The University of California has 10 campuses, 9 of which offer undergraduate and graduate degrees (UC San Francisco is a graduate/professional school only). The UC offers bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degrees and focuses on research, innovation, and discovery. 

Students intending to transfer to the UC should be prepared to complete minimum entrance requirements for admission and focus their time at the community college completing lower-division coursework in the major. Most students transfer at the junior level after completing 60 semester or 90 quarter units and the majority offer fall admission only. 

Upper Division Transfer

In order to be eligible for admission to a UC campus as an upper-division (Junior-level) transfer, students must complete:

1. 60-semester units or 90 quarter units of UC transferable courses with a grade point average of at least 2.4 (2.8 for non-residents). No more than 14 semester/21 quarter units may be taken Pass/No Pass 
2. The following course pattern requirement, earning a grade of C or better in each course:
   1. Two transferable college courses (3 semester or 4-5 quarter units each) in English composition (UC-E),
   2. One transferable college course (3 semester or 4-5 quarter units) in mathematical concepts and quantitative reasoning (UC-M), and;
   3. Four transferable college courses (3 semester or 4-5 quarter units each) chosen from at least two of the following subject areas: the arts and humanities, the social and behavioral sciences, and the physical and biological sciences
3. Sufficient preparation in the student's chosen major, completing the required lower-division coursework required prior to admission
4. Be in good standing at the last college attended prior to transfer

A maximum of 70 semester (105 quarter) units earned in a community college may be applied towards the bachelor’s degree. No upper-division unit credit is granted for courses taken in a community college. Visit the website for UC Admissions at: https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/transfer-requirements/ or the Transfer Center for more information about UC Transfer admission.

Lower Division Transfer

If a student was eligible for admission to the University when they graduated from high school (they satisfied the Subject, Scholarship and Examination requirements, or were identified by the University during their senior year in high school as eligible under the Eligibility in the Local Context (ELC) program), they may be eligible to transfer if they have a C (2.0) average in their transferable coursework.

If they met the Scholarship Requirement but did not satisfy the Subject Requirement, they must take transferable college courses in the missing subjects, earning a C or better in each required course, and have an overall C average in all transferable coursework to be eligible to transfer.

Note: While all UC Campuses welcome a large pool of junior-level transfers, most admit only a limited number of lower-division transfers.

University of California General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC)

The Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) is a series of courses prospective transfer students attending California Community Colleges may complete to satisfy the lower-division breadth/general education requirements at both the University of California and the California State University.

Students have the option of completing the IGETC or the specific lower-division breadth/general education requirements of the school or college for campus they plan to attend.

The IGETC pattern is helpful to students who want to keep their options open – those who know they want to transfer but have not yet decided on a particular campus. Certain students will not be well served by following the IGETC. Students with high unit majors, such as engineering or the physical and natural sciences, should concentrate on completing the prerequisites for the major that are used to determine eligibility for admission. Some majors will not accept IGETC in fulfillment of breadth requirements, while others will require completion of IGETC as a part of the admission requirements. Please check with a GWC counselor, the Transfer Center, or ASSIST.org for use of IGETC in the chosen university major.

The IGETC is not an admission requirement for most majors. Completing it does not guarantee admission to the campus or program of choice. However, completing the lower-division breadth/general education requirements, whether through the IGETC or the campus-specific requirements, may improve a transfer applicant’s chances for admission to a competitive campus and/or program.

Partial IGETC Certification is allowed with a maximum of two courses missing and completed after transfer. Please visit the Transfer Center or make an appointment with a GWC counselor for more information.

What Is Certification?

Courses taken at the community college may be used to satisfy general education requirements for graduation from the University of California (UC). However, these courses must be specifically identified and verified by the community college before they will be recognized by the UC campus. This process is called certification. Certification of IGETC completion is the responsibility of the last community college a student attends prior to transfer.

What Courses Can Be Certified?

Courses taken at any regionally accredited college or university may be certified by GWC. GWC students who complete all their general education courses at GWC can have those courses certified. Coursework from another California community college will be applied to the subject area in which it is listed by the institution where the work was completed. Also, courses can only be certified if they were on the college’s approved IGETC list at the time they were taken by the student. Students in the Coast Community College District who take courses at Golden West, Orange Coast and/or Coastline must ensure that the courses are in the areas in which they need to meet general education requirements and the course approvals for the IGETC pattern are approved for a single college, and a course with the same number may have different approvals at the three district colleges. Coursework from all other fully accredited colleges and universities will be placed in the area in which the subject is listed in the GWC pattern. Coursework completed at colleges and universities outside the U.S.A. (non-regionally accredited) are not acceptable except for certification of competence in a language other than English.

How Do I Get My Courses Certified?

Students must request certification from the GWC Admissions & Records Office when the request for sending their final transcript is made (Official Transcript Request Form). In order to complete the certification process, official transcripts of all colleges attended must be on file in the Records Office. If high school foreign language courses are being used to satisfy the UC Language Other Than English requirement (Area 6), official copies of high school transcripts must also be on file. If examinations, e.g., Advanced Placement, are used to meet IGETC requirements, official results must also be on file.

UC Locations and Contacts

UC Berkeley ¹
Undergraduate Admissions
110 Sproul Hall #5800
Berkeley, CA 94720-5800
(510) 642-3175
www.berkeley.edu

UC Davis ²
Undergraduate Admissions
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616-8507
(530) 752-2971
www.ucdavis.edu

UC Irvine ²
Admissions and Relations w/ School
260 Aldrich Hall
Irvine, CA 92697-1075
(949) 824-6703
www.uci.edu

UCLA ²
Undergraduate Admissions
1147 Murphy Hall, Box 951436
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1436
(310) 825-3101
www.ucla.edu

UC Merced ¹
Admissions Processing
5200 North Lake Road
Merced, CA 95344
(209) 228-7178
www.ucmerced.edu

UC Riverside ²
3106 Student Services Building
900 University Avenue
Riverside, CA 92521
(951) 827- 3411
www.ucr.edu

UC San Diego ²
Undergraduate Admissions
9500 Gilman Drive MC 0021
La Jolla, CA 92093
(858) 822-0348
www.ucsd.edu

UC San Francisco ^2, 3
Office of Admissions and Registrar
MU 200W, Box 0244
500 Parnassus Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94143
(415) 476-2310
www.ucsf.edu

UC Santa Barbara ²
Office of Admissions – Application Processing
1210 Cheadle Hall
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-2014
(805) 893-2881
www.ucsb.edu

UC Santa Cruz ²
Office of Admissions –
Evaluation and Application Services
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
(831) 459-2131
www.ucsc.edu

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Graduate Health Science University