It may be possible for students to satisfy a major requirement with a course taken at another institution.  Prior to enrolling in an outside course, make sure the course you plan to take articulates (i.e., is equivalent to a course at UCSC or is an approved elective for your major).

NOTE: To transfer any credit, a course MUST be completed with a grade of C or better. Grades of C- are not accepted.

For more information on transferring credit:

• California Community College
• Other University or Education Abroad Program

If you are taking a course at another institution that is a prerequisite for a course you plan to take in any academic quarter at UCSC, you will not be able to enroll until you have submitted your unofficial transcript (showing the name of the school, your name, the date, the name of the course, and the grade you earned) to mcdadvising@ucsc.edu. 

Course Substitution & Transfer Credit Policy

At least half of the upper-division courses required for the major must be taken at UC Santa Cruz, not as transfer credits from another institution. If a student plans to transfer to UCSC from another institution, the student is advised to contact MCD Advising at UCSC before enrolling in upper-division courses at the student’s institution or any institution other than UCSC. This advising will help students understand the limitation of transferring upper-division courses from other institutions to UCSC. For more information on transferring courses to UCSC, please consult the undergraduate website.

Once matriculated, a student must receive permission from the department to satisfy the BIOL 20A, BIOL 100, BIOL 105, BIOL 101 or BIOL 110 requirements with courses taken at other institutions. Students who wish to receive credit toward the major for these or other courses taken either at UCSC or at another institution should contact MCD Advising.

Students may satisfy introductory course requirements – such as math, statistics, introductory biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics – with courses taken at a California Community College (CACC). Only introductory courses transferred from a community college can be used to satisfy your major requirements.  Advanced requirements (or upper-division courses) cannot be transferred from a CACC because community colleges only offer lower-division courses.

Use ASSIST.ORG to determine which California Community College courses satisfy your introductory major requirements. 

NOTE: Review the ASSIST.ORG information carefully! In some cases, such as general chemistry and physics, there is not a course-to-course equivalency and you must complete an entire series to receive credit towards your major.

To transfer credit, you MUST pass the course with a grade of C or better AND submit an official transcript showing your completed course.  Grades of C- are not accepted.

Once your grades are posted, please submit an official transcript to:

Undergraduate Admissions
University of California
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064

With the acceptance of your official transcript, you will receive units for your transferred course as well as credit toward your major – if applicable.

If you are taking a course at another institution that is a prerequisite for a course you plan to take at UCSC in an upcoming quarter, you will not be able to enroll until you have submitted your unofficial transcript (showing the name of the school, your name, the date, the name of the course and the grade you earned) to mcdadvising@ucsc.edu. We can post the temporary credit while you are waiting for the official transcript to post.

Course Substitution Policy:

At least half of the upper-division courses required for the major must be taken at UC Santa Cruz, not as transfer credits from another institution. If a student plans to transfer to UCSC from another institution, the student is advised to contact MCD Advising at UCSC before enrolling in upper-division courses at the student’s institution or any institution other than UCSC. This advising will help students understand the limitation of transferring upper-division courses from other institutions to UCSC. For more information on transferring courses to UCSC, please consult the undergraduate website.

Once matriculated, a student must receive permission from the department to satisfy the BIOL 20A, BIOL 100, BIOL 105, BIOL 101 or BIOL 110 requirements with courses taken at other institutions. Students who wish to receive credit toward the major for these or other courses taken either at UCSC or at another institution should contact MCD Advising.

If you will be traveling out of the country, out of state, or even to another UC or a CSU and wish to take coursework that you want to count toward requirements for one of the four MCD Biology majors, you must get UCSC faculty approval prior to taking the class to ensure that it will be accepted to satisfy major requirements.

Follow these instructions to submit a course for articulation:

1. Obtain a copy of the course description and syllabus for the course you wish to articulate. The syllabus should include a week-by-week list of lecture topics, the textbook used, and the means by which the course will be evaluated. Include any other course materials as available.

2. Using the UCSC General Catalog, determine if there is a similar course taught here at UCSC. If there is a similar course, indicate that course on the articulation form. If there is not a similar course, indicate the credit you hope to receive for the course, i.e. upper-division elective credit.

3. Fill out and Submit the Articulation Request Form 

Your requested articulation will be reviewed by a faculty member and you will be notified of the outcome by email.

Articulations can take 2–4 weeks to process. Do not wait until the last minute to submit your request.  Education Abroad Program students are required to articulate their proposed coursework prior to going abroad.

Things to Consider:

Once matriculated, freshmen admitted in Fall 2019 and later must receive permission from the department to satisfy the BIOL 20A, BIOL 100, BIOL 105, BIOL 101 or BIOL 110 requirements with courses taken at other institutions. Students who wish to receive credit toward the major for these or other courses taken either at UC Santa Cruz or at another institution should fill out the Articulation Request Form before enrolling.

At least half of the upper-division courses (numbered BIOL 100-190) required for the major must be taken through the biological sciences program at UC Santa Cruz, not as transfer credits from another department or institution.

Regardless of the grading scale at the university you are attending, you must complete the course with a C or better to receive credit at UCSC. Courses with a grade of C- can not be used to fulfill major requirements.

If you are taking a course at another institution that is a prerequisite for a course you plan to take in any academic quarter at UCSC, you will not be able to enroll until you have submitted your unofficial transcript (showing the name of the school, your name, the date, the name of the course and the grade you earned) to mcdadvising@ucsc.edu. 

For more information, see the Transfer Information and Policy in the Course Catalog.