Spring 2026 Undergraduate Course Updates

Updated: February 9th, 2026

Welcome to the Spring 2026 Updates page!

Here you will learn: important Spring 2026 course information, how we manage the waitlists, enrollment priority information for CSE majors, when we are opening any available seats, and how non-CSE majors can request to enroll in CSE restricted courses. 

Due to the high demand for CSE courses, enrolling in CSE courses can be difficult and confusing. Please read the following page in detail. This page is subject to change periodically so we recommend checking our website and the Schedule of Classes for the most up to date information. 

The capacity in each course is determined by multiple variables (not just the classroom size), including but not limited to: 

• Classroom size availability
• Instructor availability 
• Instructor teaching load
• Instructional support availability (TA/tutor support) 
• Scalability of the course

Important Notes: 

1. Students will need to assume everything is in person and/or synchronous only unless stated otherwise in the "Notes" below for the course section. Course components with the location listed as RCLAS on the Schedule of Classes/WebReg will be remote/online course components.

2. Artificial Intelligence Major Change Policy: 

   • Selective Major: The CS29 (Artificial intelligence) major will NOT be an option for the Selective Major Process at this time.

   • CS25, 26, and 27 Majors: CSE students majoring in CS25 Computer Engineering, CS26 Computer Science, and CS27 Computer Science with a Specialization in Bioinformatics may NOT request to switch to the CS29 Artificial Intelligence major during the 2025-2026 academic year. All request will be DENIED.   

   • CS 29 Majors: CSE students majoring in CS29 Artificial Intelligence may switch into another CSE major (CS25, CS26, or CS27) without restriction. However, they will not be able to switch back into CS29 until this policy is revisited.

3. CSE instructors are not directly involved with student enrollment, do not contact the course instructor regarding enrollment concerns. This includes questions pertaining to waitlists, late adds, general enrollment, major restrictions, and/or graduate requests. All enrollment questions need to be relayed in the VAC.

Advising 

Advising Options

We offer drop-in advising (all students) and advising appointments (current CSE majors only), which can be conducted via Zoom or in person.

For quick advising related questions, please use the Virtual Advising Center (vac.ucsd.edu).

To schedule an appointment, please fill out the CSE Undergraduate Advising Appointment Request Form.

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Intake Office

Our front Intake Office is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM and 1:00 - 3:30 PM during the Spring Quarter. 

Please visit our CSE Student Affairs Office Hours page or Undergraduate Advising page for more information. 

**Hours are subject to change, please check the calendar on our CSE Student Affairs Office Hours page for the most up to date information.**

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Contact

For general inquiries, email csestudent@ucsd.edu. 

All advising questions should be submitted in the Virtual Advising Center (vac.ucsd.edu). 

Major Priority

The CSE Department reserves seats in lower-division core courses (except CSE 25), plus CSE 100 and CSE 101 for CSE students. This process is called "Major Priority".

Current CSE and EC26 majors who want major priority must waitlist their desired courses by the stated deadline then follow the directions listed below. 

***You can now view our Major Priority Instructional Video for step-by-step instructions.***

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Major Priority Deadline to Waitlist

• Wednesday, March 4th at 11:59 PM PT.

• CSE and EC26 students must waitlist their requested applicable courses by the above date/time to be considered for CSE Major Priority.

Major Priority Deadline to Enroll

• Sunday, March 8th at 11:59 PM PT.

• CSE and EC26 students must enroll in their eligible courses by the above date/time after being notified.  

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Review Process and Timelines

1. Waitlist your eligible course when your second-pass window opens. You must be on the waitlist to be considered for major priority. 

   • When your second-pass enrollment window opens, add yourself to the waitlist for any CSE courses with major priority that you need.

   • Make sure you waitlist reserved-seat courses by the Major Priority deadline Wednesday, March 4th at 11:59 PM PT

2. The CSE department will begin clearing eligible students for reserved seats on or after Thursday, March 5th.

   • If you have been cleared, you will receive an email with enrollment instructions and an appropriate deadline. 

   • CSE majors are cleared in waitlist order as seats become available and not guaranteed.

3. Take enrollment action.

   • The clearance process is not automatic. If you are cleared, CSE Advising will email you with specific enrollment instructions on or after Thursday, March 5th.

