First-year engineering major change (CODO) requirements

The Change of Degree Objective (CODO) process allows registered students to apply to enter first-year engineering (FYE). CODO applications are processed at the end of the fall and spring semesters. 

General requirements

  • Minimum semesters: One
  • Minimum Purdue University West Lafayette or Purdue University in Indianapolis credit hours: 12
  • Minimum overall GPA: 2.7
  • Students must be in good academic standing (not on academic notice)

Course requirements

To be eligible, a student must complete a minimum of three courses, at least one from each category (I, II and III) at West Lafayette or Indianapolis with a C- or better and earn a 2.5 GPA (known as your CODO GPA) from courses taken in those categories.

  • NOTE: Any and all 200- and 300-level courses taken in the College of Engineering in West Lafayette or Indianapolis will be included in the CODO GPA, but these courses are not required to be taken in the CODO into first-year engineering. 

Category I

All courses from the following list, taken for a letter grade in West Lafayette or Indianapolis will be used in the calculation of the CODO GPA.

  • MA 16100 - Plane Analytic Geometry and Calculus I (UCC: QR); five credits
  • MA 16200 - Plane Analytic Geometry and Calculus II (UCC: QR); five credits
  • MA 16500 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus I (UCC: QR); four credits
  • MA 16600 - Analytic Geometry and Calculus II (UCC: QR); four credits
  • MA 26100 - Multivariate Calculus (UCC: QR); four credits
  • MA 26200 - Linear Algebra and Differential Equations (UCC: QR); four credits
  • MA 26500 - Linear Algebra (UCC: QR); three credits
  • MA 26600 - Ordinary Differential Equations (UCC: QR); three credits
  • MA 30300 - Differential Equations and Partial Differential Equations for Engineering and the Sciences; three credits
  • MA 35100 - Elementary Linear Algebra (UCC: QR); three credits
  • MA 36600 - Ordinary Differential Equations (UCC: QR); four credits

Category II

All courses from the following list, taken for a letter grade in West Lafayette or Indianapolis will be used in the calculation of the CODO GPA.

  • BIOL 11000 - Fundamentals of Biology I (UCC: SCI); four credits
  • BIOL 11100 - Fundamentals of Biology II (UCC: SCI); four credits
  • BIOL 22100 - Introduction to Microbiology; four credits
  • BIOL 23100 - Biology III: Cell Structure and Function; three credits
  • CHM 11100 - General Chemistry (UCC: SCI); three credits; and CHM 11200 - General Chemistry (UCC: SCI); three credits
  • CHM 11510 - General Chemistry I; three credits; and CHM 11520 - General Chemistry I Laboratory (UCC: SCI); one credit; or CHM 11530 - General Chemistry I Virtual Laboratory (UCC: SCI); one credit
  • CHM 12500 - Introduction to Chemistry I (UCC: SCI); five credits
  • CHM 12600 - Introduction to Chemistry II (UCC: SCI); five credits
  • CHM 12901 - General Chemistry with a Biological Focus (UCC: SCI); five credits
  • CHM 13600 - General Chemistry Honors (UCC: SCI); four credits
  • CHM 25500 - Organic Chemistry for the Life Sciences I; three credits
  • CHM 25501 - Organic Chemistry for the Life Sciences Laboratory I; one credit
  • CHM 25700 - Organic Chemistry; four credits
  • CHM 26100 - Organic Chemistry I; three credits
  • CHM 26200 - Organic Chemistry II; three credits
  • CHM 26300 - Organic Chemistry Laboratory I; one credit
  • CHM 26400 - Organic Chemistry Laboratory II; one credit
  • CHM 37000 - Topics In Physical Chemistry; three credits
  • CS 15900 - C Programming; three credits
  • CS 18000 - Problem Solving and Object-Oriented Programming; four credits
  • PHYS 17200 - Modern Mechanics (UCC: SCI); four credits
  • PHYS 24100 - Electricity and Optics (UCC: SCI); three credits
  • PHYS 25200 - Electricity and Optics Laboratory; one credit
  • PHYS 27200 - Electric and Magnetic Interactions (UCC: SCI); four credits

Category III

Only one course from the following list, taken for a letter grade in West Lafayette of Indianapolis, will be used in the calculation of the CODO GPA. If more than one course has been completed with a letter grade for Category III, then the course used in the calculation of the CODO GPA will be selected in the following order:

  • An Introductory Engineering Course
    • ENGR 13100 Transforming Ideas to Innovation I
    • ENGR 13300 Transforming Ideas to Innovation, EPICS
  • A course from the Written Communications Foundational Outcome list
  • A course from the Oral Communications Foundational Outcome list
  • A course from the Humanities or Behavioral and Social Sciences Foundational Outcome lists

Other requirements

  • Students are accepted for effective terms spring and summer.
  • Students are admitted on a space available basis only after holistic review. Space is extremely limited.
  • Students must be in good academic standing (not on academic notice).
  • Students must have at least one first-year engineering requirement remaining to be eligible to CODO to FYE.
  • Any and all 200- and 300-level courses taken in the College of Engineering in West Lafayette or Indianapolis will be included in the CODO GPA, but these courses are not required to be taken to CODO into first-year engineering. 
  • Students already in a degree-granting engineering program within the College of Engineering are not eligible for a CODO to first-year engineering. 

Student next steps

  • Step 1: Work closely with your current college/school advisor in the selection of the required coursework to meet the CODO requirements to first-year engineering.
  • Step 2: View the pre-recorded CODO video presentation.
  • Step 3: Answer the FYE CODO short-answer questions.
  • Step 4: Have your current advisor submit the electronic CODO application by Thursday of finals week no later than 5 p.m. Late applications will not be accepted.
  • Step 5: If after viewing the CODO video, you have questions that your current advisor is unable to answer, send questions to fye-advising@purdue.edu.