Transfer Credit Guidelines

Transferring Credits from Courses Taken at Other Institutions

Students can take major or GE requirements at other institutions. Here are general guidelines regarding taking courses elsewhere:

• Determine how the course will be applied before taking the class. See below for information on how this can be done for specific types of institutions.
• Courses taken elsewhere will not be included in the GPAs calculated for change of major, with one exception (See "Other UC Campuses" below).
• If a student has received credit for a course at UCSB (grade of D- or greater), they may not receive credit for an equivalent class taken at another institution. This includes courses that a student would be eligible to repeat at UCSB. See "Other UC Campuses" below for the only exception to this rule.
• If a student received an "F" grade in a course at UCSB, they may take the course at another institution for unit and subject credit. The course taken elsewhere will not replace the original grade in the GPA calculation if taken at a non-UC school.
• The General Education Special Subject Area Writing Requirement may only be satisfied by courses taken at UCSB.
• Domestic students in regular status may take courses concurrently at UCSB and another institution without prior approval from the College of Engineering. Students on academic probation must receive prior approval to take course concurrently and this request is often not approved. International students must receive prior approval from OISS to take courses concurrently.

See the type of institution below for more specific information.

California Community Colleges

The biggest benefit to taking classes at a California Community College is that all courses have been pre-articulated, meaning all transferrable courses at a community college have an approved equivalent at UCSB. To view course articulations, please visit assist.org.

Important information:

Transferable courses taken at California community colleges will earn a student units and subject credit but the grades will not transfer and will not be included in any GPAs. UCSB will grant a maximum of 105 transfer units for community college courses. Once the 105 unit maximum has been reached, the Office of Admission will grant subject credit, but not units. All courses taken at a community college are considered lower division, even if the equivalent course is upper division at UCSB.

Other University of California (UC) Campuses

Courses taken at another UC campus will appear on UCSB transcripts and will be counted in a student’s GPA. For students looking to raise their GPA, a UC campus is the only option.

On occasion, courses taken at another UC campus may be used as authorized repeats of classes taken at UCSB in which the student earned a C- or below. In order for an authorized repeat to be approved, the courses must be identical (i.e. same material covered, same book, etc.) and approved by the student's major department. Graduation Matters forms are used to establish this relationship.

A special note about mathematics courses taken at other UCs summer 2019 through now: UCSB has established equilvalencies between UCSB math courses and other UCs' math courses. If you take a math course at another UC, the course will automatically be applied to your degree and if the course is a repeat of another course the repeat will be coded as such.

Anyone may enroll in a UC summer session. If you want to take classes at another UC during a standard term, please talk to an academic advisor well in advance of the quarter in which you would like to enroll. Please be advised, these requests are rarely approved.

CSU, private, and Out-of-State Colleges

Students may take courses at California State University campuses, private, and out-of-state colleges, universities, or community colleges. Depending on the type of institution, upper-division and lower-division courses may be available.

Similar to California Community Colleges, students will earn units and subject credit but grades will not transfer and will not be included in any GPAs.

Students are highly recommended to select courses with the guidance of an academic advisor and have courses approved prior to enrollment in the course.

Education Abroad Program (EAP)

Students studying abroad through UC EAP should consult the Study Abroad page and the College of Engineering advising office for rules and regulations regarding EAP courses.