math I, general chemistry with lab, 8 credits of engineering physics with labs, 3 of computer programming and 3 of introduction to engineering. The mechanical engineering list is calculus (three courses, 12 credits), 8 credits of physics, differential equations 3, programming 3, chemistry 4, fundamentals of engineering 3 and engineering graphics 3, 60 credits in all, with a C or better in many of them; repeating more than two of the calculus and physics courses may lead to denial.
• Deadlines: for transfer and international (educated outside the US) applicants, July 1 for fall, November 1 for spring and April 15 for summer; the fall deposit is due August 1. The page prints no year, so check it.
• Exam credit: AP, AICE, IB and CLEP scores must come directly from the testing agency; credit from another institution’s transcript is not accepted.

Checklist

US domestic applicants:

• 18 high school units including 4 years of math; SAT, ACT or CLT; complete application by January 15 for scholarships; then MAC 2311 and PHY 2048 at FAU

International applicants (including China):

• NACES evaluation of high school records, with a 3.0 equivalent GPA stated for China; SAT, ACT or CLT; English proof; USD 30 fee; international scholarship consideration by January 15 or March 15 for fall

Transfer students:

• 2.5 GPA; a C in each pre-engineering core course; July 1 transfer deadline for fall

Sources: Florida Atlantic University, College of Engineering and Computer Science undergraduate programs; Pre-Professional Engineering Program; Civil Engineering admission; Mechanical Engineering admission; Ocean Engineering; Electrical Engineering admission; Computer Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Geomatics Engineering; Biomedical Engineering undergraduate programs; Freshman admission requirements; Engineering and computer science requirements; Freshman deadlines; Freshman scholarships; Application fee; Transfer admission requirements; Transfer deadlines; International admissions and cost; International how to apply; English proficiency; Academic credentials by country; International FAQ; International scholarships; Cost of attendance. Deadlines, scholarship and English-test pages do not print a year; costs are for 2026-2027. Check FAU’s website for the latest.