Prospective Students

• You can view information in the General Catalog describing eligibility, deadlines, and application as either a first-year student or as a transfer student.
• You can also find information about admission at the UC San Diego Office of Admissions web site. 
• You can find the online application for the University of California system at https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/ 

Ranking the Colleges

• When you apply to UCSD, you will need to rank the 8 colleges in order of preference. Your choice of college will affect your general education requirements, and housing, but all 8 colleges have similar resources and support. 
• So far as we can tell, most students seem to rank colleges based on whim, a friend or relative at UCSD, or asking Someone on Reddit. We recommend you consider your options carefully!
• You can find information on the colleges in the General Catalog and at the Office of Admissions website and use the information to think about how the different colleges fit your educational goals!
  

AP, IB, and Transfer Credit

• UCSD will accept AP, IB higher level exams, and A-level exams to fulfill college credit. You can view the AP chart here and  the IB chart here. A-level exams are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by departments.
• Many courses taken at community colleges or universities are considered transferable to UC San Diego. However, only courses taken at a University of California will count toward your official UCSD GPA.  
• For California Community College courses, you can view course equivalents and and UC transferability at http://www.assist.org

Application as a Transfer Student

•  As a transfer student remember that you must complete the 7-course pattern as your minimum requirement for admission. This does not clear UCSD general education or major requirements. 
• In addition, you must complete the transfer major preparation requirements for your planned major. 
• Finally, you should complete a transfer agreement such as IGETC (or CalGETC for Fall 2025 or later), or get a letter of reciprocity from your previous 4-year college or university showing you completed General Education requirements before transfer to Muir or you will be held to completing Muir General Education Requirments. Completion of transfer agreement is not required for admission, but it will make it easier for you to graduate in 2 years as a transfer student! See the "Completing General Education Courses Before UCSD" section below for more information.
• Completing an Associate's Degree does not clear general education. 
• For more information on application as a transfer student, see the information from Admissions.

Transfer Students

• If you completed the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or Partial IGETC or the California General Education Transfer Curriculum (CALGETC) and are admitted as a transfer student from a California Community College, we will waive the standard general education requirements of the college, but will require an upper-division transfer writing course, MCWP 125.
• If you are a transfer student from a different UC campus, you can get a Letter of Reciprocity from your previous university to clear your GE themes, though we will evaluate your writing based on whether or not you completed similar courses before transfer. 
• If you are a transfer student from another four-year college or university who can document that you  completed your general education requirements before transfer, we will treat you the same as a UC to UC transfer. 
• Completion of an Associate's Degree does not complete general education requirements.
• All other transfer students and first year students with transfer credits will be evaluated based on how much of their previous coursework matches our General Education curriculum. 
• Only courses taken at a University of California will count toward your UC San Diego GPA. If you are transferring from outside of the UC System, your previous GPA will not count toward your UC San Diego GPA. 

First Year Students

• UCSD will accept AP, IB higher level exams, and A-level exams to earn college credit. Whether they apply to major or general education requirements will vary a lot. 
  • You can view the AP chart to see what course credit and general education credit your exam scores will give you.
  • You can view the IB chart to see what course credit and general education credit your exam scores will give you.
  • A-level exams are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by departments and by which specific exam you took. It's complicated.
  • UC San Diego does not accept any national exams other than A-levels. 
• Many courses taken at community colleges or universities are considered transferable to UC San Diego.However, a course being "UC -transferable" means that we will recognize the course as applying to your credits at UC San Diego. It does not mean the course is considered equivalent to a specific UCSD course.
  • For California Community College courses, you can view course equivalents and and UC transferability at http://www.assist.org
  • Only courses taken at a University of California will count toward your UC San Diego GPA. If you are transferring from outside of the UC System, your previous GPA will not count toward your UC San Diego GPA. 

• You can review the estimated cost of attendance for Undergraduates at UC San Diego.
• As an undergraduate, your tuition and fees "cohort based", which means that your tuition and some fees will be based on when you start at UCSD (and stay the same for 6 years) based on the UC Tuition Stability Plan.
• Find some information on applying for financial aid as a prospective UC San Diego student.

• Sample graduation plans for first year and transfer students for all majors and all colleges can be found at http://plans.ucsd.edu so you can see what it would take for you to graduate on time.
• UCSD will accept AP, IB higher level exams, and A-level exams to fulfill college credit. You can view the AP chart here and  the IB chart here. A-level exams are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by departments.
• Many courses taken at community colleges or universities are considered transferable to UC San Diego. However, only courses taken at a University of California will count toward your official UCSD GPA. 
• For California Community College courses, you can view course equivalents and and UC transferability at http://www.assist.org

We are not staffed to meet with prospective students and serve our existing student population! In addition, until your official records are posted and we know your course placement, any advice we give you will be subject to change once we have official records! We also don't know until after you are admitted whether you will be placed into Muir or another one of UC San Diego's eight undergraduate colleges.

Once we have gone through the cycle of application, acceptance, and you have submitted your Accept Your Offer/Statement of Intent to Register, we will begin reaching out to students to explain the timeline for when your AP, IB, and transfer credits should be posted, when we will have placement information for you in classes, and when we will be available for online advising for all of our incoming first year and transfer students before Fall Quarter enrollment in August.

Yes, you can. But Summer Session before your first year at UC San Diego may not be the right choice or all students. 

Pros of Summer Before Your First Year at UC San Diego

• For some students, this can be a time to focus on 1 or 2 classes. 
• This can be an opportunity to get ahead on your general education classes. 
• Summer may help you get a head start on finishing general education, the requirement in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or the Jane Teranes Climate Change Education Requirement. 
• Summer may help you explore academically if you have not declared or decided on a major. 