   • You must follow the course clearance instructions sent to via email and take enrollment action.

   • Note: Monitor your UCSD email account every day from March 5th onward (check Spam/Junk folders too).

4. Final enrollment deadline for cleared seats.

   • Deadline to enroll if cleared: Sunday, March 8th at 11:59 PM PT.

   • If you haven’t enrolled by then, your clearance will be removed and you will be subject to regular enrollment policies. 

*Major Priority courses are indicated with an diamond (◇) below. 

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Quick Checklist

Waitlist desired CSE courses when second-pass opens.

Make sure you are waitlisted for reserved-seat courses by Wednesday, March 4th at 11:59 PM PT.

Check @ucsd.edu email daily starting Thursday, March 5th.

If cleared, follow email instructions and enroll by Sunday, March 8th at 11:59 PM PT.

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Double Majors

If CSE is not your first major, you will not receive CSE Major Priority for courses with a waitlist that have seats reserved for CSE majors.

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Non-CSE Majors

After the major priority enrollment period ends, CSE classes will open to section capacity (listed below), and non-CSE students will be admitted in waitlist order.

To maximize your chances of enrollment, waitlist for your preferred section as early as possible.

If you are unable to enroll in your desired CSE course during Spring 2026, you may need to take it in a subsequent quarter.

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Enrollment Priority

After major priority, all undergraduates will have equal priority to add undergraduate CSE courses; graduate students have priority to add graduate CSE courses. 

Priority is not given to:

• Students who postpone taking a course hoping for a particular instructor in a future quarter.

• Seniors (or others) who do not use their 1st and 2nd pass early-enrollment times.

• Students who failed or withdrew from the course in a previous quarter.

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Please refer to the 2025-2026 academic and administrative calendar for important enrollment dates and deadlines. 

Late Add Policy

No Late Adds - No Exceptions

The CSE department does not allow students to add courses past week 2.

If a student is not enrolled in enough units by the beginning of week 1, they should contact their department advisors via the VAC.

EASy requests for Late Adds in the CSE Department will be denied, so please plan accordingly.   

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Waitlisted Students

If you are on the waitlist for a class, you are expected to:

• Attend class for the first two weeks.
• Complete all course assignments during that time.

Important: Attending class and completing course assignments does not guarantee enrollment. 

If you miss class meetings or assignments while on the waitlist and later secure a seat in the course, you will receive a “0” for all missed work.

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CSE instructors are not directly involved with late add requests, do not contact the course instructor regarding enrollment or late add concerns.

Waitlist Policy

The last waitlist add runs on Thursday of Week 2.

The CSE department will NOT manually clear any students to enroll even if space becomes available on the last day of enrollment (Friday of week 2). 

Once all seats are released, students will only be added to courses with waitlists in waitlist order via the automatic waitlist enrollment process.

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Non-CSE Majors

If you are not able to enroll in your CSE courses in Spring 2026, you may need to enroll in a subsequent quarter.

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CSE instructors are not directly involved with student enrollment, do not contact the course instructor regarding enrollment or waitlist concerns.

Enrollment/Course Policies and Procedure

EASy

For course clearances, please use the Enrollment Authorization System (EASy). This may take 5 business days to be processed. 

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Enrollment Strategies

See Enrolling in CSE Courses to learn the best strategies for getting into CSE classes.

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Petitions

If you need to petition a course for transfer credit, please use our ONLINE PETITION to do so. Please view our CSE Petitions page for detailed information. This may take up to 6 weeks to be processed. 

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Prerequisites

Enforced for ALL classes.

View the Prerequisites for CSE Undergraduates page for information on all our prerequisites as it pertains to transfer courses and course substitutions.

Please make sure to carefully review our and our Upper Division Prerequisite Policy.

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Swaps

No swaps - no exceptions

Be sure to enroll or waitlist in the section with the assigned time you will attend and the assigned final exam you can attend. This includes R (remote) courses.

If a student is waitlisted for a course and then enrolls in the R version (or vice versa) or a duplicate version of the course, the system will drop you from the waitlist or will not allow you to enroll because it recognizes you are already enrolled or waitlisted for the other course. 

