Beginning Fall 2025, National Merit Semifinalists (NMS) who receive admission to Texas A&M’s College of Engineering will be admitted directly into a degree granting major instead of our General Engineering program.
If the admitted NMS student prefers to explore our 20+ degree options during their first year, they may change their major to General Engineering prior to attending New Student Conference. A change of major request should be submitted through the Applicant Information System (AIS) Contact Us feature – with “Change of Major” listed as the subject.
All students who start in our General Engineering program use the Entry to a Major (ETAM) process to advance into a College of Engineering degree granting major.
About General Engineering
Our common general engineering curriculum is designed to help first-year students, like you, integrate into the College of Engineering while also allowing time to explore all 20+ engineering degree options.
After completing the specific coursework required for ETAM, which can be as early as your second semester in the college, you’ll let us know which majors you are interested in.
There is an automatic entry pathway to your first-choice major for NMS students, if you meet all ETAM eligibility requirements and the following additional requirements:
- Students must be enrolled full-time, maintain, and earn credit for a full-time course of study throughout each long semester prior to ETAM placement; a student who completes a semester with less than full-time status at Texas A&M will forfeit their automatic entry eligibility. Full-time enrollment is defined in Student Rule 1.7.
- Students must have no record of an honor code violation.
Students who start in MATH 151 or higher: Students who begin their first full semester at Texas A&M in MATH 151 or higher are only eligible for automatic entry during their second Texas A&M semester.
Students who start in MATH 150: Students who begin their first full semester at Texas A&M in MATH 150 are only eligible for automatic entry during their third Texas A&M semester.