End of Header

Unfortunately, we are not able to evaluate coursework prior to application. If you are applying from a regionally accredited college or university, you may gain some insight by comparing the catalog descriptions of courses you have taken to those descriptions in the UCSB Catalog. Courses that are the same as undergraduate courses offered at any UC campus are generally transferable if they carry the same or similar credit, prerequisites, level of instruction, and content. If offered admission, your courses must be reported on an official transcript. Do not send transcripts (unless directed to do so) until after you have been admitted to UC Santa Barbara.

Courses in traditional academic disciplines (for example, science, literature, humanities, and social sciences) are generally transferable. The following are not transferable:

• Courses that are vocational, technical, or professional in nature (for example, advertising, real estate, electronics)
• Remedial courses (for example, trigonometry)
• Personal enrichment (for example, time management)

Each transfer course must be listed and described in the college's catalog for the academic year in which it was taken. Some courses require published prerequisites to be considered transferable to the University.

University of California Extension courses are transferable if numbered 1-199. In general though, courses offered through other university extension or continuing education divisions may not be transferable.

For courses completed at a California community college, transfer articulation agreements are available at each college's transfer center and can also be found at the ASSIST website.

UC Santa Barbara does not grant credit for CLEP exams, work experience, or military training.

The maximum transferable credit awarded for physical activities is six quarter (or four semester) units.

AP and IB Credit: UC awards credit for College Board Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams. See the UCSB General Catalog section on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate for more information.

Courses in English Composition must have a prerequisite of a course or examination comparable to Writing 1 at UCSB. Courses should require extensive practice in writing papers and require a significant amount of reading literature. Transferable English Composition courses will be appropriate to meet the freshman English composition requirement at UCSB. Acceptable courses should focus on expository writing and must be at least 3 semester or 4 quarter units. Courses designed for foreign or international students or for students whose first language is not English may transfer, but will not be acceptable for the required pattern of courses for admission. Remedial courses not appropriate for transfer might include focus on grammar, sentence structure or paragraph development.

Transferable Mathematics courses must have a published (in the school’s catalog for the year the applicant took the course) prerequisite of Intermediate Algebra or higher. Transferable courses will employ the topics of Advanced Algebra as found in courses such as: Pre-calculus, Calculus, Linear Algebra, or Discrete Mathematics. Note: Courses such as "Math for Liberal Arts", "Nature of Math", "Math for Teachers", or "Mathematical Ideas" will not meet the admission requirement in Mathematics.

Statistics courses which have Advanced or Intermediate Algebra as prerequisites may be transferable and meet the University’s Mathematics admission requirement. Course topics should include population distribution, probability and tests of hypothesis, significance, and correlations.

UCSB operates on a quarter system. All transferable units will be converted from semester to quarter units. To convert semester units to quarter units, multiply the semester units by 1.5. You should plan on completing at least 90 quarter (60 semester) units before you transfer. In addition, UCSB’s College of Letters & Science does not admit students with 135 quarter (90 semester) units or more (students with senior class standing).

If you are changing from a semester to a quarter system, you should try to complete series courses before you transfer – for example, Chemistry 1A-1B – to avoid duplicating coursework. If your school is on the semester calendar and you wish to enroll in the latter terms of a two- or three-quarter course sequence at UC, you may have to repeat material.

Once you are admitted and have submitted all of your transcripts to the Office of Admissions, we will complete a "New Student Profile" which will indicate the units awarded for classes taken prior to enrollment at UCSB.

What to expect when you transfer?