• We will not clear students to add to the course in these situations as the system moves on and automatically adds the next eligible student on the waitlist. 

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CSE instructors are not directly involved with student enrollment, do not contact the course instructor regarding enrollment concerns.

Non-CSE Majors and Major Restricted Courses

Major Restricted Courses

Major-restricted courses are various CSE courses (indicated with an asterisk * below). Please see CSE Course Prerequisites webpage for information on which majors are approved for major restricted courses. 

While these courses are restricted to CSE majors, non-CSE undergraduate students may still submit an enrollment request through the Enrollment Authorization System (EASy). to be considered for enrollment.

Note: Major restriction is separate from major priority. Major priority is CSE's lower-division core courses, plus CSE 100 and CSE 101. Major restriction is select upper division courses.

*Major Restricted courses are indicated with an asterisk (*) below. 

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Review Process and Timeline

1. Submit an enrollment request through the Enrollment Authorization System (EASy).

2. Requests from non-CSE major undergraduate students to be cleared to enroll in CSE major restricted courses will be placed on a "Department Hold" until after CSE Majors have had the opportunity to enroll.

3. Your EASy request may be reviewed between Wednesday, March 4th and the start of classes, depending on seat availability.

4. If your EASy request is approved, it is your responsibility to enroll or waitlist the course. The CSE department will not approve any late add requests. 

Note: Clearance to enroll/waitlist a CSE undergraduate course with a large waitlist does NOT indicate we intend to offer additional seats. The courses and sections we intend to offer are listed in the Schedule of Classes. 

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Non-CSE Majors

If you are not able to enroll in your CSE courses in Spring 2026, you may need to enroll in a subsequent quarter.

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CSE instructors are not directly involved with student enrollment, do not contact the course instructor regarding enrollment or major restriction concerns.

Non-CSE Courses

For questions about enrolling in ENG 100D or ENG 100L, please see Global Ties

Each department handles course clearances for their own courses. Please contact the respective department for course clearance to ECE, COGS, MGT, etc.

Graduate Students Enrolling in Undergraduate Courses

Graduate students who wish to add undergraduate CSE courses must submit a request through the Enrollment Authorization System (EASy). 

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Review Process and Deadlines

• Requests will be reviewed after undergraduate students have had a chance to enroll, typically by the beginning of Week 2.

• Prerequisite clearances and approvals will be reviewed by the end of Week 2, only if seats remain available after undergraduates have enrolled.

• Some courses may not open to graduate students at all.

• The CSE Department does not allow adds after Week 2; no late adds or exceptions (including cases where an EASy request remains pending instructor approval).

• Enrollment in undergraduate courses is not guaranteed. Please check your EASy request status history for the most up-to-date information.

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Coscheduled Courses

For CSE courses that are officially or unofficially coscheduled:

• Undergraduate students must enroll in the undergraduate version.

• Graduate students must enroll in the graduate version.

Note: This policy applies even if the corresponding undergraduate or graduate course is at capacity or is not offered in the same quarter. Students may not enroll in both versions of a co-scheduled course or in the graduate version if they have already completed the undergraduate one. No add, credit, or late-drop exceptions will be granted.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they are enrolled in the correct version.

*Coscheduled courses are indicated with an triangle (▲) below. 

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CSE instructors are not directly involved with student enrollment, do not contact the course instructor regarding enrollment concerns.

Undergraduate Students Enrolling in Graduate CSE Courses

CSE Undergraduate Advising does not manage enrollment in graduate-level courses.

Undergraduate students who wish to add graduate courses must submit a request through the Enrollment Authorization System (EASy).

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Review Process and Deadlines

• The deadline to submit an EASy request for graduate courses is Tuesday of Week 1.

• Requests will be reviewed after graduate students and other prioritized groups have had the opportunity to enroll, typically by the beginning of Week 2. 

• The CSE Department does not allow students to add courses after Week 2, no late adds or exceptions.

• Depending on graduate student demand, some courses may not open to undergraduate students.

• Enrollment is not guaranteed. Requests may remain pending until Friday of Week 2, depending on seat availability. If your request is not approved by that time, it has been denied (including cases where an EASy request remains pending instructor approval and/or college and/or registrar approval).

