UC Transfer Admission Information
General UC Admission Information
UC Admission Information - Major Specific
- Business
- Criminology
- Engineering
- Health Sciences
- Nursing
- Pharmacy
Transfer Admission Guarantees (TAG)
Transfer Programs and Campus Specific Admission Information
General UC Admission Information
The University of California system has 9 undergraduate campuses: Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz. There is also a San Francisco campus but only graduate-level degrees are offered. All of the campuses use the same set of admission criteria (Comprehensive Review) and all campuses, except Berkeley and UCLA, offer Transfer Admission Guarantee.
Transfer admission is selective by major so the admit rate will vary quite a bit depending on your chosen major. UC transfer admission generally focuses on grades, completion of your general education and major prerequisite requirements and demonstrated interest in your field of study. Make sure you maintain good grades, complete all required courses and participate in clubs/community service/internship/job in your chosen field to demonstrate your interest.
UCs give priority consideration to transfer applicants from CA community colleges. Transfer applicants from other 4-year or out-of-state colleges are only considered on a space available basis and therefore the admit rate is extremely low.
UC Admission Stats
You can generate your own queries using the admission/enrollment data provided by the UCs at StatFinder. The data set is complete with freshman and transfer information from Fall 1994 to present. The information you get from it is a bit more detailed than what's in most UC brochures; the GPA breakdown intervals are smaller with 0.19 increments and you can see admit rates for each major. The query setup can get a little confusing, keep trying different table configurations until you get the right query results.
Berkeley publishes a transfer brochure each year with the admit rates for each major/subject from the previous application cycle (on page 5 of the PDF file).
UCLA publishes the Profile of Admitted Transfer Students each year that includes the admit rate, enrollment rate, and average GPA for each major.
UC Admission Information - Major Specific
Transfer admission is selective by major so the admit rate will vary quite a bit depending on your chosen major. Listed below are some major specific admission information for the "frequently asked majors" I get from students.
Every UC campus offers some form of study in business but not all are Business Administration majors. Many offer majors in Business Economics or Management Science.
Berkeley - Business Administration
Transfer admit rate to the major hovers around 6%. Most applicants are considered ineligible due to incomplete general education or major prerequisite requirements. You must complete all required courses to be considered. Admission decisions to the business major are made by a committee at Haas. The selection is based on student characteristics and achievements that are in line with the core values of the business school (they are looking for students who have the right "fit," students who will contribute to the school and benefit from the education). Study the mission and values of the school and strive to achieve them in your studies and extracurricular activities.
Davis - Managerial Economics
Irvine - Business Administration or Business Information Management
UCLA - Business Economics, also known as BizEcon
Transfer admit rate to the major is just below 15%. As a transfer applicant, you must be admitted directly into the major; you will not be allowed to change into the major after admission to UCLA.
Merced - Management
Riverside - Business Administration
San Diego - Management Science
Santa Barbara - Business Economics or Business Economics with Accounting
Santa Cruz - Business Management Economics
UCI is the only UC campus that offers a criminology major: Criminology, Law and Society. Berkeley offers Legal Studies for those of you who are interested in the law and Molecular Toxicology for those of you who are interested in figuring out how the victim was poisoned. Davis has a Forensic Chemistry major, which focuses on the "identification and quantitative analysis of scientific evidence."
Engineering admission evaluation is focused on grades and completion of your major preparation courses.
Berkeley College of Engineering publishes a comprehensive Transfer Admission FAQ that should answer any questions you have regarding admissions.
UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has detailed transfer requirements and transfer admission stats available online.
UCs with undergraduate nursing programs:
UCLA - Nursing - Generic/Prelicensure. Transfer admit rate is approximately 28%. There is a ranked waiting list for the nursing applicants who are not initially accepted. Alternate major is NOT considered.
Irvine - Nursing Science. Transfer admit rate is approximately 10%. There is NO waiting list for the nursing applicants who are denied admission. Alternate major is considered if the student qualified for UCI admission but was not accepted for nursing.
Davis just started a nursing program but it will be a while before the undergraduate major is launched.
