TRANSFER CREDIT GUIDELINES

This information is intended to assist you in receiving credit toward your Biology major for courses taken at another institution. (NOTE: Students wishing to take courses at another institution while enrolled at UCSD must consult the Biology Student Affairs Office first.)

LOWER-DIVISION COURSES

If you wish to take courses at a California Community College to fulfill major requirements, please look at the ASSIST.ORG website. All current articulations with California Community Colleges are listed on this website. If you do not find a course you wish to take, please contact the Biology Student Affairs Office.

After you have taken the course at another university or community college (see below for guidelines), send a transcript to UCSD Office of Admissions. The UCSD Division of Biological Sciences can only give credit for courses that have been officially transferred to UCSD. The units must be posted on your UCSD transcript.

As a rule, our division requires:

  • One-year of general chemistry including lab* = Chemistry 6ABC + 6BL/6CL
  • One-year of math= Math 10A, 10B, 11/10C OR Math 20A. 20B, 20C
  • One-year of calculus-based physics + lab** = Physics 1ABC (5 unit lecture/lab combination)OR Physics 2ABC+Lab
  • Two-quarters of organic chemistry sequence + lab*** = Chemistry 140A, 140B, and 143A
(A sequence is either two semesters or three quarters. One semester will generally be counted as only one quarter, depending on the overlap of the material.)

*The prerequisite for Organic Chemistry Lab (Chem. 143A) is General Chemistry Lab (Chem 6BL/Chem 6CL). Students who take the General Chemistry Lab anywhere other than UCSD must check with the Chemistry Department (4010 York Hall) prior to taking the Organic Chemistry Lab to verify whether it satisfies the Chemistry Department's prerequisites.

**Most medical schools require three topics in Physics (mechanics; electricity; and magnetism, and optics and waves). If you plan to take physics courses at a university or community college which operates on the semester system, you may be required to take three semesters of physics. Please consult advisors for more details.

***Lower-division Organic Chemistry will satisfy the Biology major requirement; however, you will not receive upper-division credit toward your college's upper-division unit requirement. [All courses at community colleges transfer as lower division only. ]

The Division of Biological Sciences requires students to take the full content equivalencies to UCSD series in Math, Chemistry and Physics. The Division of Biological Sciences will follow the respective department's recommendations for equivalency. In some cases, attaining full content equivalency will require a student to complete more than two semesters in a subject. If the courses a student took do not provide full content equivalency, s/he will be required to complete the lacking material at UCSD or at a community college where the material is equivalent.

UPPER-DIVISION COURSES REQUIRE A PETITION!

In order to receive transfer credit for upper-division courses, you must submit a General Petition for approval. You must also include a copy of the non-UCSD course description and syllabus. The UCSD Admissions Office determines whether you will receive upper or lower division credit for a course. Lower division courses may not be substituted for upper division courses.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT

To fulfill the residency requirement for the major you must satisfactorily complete at least nine upper-division, biology courses (each course must be at least four units) while officially enrolled at UCSD. UCSD Extension courses do not count toward the residency requirement. No more than three EAP or other University of California  courses may be applied toward the residency requirement, upon approval.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TRANSFER CREDIT

OR QUESTIONS REGARDING YOUR BIOLOGY DEGREE,
PLEASE CONTACT Biology Student Affairs Office
AT 1128 PACIFIC HALL
(858) 534-0557