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Course Eligibility and Status

Please review the Spring 2026 Graduate Courses for a full list of courses pertaining to undergraduate enrollment. Check the “UG Requests” (all the way to the right) column for details:

• Blank Courses:

  • Status is TBD. Do not submit an EASy request. Check back for updates.

• "Eligible to submit an EASY request for":

  • You may submit an EASy request before Tuesday of Week 1. 

  • The EASy request will not be reviewed until typically the beginning of week 2.

  • If your request is not reviewed or approved by Friday of Week 2, it has been denied (including cases where an EASy request remains pending instructor approval and/or college and/or registrar approval).

• "Will be routed for instructor review":

  • You may submit an EASy request before Tuesday of Week 1.

  • The EASy request will not be reviewed until typically the beginning of week 2 by being routed to the instructor.

  • If your request is not reviewed or approved by Friday of Week 2, it has been denied (including cases where an EASy request remains pending instructor approval and/or college and/or registrar approval).

• "Instructor is not accepting EASy requests":

  • Undergraduate students are not permitted to enroll in this class.

  • All submitted EASy requests will not be reviewed.

• " Co-scheduled course, UG students not permitted":

  • This class is officially or unofficially co-scheduled. Undergraduate students are not permitted to enroll in this class.

  • View the Co-Scheduled Courses tab for details.

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Co-scheduled Courses

For CSE courses that are officially or unofficially coscheduled:

• Undergraduate students must enroll in the undergraduate version.

• Graduate students must enroll in the graduate version.

Note:This policy applies even if the corresponding undergraduate or graduate course is at capacity or is not offered in the same quarter. Students may not enroll in both versions of a co-scheduled course or in the graduate version if they have already completed the undergraduate one. No add, credit, or late-drop exceptions will be granted.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they are enrolled in the correct version.

*Coscheduled courses are indicated with an triangle (▲) below. 

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CSE instructors are not directly involved with student enrollment, do not contact the course instructor regarding enrollment concerns. 

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Make sure to carefully review the Spring 2026 Graduate Course Updates page and direct any inquiries about graduate course enrollment to cse-grad-enrollment@ucsd.edu.

CSE BS/MS Students Enrolling in Graduate CSE Courses

CSE Undergraduate Advising does not manage enrollment in graduate-level courses.

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Review Process and Deadlines

• Undergraduate students admitted to the CSE BS/MS Program will be contacted via their UCSD email after CSE graduate students have had the opportunity to enroll in their courses.

• You will need to monitor your UCSD email regularly, as there is no set timeline for when this communication will be sent.

• You must respond within the stated deadline, failure to do so will result in the removal of your enrollment priority.

• Instructions on how to submit an Enrollment Authorization System (EASy) as well as the appropriate deadlines will be in the email referenced above. 

• Enrollment is not guaranteed. Requests may remain pending until Friday of Week 2. If your request is not approved by that time, it has been denied (including cases where an EASy request remains pending instructor approval and/or college and/or registrar approval).

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Course Eligibility and Status

Please review the Spring 2026 Graduate Courses for a full list of courses pertaining to CSE BS/MS enrollment. Check the “BS/MS Requests” column for details:

• Blank Courses:

  • Status is TBD. Do not submit an EASy request. Check back for updates.

• "Eligible to submit an EASY request for":

  • You may submit an EASy request after receiving the enrollment email with the appropriate deadline. 

  • Failure to respond by the stated deadline will remove your priority.

  • If your request is not approved by Friday of Week 2, it has been denied (including cases where an EASy request remains pending instructor approval and/or college and/or registrar approval).

• "Will be routed for instructor review":

  • You may submit an EASy request after receiving the enrollment email with the appropriate deadline. 

  • Failure to provide a response by the appropriate deadline will result in the removal of your priority.

  • Requests will be routed to the instructor for review.

  • If your request is not approved by Friday of Week 2, it has been denied (including cases where an EASy request remains pending instructor approval and/or college and/or registrar approval).

• "Instructor is not accepting EASy requests":

  • CSE BS/MS students are not permitted to enroll in this class.

  • All submitted EASy requests will not be reviewed.

