UC San Diego undergraduate students who would like to change from another major or undeclared into the DSC program may apply to the major via the Selective Major Application. Applications must be submitted on or before the September 1 annual deadline.

HDSI and the Rady School of Management are launching a new selective major in Fall 2026: Business Data Science (DSC-BS-002). This major code is pending at this time. The screening courses for this new major are identical to the DSC-BS-001 Data Science Major (MATH-018 or MATH-031AH), (MATH-020C or MATH-031BH), and DSC-010.) Eligible UC San Diego undergraduate students who would like to change to the Business Data Science major should apply via the Selective Major Application. Applications must be submitted on or before the deadline of September 1, 2026. Fall 2026 applicants only, will select the Data Science major (DSC-BS-001) on the application.

Students admitted to this selective major will be contacted in Fall 2026 and given the opportunity to choose between the Data Science major (DSC-BS-001) and the new Business Data Science major (DSC-BS-002 – code pending).

Please note that space within the Data Science (DSC-BS-001) and Business Data Science (DSC-BS-002) majors is limited, and admission is not guaranteed. We recommend that all interested students looking to switch majors meet with their current Major Advisor, College Advisor, and a DSC Advisor.

Selective majors allow students to apply to switch once per year. Selection will be based on a point system that considers academic performance and other factors: California residency, first-generation status and Pell eligibility. Only students who have completed the required screening courses and have a minimum 2.0 UC GPA are eligible to apply. Please visit Selective Majors at UC San Diego for additional information and the link to apply. 

In addition to the eligibility criteria outlined on the Selective Major Guidance page, Data Science requires successful completion of the following 3 screening courses: (MATH-018 or MATH-031AH), (MATH-020C or MATH-31BH), and DSC-010.

Courses must be completed for a letter grade at the time of the Selective Major Application to be eligible. Students may not have any outstanding grades for screening courses or any reason (e.g., Incompletes, pending Academic Integrity case, etc.). Grades from transfer credit for screening courses will be used to determine eligibility.

As of Fall 2025, transfer students will no longer be eligible to apply to the Data Science (DSC-BS-001) or Business Data Science Major (DSC-BS-002) majors.

Students who entered UC San Diego as First-Years: 

Students must be on track to complete DSC-030 and DSC-040A prior to their third academic year at UC San Diego to be on a 4-year graduation track.

Students who entered UC San Diego as Transfers: 

Transfer Students (TRAN): Transfer students do not typically change their majors after beginning at UC San Diego because of the impact on their time to degree. Transfer students admitted to UC San Diego Fall 2025 and after will no longer be allowed to apply to selective majors in the Summer application cycle after their first year.

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