UCs with undergraduate pharmacology programs:
Irvine - Pharmaceutical Sciences
Santa Barbara - Pharmacology
UC Transfer Q&A
The UCs have painstakingly put together a Transfer Q&A that should answer any questions you have about transferring. The Q&A covers topics like how GPA is used for application evaluation, how major preparation is evaluated, whether transfer applicants can change major after admission, how international applicants attending a California community college will be evaluated, whether transfer applicants can defer enrollment, what the maximum unit cap is for transfer applicants from 4-year colleges, and more. The answers are often described in detail by campus and is worth taking some time to read through.
Information for U.S. Veterans
U.S. veterans receive priority consideration when applying to the UCs. The UC Office of the President has launched a web portal specifically for veterans that provides information on educational benefits, general admissions information, and contact information of veteran service representatives at each UC campus. Remember that veterans are encouraged to use the personal statement section of the application to describe how their military service has been instrumental in developing their educational plans; see special instructions for veterans for details.
Transfer Admission Guarantees (TAG)
See the Transfer Admission Guarantee program information for restrictions, filing deadlines, major limitations, applicability to international applicants, and the form you need to complete and submit to qualify for the program. Campus specific TAG information can be found below.
Transfer Programs and Campus Specific Admission Information
Berkeley
No Transfer Admission Guarantee
Check with the Community College Transfer Center for available transfer programs
Berkeley Campuswide Transfer Selection Criteria
Berkeley Major Specific Transfer Selection Criteria
Berkeley Transfer Admit Rate by Major/Subject (on page 5 of the PDF file)
Berkeley - Office of Student Research and Campus Surveys - look under Student Data for campus data (ethnicity, gender, graduation rate, etc.)
Davis
Davis Transfer Admission Guarantee
Davis Campuswide Transfer Selection Criteria
Davis Major Specific Transfer Selection Criteria
Davis - Student Affairs Research and Information - see the different campus data available in the navigation panel to the left
Irvine
Irvine Transfer Admission Guarantee
Irvine Campuswide Transfer Selection Criteria
Irvine Major Specific Transfer Selection Criteria
Irvine - Office of Institutional Research - see the different campus and student data available in the navigation panel to the left
Los Angeles
No Transfer Admission Guarantee
Transfer Program: Transfer Alliance Program
UCLA Campuswide Transfer Selection Criteria
UCLA Major Specific Transfer Selection Criteria
UCLA Profile of Admitted Transfer Students (admit rate by major)
UCLA - Office of Analysis and Information Management - see the different campus and student data available in the navigation panel to the left
Merced
Merced Transfer Admission Guarantee
Merced Campuswide Transfer Selection Criteria
Merced Major Specific Transfer Selection Criteria
Merced - Institutional Planning & Analysis - scroll down to see the different campus and student data available
Riverside
Riverside Transfer Admission Guarantee
Riverside Campuswide Transfer Selection Criteria - print out and complete a form to get preadmission evaluation by a UCR recruitment counselor; Reentry Student Scholarship information is at the bottom of the page
Riverside Major Specific Transfer Selection Criteria
Riverside - Strategic Academic Research and Analysis - see the different campus and student data available in the navigation panel to the left
San Diego
San Diego Transfer Admission Guarantee
San Diego Campuswide Transfer Selection Criteria
San Diego Major Specific Transfer Selection Criteria
San Diego - Student Research & Information - see the different campus and student data available in the navigation panel to the left
Each of the six colleges at UCSD has a different theme, a different set of traditions, and a different student body; so rank the colleges based on your preference. Not ranking your choices means UCSD will assign you to whichever college has space.
UCSD has a web portal for you to compare the six colleges. Be sure to take a look at the FAQ for answers to your questions about whether you can switch to a different college or if your college choice will affect your chance of admission.
Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara Transfer Admission Guarantee
Santa Barbara Campuswide Transfer Selection Criteria
Santa Barbara Major Specific Transfer Selection Criteria
Santa Barbara - Institutional Research & Planning - scroll down to see the different campus and student data available
Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz Transfer Admission Guarantee
Santa Cruz Campuswide Transfer Selection Criteria - scroll midway down to Selection Criteria
Santa Cruz Major Specific Transfer Selection Criteria
Santa Cruz - Institutional Research and Policy Studies - see the different campus and student data available in the navigation panel to the left
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