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Co-scheduled Courses

For CSE courses that are officially or unofficially coscheduled:

• Undergraduate students must enroll in the undergraduate version.

• Graduate students must enroll in the graduate version.

• Admitted CSE BS/MS students may request to enroll in the graduate version of the course after being admitted into the MS program.  

Note: This policy applies even if the corresponding undergraduate or graduate course is at capacity or is not offered in the same quarter. Students may not enroll in both versions of a co-scheduled course or in the graduate version if they have already completed the undergraduate one. No add, credit, or late-drop exceptions will be granted.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they are enrolled in the correct version.

*Coscheduled courses are indicated with an triangle (▲) below. 

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CSE instructors are not directly involved with student enrollment, do not contact the course instructor regarding enrollment concerns. 

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Make sure to carefully review the Spring 2026 Graduate Course Updates page and direct any inquiries about graduate course enrollment to cse-grad-enrollment@ucsd.edu.

Co-scheduled Courses

For CSE courses that are officially or unofficially coscheduled:

• Undergraduate students must enroll in the undergraduate version.

• Graduate students must enroll in the graduate version.

• Admitted CSE BS/MS students may request to enroll in the graduate version of the course after being admitted into the MS program.  

Note: This policy applies even if the corresponding undergraduate or graduate course is at capacity or is not offered in the same quarter. Students may not enroll in both versions of a co-scheduled course or in the graduate version if they have already completed the undergraduate one. No add, credit, or late-drop exceptions will be granted.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure they are enrolled in the correct version.

*Co-scheduled courses are indicated with an triangle (▲) below. 

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CSE instructors are not directly involved with student enrollment, do not contact the course instructor regarding enrollment concerns. 

Max Unit Exceptions

Max Unit Enrollment

During fall, winter, and spring registration, you can enroll in up to 11.5 units during the first pass. 

During the second pass you can enroll in up to 19.5 units, including wait-listed courses.

Starting on Monday of Week 1 of the quarter, you may request a max unit exception via Enrollment Authorization System (EASy) to enroll in more than 22 units.

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Important Notes

• When the college grants a max unit exception it is for the course requested, not the quarter.

• If a seat becomes available in a waitlisted class, the system will bypass students requiring a max unit exception. The seat will be offered to the next student on the waitlist who is under the max unit limit. Student needing the max unit exception will not be added because the available seat will be taken.

• If a student wants to be added off of the waitlist, they would need to be under the max unit limit (enrolled and waitlisted courses combined) so the system can bring them into the course if a seat opens up (in waitlist order of course).

• We will not approve requests to enroll in CSE courses exceeding the max unit limit if there is a waitlist. Please plan accordingly. 

CSE 141(L)/142(L) Update

If you are a Computer Science (CS26) or Computer Engineering (CS25 or EC26) students under the pre-FA23 Computer Science or pre-FA24 Computer Engineering curriculum and have not yet completed the architecture requirement (CSE 141 and 141L or CSE 142 and CSE 142L), please read the following information carefully:

• CSE 141L will only be offered one more time: Spring 2026.

• If you do not successfully complete both CSE141 and CSE141L by the end of Spring 2026, you must switch to the new curriculum, which has different major requirements and could impact your time to degree. Please plan accordingly.

• Plan to take CSE 140 and CSE 140L within the 2025-2026 academic year if you have not yet earned credit for them.

  • CSE 140 will be waived as a prerequisite for CSE 141 and CSE 141L during the 2025–2026 academic year only, so you can take them concurrently if it fits in your schedule.

  • CSE 140 and CSE 140L still need to be completed as part of your degree requirements.

• If you have not yet started any architecture coursework we do NOT advise taking CSE 142, as CSE 142L will not be offered in Academic Year 2025-2026.

• If you have already taken CSE 142 but not CSE 142L, please reach out to a department advisor in the VAC. 

If you have any questions or are unsure of your current standing, please reach out to CSE Advising via the VAC.

CSE Undergraduate Courses - Spring 2026

Major priority courses are indicated with a diamond (◇) below. 

Major restricted courses are indicated with an asterisk ( *) below.

Coscheduled course (official/unofficial) are indicated with a triangle (▲) below.