Transition to Major (T2M)

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The first year of all Engineering programs at Purdue is common, and incoming students are admitted to First-Year Engineering (FYE) rather than to one of the 16 Engineering degree programs. Once a student has completed the FYE Requirements, he or she is eligible to transition to a degree program through the "Transition to Major," or T2M, process. Admission to Engineering degree programs may be competitive, especially for programs that are at or above enrollment capacity. Competitive admission is based on GPA, Engineering Admissions Index (EAI), and other factors. Please refer to the Enrollment Management Policy for more details. 

Process

Every semester, the FYE advising office audits all student records to determine which students are on-track to finish FYE requirements at the end of the semester. These students are invited to fill out an online T2M form where they select their first and second choice of Engineering degree program. At this point, most students will receive registration advising from his or her first-choice program, even though the student has not yet been formally admitted to the program. Students with a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or below, and who request majors with capacity limitations (currently AAE, BME, MDE, and ME), will be advised by FYE Advisors. As soon as grades post at the end of the semester, the final audit and T2M process begins. Students are automatically placed into their first or second choice program and are notified of their placement.

Over the past five years 93% to 95% of students who have met minimum requirements for transition-to-major have received their first choice. For those few majors where capacity outweighs demand the professional schools have the option of accepting or declining a student based on a variety of factors, which may include GPA, EAI, performance in select classes (eg. MA and PHYS), diversity factors, credit load, grade trends, performance in any advanced courses completed, and course repeat history. For minimum requirements, please review the current Enrollment Management Policy for transitioning into your first choice major. 

Students who are not admitted to their first choice Engineering degree program have the option to remain in FYE, typically to retake courses in an attempt to improve grades, provided they are not currently in their fourth semester of FYE.

The T2M process happens three times a year—at the end of the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters (December, May, and August).

Program-specific preferences

Some of the Engineering degree programs have recommendations for the specific FYE Selective course. Students are encouraged to talk to an FYE Advisor for more information.

  • Biological Engineering (in ABE) and BME prefer CHM 11600 as the FYE Selective.
  • Agricultural Engineering (in ABE), CHE, CE, EEE, and MSE prefer CHM 11600 as the FYE Selective (and some of them require the course for graduation).
  • AAE, ECE, IE and NE prefer CS 15900 as the FYE Selective (and some of them require the course for graduation).
  • CEM, IDES/MDE, and ME accept any valid FYE Selective course (though some require a particular course for graduation).

Because the ABE programs must also meet College of Agriculture General Education requirements, students who intend to enter ABE are strongly encouraged to take COM 11400 and ENGL 10600 as their Oral Communication and Written Communication Foundational Outcome courses while in FYE. Students who take other courses may still enter ABE, but they may be required to take these courses for graduation while in ABE.

Last Updated August 1, 2021