Activities & Resources for Current eTransfers
A Guide to Your First Year
A transfer student’s first year can be overwhelming, so below are guides to your first year at UCLA Samueli Engineering. It provides a week by week breakdown of the year and how you should spend their time. Printable links can also be found below.
The Pathways Guide for Engineering Transfers was developed by engineering transfer students for incoming transfers to help ease the transition into UCLA and provide guidance for important events and deadlines throughout the year. Be sure to come to the Fall Welcome Reception at the beginning of the academic year.
Fall Quarter
Adjusting to Change
There’s a lot to get used to during your first quarter and this should be your top priority if you want to succeed! Take some time to explore the campus, revisit your study techniques, and be vigilant with the pace of the quarter system. Advocate for yourself in the classroom. Introduce yourself as a transfer student to your professors. Ask them for any advice on how you can transition your learning to UCLA and succeed in their course. Make it a point to get to know people in your classes. Form study groups right away and get started. Talk to returning transfer students about their experience.
Establishing your UCLA Samueli GPA
Moving forward, you will need to provide your UCLA GPA on resumes and applications for programs, scholarships, and any other professional development opportunities. It is important to establish a reasonably competitive GPA to increase your chances to participate in these opportunities or secure awards. Additionally, you don’t want your short 2 – 3 years at UCLA to only be about raising a low GPA.
Engineering and Tech Career Fair – Summer Industry Internships
This occurs during Week 3 of Fall quarter (when you should be preparing for your first set of midterms) and is incredibly important to attend if you are trying to land that first industry internship. Transfers will likely have 1 – 2 opportunities to attend the fair before needing to secure employment after graduation. Note to transfers – attend even if it is to learn and do better next year!
Be sure to have a copy of your resume looked at and practice your elevator pitch for the fair! There will also be information sessions in the weeks before the event to help you learn the best strategies when navigating the fair.
Getting to Know Your Community
This is important for everyone! The best part of UCLA is the people you’ll meet, so you need to put some effort into getting to know those around you. Get to know everyone: your classmates, roommates, professors, staff, etc. Learn about engineering clubs, resources and support, networking opportunities, and other extra-curricular professional development opportunities. Figure out which community you want to invest yourself in through your time at UCLA Samueli. Join us at eTransfer Student events! Reflect on what you hope to gain from your time at UCLA. Ask yourself, what you are hoping to walk away from this experience with? What do you want to gain from the UCLA Samueli Engineering experience and how will it help you move on to life after graduation. This information will help you to evaluate your first year (something included in the Spring Quarter Focus) and what to plan for in your second year.
Winter Quarter
Thoughts from engineering transfers that came before you…
Next steps
After completing a quarter at UCLA Engineering you have a better understanding of the classroom expectations and your performance ability. As you make decisions on how to increase or maintain your classroom performance, it’s now time to consider getting involved in extra-curricular activities that will help enhance your time at UCLA Engineering and improve your competitiveness in securing a job after graduation or a spot in an engineering graduate program.
Engineering Student Organizations, Design Teams & Technical Projects
If you haven’t yet joined an engineering student organization, it may be time to consider it. Student organizations offer many benefits that include:
a. Leadership opportunities that can be added to your resume.
b. Working with & building community with engineers you will work with in the future.
c. Tutoring services, study tables, or exam-prep events.
d. Important networking opportunities that enable you to connect with alumni working in the industry, company reps, and recruiters.
e. Resources and opportunities for students leveraged from the national parent organization like IEEE, ASCE, ASME, etc.
f. Student organizations often have design workshops and scaffolding that enable students to engage in technical work.
g. Design teams are an excellent way to gain some hands-on engineering experience. Apply what you learn in the classroom on a technical project. These are particularly important experiences to share when speaking to recruiters.
Apply what you learn in the classroom on a technical project. These are particularly important experiences to share when speaking to recruiters. Transfer students have 2 – 3 years to participate in these activities. There are a limited amount of leadership and project positions with student organizations and you’ll need to be a member before you can be elected into office. We will host a Winter Quarter recruitment fair in week 2 of the quarter.
Applying for Academic Research & Paid Summer Academic Research
It’s also time to consider applying for an engineering research experience. Participating in academic research is another great professional development opportunity to use your
engineering skills to solve a problem or add new knowledge to the academic community. It’s also a great way to gain exposure to what graduate school might be like. The recruitment period for paid summer academic research programs starts in January – March. The UCLA Samueli Engineering Undergraduate Research Program will be hosting info- sessions on their academic year and summer program. Keep your eyes out for even dates. Anyone who hasn’t secured a summer internship should consider applying for academic research.
Start thinking about your summer plans
Summers offer a great, undistracted, time for students to gain some technical experience. In addition to summer internships in industry or academic research labs; students can elect to take an Engineering 96 Design Class (or lead one), lead a technical project team at Transfer Bridge, or create their own DIY technical project at home. The goal is to increase your technical experience and the summer is a great time to do it.