Cons of Summer Before Your First Year at UC San Diego

• Summer sessions are fast, lasting only 5 weeks. 
  • These are the same classes you would take during the academic year, but faster.
  • You need to make sure you can set aside time to focus on school. It is hard to work and take 2 classes in a single summer session. 
  • You need to jump into college coursework without any time to adjust!
• You need to talk to Financial Aid to see if you are eligibile for financial aid before you start Fall Quarter. 
  • If you are getting financial aid, you need to meet minimum enrollment requirements.
  • You need a 2.0 GPA in your summer classes or you may lose eligibility for financial aid and will need to appeal to get it back!
• If your ability to take a class depends on AP, IB, A-level or transfer coursework to enroll, we will not have that information updated in your records to give you an accurate placement which may prevent you from being able to enroll or may result in you spending money on a class you already have credit for!

What are Good Courses to Take This Summer?

• Requirement in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI): ANTH 23, CGS 2A, COMM 10, COMM 30, EDS 25, ETHN 2R; HILD 2C, HILD 7B, HILD 7C,LATI 10, LIGN 7, LIGN 8, MGT 18, PHIL 35, SOCI 2, USP 1, USP 3
  *DEI may overlap with major or GE requirements.
• Muir General Education:Muir General Education courses must be taken in specific themes in three different GE areas (Math or Natural Sciences; Social Sciences; and Fine Arts, Humanities, and Languages Other than English). See https://muir.ucsd.edu/academics/degree.html for information on our GE themes. 
  
  
  • AP exams and IB exams may also count toward your General Education and affect your choices. 
  • If you have already received credit for a course from AP, IB, or GCE A-level exams or through community college coursework, you cannot earn additional units (or GPA credit) when you take the equivalent course at UC San Diego. 
  • You may use a maximum of 3 courses from your major to also fulfill General Education requirements at Muir. 
  • General Education courses on the appropriate approved list may also be used to also fulfill the requirements in American History and Institutions; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; and the Jane Teranes Climate Change Education Requirement. 
  • Muir College Writing Program classes and any GE courses that also apply to your declared or intended major or minor must be taken for a letter grade. 
  
  

  Math or Natural Sciences Area

  • Biological Sciences theme: BILD 1, BILD 3, BILD 42, PSYC 2
  • Physical Sciences theme: CHEM 4, CHEM 11, SIO 3, SIO 25, SIO 45
  • Computing and Logic theme: COGS 3, PHIL 10, 12
    
    

  Social Sciences Area

  • Culture, Society and Social Justice theme: ANTH 23, CGS 2A, EDS 25, ETHN 2R, GLBH 20, SOCI 1, SOCI 2, SOCI 20, SOCI 30, SOCI 40
  • Language and Communication theme: COMM 10, COMM 20, COMM 30, DSGN 1, LIGN 7, LIGN 8, MGT 18
  • Mind and Cognition theme: COGS 11, COGS 13, COGS 20, PSYC 1, PSYC 3
  • Government and Economics theme: ECON 1, ECON 2, ECON  3, POLI 10, POLI 12, USP 1, USP 2, USP 3
    
    

  Fine Arts Area

  • Theatre and Dance theme: TDAC 1, TDDM 1, TDDM 5, TDGE 10, TDGE 11, TDGE 25, TDMV 1, TDMV 2, TDMV 3, TDMV 20; TDPW 1
  • Music theme: MUS 1A, MUS 4, MUS 5R, MUS 6, MUS 7, MUS 11, MUS 13, MUS 15, MUS 20
  • Visual Arts theme: VIS 1, VIS 21B, VIS 22, VIS 30, VIS 83
    
    

  Humanities Area

  • Historical Narratives theme: GSS 22, HILD 2A, HILD 2B, HILD 2C, HILD 14, HILD 30, LATI 10, LATI 50
  • Philosophical Perspectives theme: PHIL 1, PHIL 13, PHIL 24, PHIL 35

• If you are not admitted into a selective major that you want to pursue and still come to UCSD, you need to be prepared to do so with a plan to finish a different, non-selective major! Many selective majors admit few or no students each year, or may not allow transfer students who were not admitted into that major to change to that major after admission. 
• UC San Diego is built on the idea that you will be a full-time student. You are charged a flat full-time tuitiion, regardless of how many units you enroll in, and would need to apply for part-time status for reduced units and fees. Timely graduation assumes that you will need to enroll in 16 units or more a quarter.
• UC San Diego offers limited online or remote coursework. You should attend UCSD assuming that most of your classes will either be fully or partially in person. Attending UCSD will require you to plan on living in the region or commuting daily to campus. 
• UC San Diego tends to offer most lecture and lab courses in the day, with discussion sections from the morning through the evening. This will make it much more challenging to work full time and attend UC San Diego as an undergraduate (you can't count on doing all night classes!) Not to mention the challenge of balancing the work load of being a full-time student with working full time!
• When choosing a university, consider whether:
  • The major you want is even available on the campus' list of majors.For example, we do not offer Accounting, Architecture, Business Management, or Nursing majors. We can still help you prepare for most of those areas, but you would still have to go into those fields through non-traditional paths!
  • The cost of attendance makes sense for your budget and ability to manage debt.
  • The kinds of opportunities that are special to that campus (for us, that includes opportunities to do undergraduate research and to meet top faculty in their academic fields) actually matter to you and your goals. 
  • Whether the campus the right tools on campus to support your individual needs, including supporting you as a disabled student, accessibility and travel, having enough opportunities for career and leadership development, how close (or far) from family is comfortable for you, and whether it feels like you can build a supportive community for yourself on campus.