If you are currently enrolled in a regular academic term (such as fall, winter, or spring) at a community college or university following your high school graduation, you are eligible to transfer. You just need to meet the UC transfer requirements, which are listed in this post.
UC Transfer Requirements
For you to be considered for admission into the UC system, you need to fulfill certain academic standards, known as the basic requirements. These requirements are important for your transfer application and are the foundation of your transfer planning process. If you consider transferring, you need to essential to explore the various paths available to enter UC.
As someone looking to transfer at the junior level, you have specific requirements to meet. Fortunately, the courses you have completed for your major and your general education can be applied towards fulfilling these requirements.
1. Coursework Pattern for Transfer to UC
Before the spring term ends, and before enrolling at UC in the fall, complete these 7 courses:
- Two courses in English composition that can be transferred.
- One course in mathematical concepts and quantitative reasoning that can be transferred.
- Four transferable college courses, selecting from at least two of these areas:
- Arts and Humanities
- Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Physical and Biological Sciences
Examples of course combinations could be:
- Three courses in Chemistry and one in History.
- Two courses in Sociology, one in Physics, and one in Art History.
- One course in Biology and three in Literature.
2. Accumulate Transferable Credits
You need to complete at least 60 semester units (or 90 quarter units) that are transferable to the UC system. Out of these, only 14 semester units (or 21 quarter units) can be taken in a pass/fail or credit/no credit format.
3. GPA Requirement
Maintain a minimum 2.4 GPA in your UC-transferable courses. If you’re a nonresident, the minimum is 2.8. Be aware that some UC campuses or majors might ask for a higher GPA for admission consideration.
4. Fulfill Major-Specific Course Requirements
Make sure to complete the necessary or recommended courses for your chosen major, achieving at least the minimum required grades. To find out what specific coursework is expected for your major at each UC campus, visit the ASSIST website. Alternatively, you can refer to UC’s Transfer Pathways, which provide a unified set of courses that you can take to prepare for your major, applicable to any of the nine undergraduate UC campuses.
5. Have these key Points for Planning Your UC Transfer in mind
- Each course you take should be a minimum of 3 semester units (or 4-5 quarter units) and must be transferable to the UC system. Use ASSIST to verify which courses from your community college are transferable.
- You must achieve a grade of ‘C’ or better in each course, or a ‘Pass’ (P) grade if it’s equivalent to a ‘C’ (2.00).
- It’s important to maintain good academic standing, with a GPA of 2.00 or above, at the last college or university you attended before transferring to UC.
- AP exam scores of 3, 4, or 5 can be used in certain subject areas. However, note that only one of the two required English courses can be fulfilled using an AP exam score.
- All UC campuses recommend (some even highly recommend) completing your math and English courses as early as possible, ideally by the end of the fall term one year before your planned enrollment at UC.
- If you have completed the IGETC or specific general education requirements for a campus, you might have already met the 7-course pattern requirement.
Read also: Transferring from CSU to UC