Spring Quarter
Thoughts from engineering transfers that came before you…
Next steps
After completing a quarter at UCLA Engineering you have a better understanding of the classroom expectations and your performance ability. As you make decisions on how to increase or maintain your classroom performance, it’s now time to consider getting involved in extra-curricular activities that will help enhance your time at UCLA Engineering and improve your competitiveness in securing a job after graduation or a spot in an engineering graduate program.
Engineering Student Organizations, Design Teams & Technical Projects
If you haven’t yet joined an engineering student organization, it may be time to consider it. Student organizations offer many benefits that include:
a. Leadership opportunities that can be added to your resume.
b. Working with & building community with engineers you will work with in the future.
c. Tutoring services, study tables, or exam-prep events.
d. Important networking opportunities that enable you to connect with alumni working in the industry, company reps, and recruiters.
e. Resources and opportunities for students leveraged from the national parent organization like IEEE, ASCE, ASME, etc.
f. Student organizations often have design workshops and scaffolding that enable students to engage in technical work.
g. Design teams are an excellent way to gain some hands-on engineering experience. Apply what you learn in the classroom on a technical project. These are particularly important experiences to share when speaking to recruiters.
Apply what you learn in the classroom on a technical project. These are particularly important experiences to share when speaking to recruiters. Transfer students have 2 – 3 years to participate in these activities. There are a limited amount of leadership and project positions with student organizations and you’ll need to be a member before you can be elected into office. We will host a Winter Quarter recruitment fair in week 2 of the quarter.
Applying for Academic Research & Paid Summer Academic Research
It’s also time to consider applying for an engineering research experience. Participating in academic research is another great professional development opportunity to use your
engineering skills to solve a problem or add new knowledge to the academic community. It’s also a great way to gain exposure to what graduate school might be like. The recruitment period for paid summer academic research programs starts in January – March. The UCLA Samueli Engineering Undergraduate Research Program will be hosting info- sessions on their academic year and summer program. Keep your eyes out for even dates. Anyone who hasn’t secured a summer internship should consider applying for academic research.
Start thinking about your summer plans
Summers offer a great, undistracted, time for students to gain some technical experience. In addition to summer internships in industry or academic research labs; students can elect to take an Engineering 96 Design Class (or lead one), lead a technical project team at Transfer Bridge, or create their own DIY technical project at home. The goal is to increase your technical experience and the summer is a great time to do it.
Peer Advising
Have a question? Need some guidance? Had a rough day and want some support? Want to know how to better prepare for midterms? Need Midterm study strategies?
Peer advisors are here to help answer questions, provide guidance, and offer referrals to campus resources! During the year, peer advisors host drop-in advising during week 1 of each quarter. Center staff host advising sessions to prepare for fall and winter recruiting as well as one-on-one meetings with the ETC Director to discuss any issues or concerns. Students can also join us at our weekly eTransfer Hangouts!
Please use the discord server to access peer advising. Information to join the server can be found in the eTransfer Student weekly newsletter.
Info-sessions & Workshops
Throughout the year, the Engineering Transfer Center will host a series of info-sessions and workshops. Example topics include applying for a paid summer academic research opportunity, UCLA Engineering scholarships, transfer alumni speaker-series, etc.
Fall Quarter Engineering Day
The Engineering Transfer Center hosts the annual Engineering Day to help prospective transfer students, from nearby community colleges, interested in UCLA Engineering to learn more about Bruin Engineering! Current students are also welcome to give back to the transfer community and volunteer for UCLA Engineering Day.
To learn more about this year’s event, visit our Enginnering Day Website.
Celebrate eTransfers
Opportunities for eTransfers
| Student Positions | Volunteer | Engineering Clubs with Transfer Officers |
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Student Staff & Peer Advisors Transfer Bridge Mentors Join the Student Advisory Board |
Discover UCLA Engineering for Transfers and Transfer Bruin Day UCLA Engineering Day UCLA Engineering Road Shows |
MentorSEAS American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) The Society of Latinx Engineers and Scientists (SOLES) Eta Kappa Nu(HKN) American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
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Additional Resources
Health and Mental Wellness
Part of being successful at UCLA is taking care of your health and mental wellness. Some services that you might want to use:
- Physical health care and concerns: The Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center (The Ashe Center)
- Mental wellness: Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
- Fitness and exercising: UCLA Recreation
Visit this list of health and wellness resources.
Academic Counseling and Advising
The Office of Academic and Student Affairs (OASA) provides academic counseling and advising for engineering undergraduate students. Check out our Academic Counseling and Advising page for more information about their services.
We encourage transfer students to meet with your academic counselors at least once per quarter to ensure timely progress to degree completion.
Tutoring and Study Sessions
Are you struggling in your classes? Do you find it difficult to join a study group? Check out our Tutoring and Study Sessions page for tutoring services and study sessions with other engineering students.
Opportunities
We encourage you to consider participating in an enhanced learning opportunity to supplement your ‘in-class’ learning. These valuable professional development experiences will provide you with the opportunity to apply the skills you learn in the classroom that are vital to making yourself more competitive in the job market, or as an applicant to a graduate program after graduation. As a student at Samueli Engineering, we encourage you to consider participating in one or more of the following:
- Research
- Internships
- Student organizations
- Scholarships
- On-campus jobs
Check out our Opportunities page for more information.