The Grainger College of Engineering
Undergraduate Academic Advising

Free Electives

Undergraduate students in the Grainger College of Engineering have 10 (ten) or more semester hours of free electives; the exact number required depends on the major.* Almost any course offered by the University, and most transfer courses, can be used for free electives. 

The free elective course restrictions are below:

  • Religious foundation courses: maximum of 4 semester hours. This does NOT apply to courses offered by the University of Illinois Religious Studies program;
  • Military courses: Maximum of 9 hours of military science courses may be used as free electives; transfer courses are subject to individual review;
  • Kinesiology: Maximum of 3 hours of skill courses; no limit on professional kinesiology courses ;
  • Overages: May be used for free electives if they go beyond the required course credits.  For example, when ESL 114 and 115 are taken in lieu of RHET 105, the extra two hours may be used as free electives;
  • 100-Level ASTR courses: Maximum of 4 hours from the following courses ASTR 113, 121, 122, 131, 132, 150 can be used for free elective credit.  No other 100-level ASTR courses are allowed for graduation in any engineering curriculum;
  • Duplicate courses: No credit will be used toward graduation requirements that duplicates credit earned in previous college course work. If courses appear to be similar, the student is responsible for investigating duplication. If duplication is suspected, the student should consult the Records Staff in 206 Engineering Hall;
  • Foreign Language: College credit may be used if a language placement examination has been taken and the college hours used do not duplicate more than the last two years of high school course work. Credit earned in the student's native language is not allowed;
  • Courses not counting towards graduation hours.

Note:

*Undergraduate students in the Grainger College of Engineering enrolled in Academic Catalog years prior to 2022-2023 have 6 (six) or more semester hours of free electives; the exact number depends on the major.