Transfer Admission for International Students
You are a transfer applicant if you have:
- attended one or more regular terms (not summer) at a college or a university.
You need to meet the same requirements as any other transfer applicant. Check out the requirements page.
In your application, report all international coursework as it appears on your original academic records from your home university.
Course Transferability
You must also be enrolled in a university level academic degree program comparable to US Associates of Bachelor's degree
UC San Diego only considers transfer credit for subjects similar to those offered in the UC system. How to determine if your subjects are similar.
The school must be well-recognized in order for us to accept credit—check with your country's Ministry of Education.
There are limits on transfer credits we can consider:
- Maximum of 70 transferable semester units from a California community college towards a BA or BS degree
- Maximum of 90 transferable semester units from 4-year institutions before enrolling
Note: Do you have quarter units? To convert them to semester units, multiply by 1.5
Academic Records
When you apply
Report all completed coursework as it would appear on your academic records at your home school.
If you are admitted
We must receive an official academic record directly from each institution you attended, beginning with grade nine (or international equivalent) and up to and including the school or college/university you currently attend. Each academic record must list:
- Dates you attended institution
- Titles of courses and examinations you completed
- Grades (marks) you received
- Credit, hours, or units earned
- Any degree or diploma you received.
- Note: Certificates or diplomas for completing government and university examinations must show the subjects you passed and the grades received.
UC San Diego requires records from all secondary schools attended, showing subjects taken and grades received as well as any national or government certificates earned. Documents of all college or university coursework must also be sent in the original language, along with English translations. Do not send these documents now. If you apply and are admitted to UC San Diego, you will find instructions on how to send your original records to us through the application status website MyApplication.
Secondary School Credit
Transfer credit is considered for students who have taken the GCE or Hong Kong Advanced Level Examinations and earned grades of "C" or higher.
UC San Diego does not routinely award transfer credit for the German Abitur, the Swiss Federal Maturity Certificate, the Italian Maturita, or the French Baccalaureate.
If you completed GCE A-Level or the HKALE, you must report your scores in your application. IF you did not receive "C" grades, please report your exam scores anyway. Poor A-Level/HKALE scores will not be counted against you as a transfer student.
International Junior Colleges and Diploma Programs
Please report your junior/community college or diploma program courses along with all post secondary coursework in your application.
Note: UC San Diego does not accept transfer credit from programs that are technical or vocational in nature.
Residence for Tuition Purposes at UC San Diego
The financial independence requirement makes it extremely difficult for most undergraduate students whose parents are not California residents to qualify for classification as a resident at the University of California. This includes students from community colleges and other post-secondary institutions within California. Transfer students who were classified as residents of California at their previous school should not assume that they will be classified as residents at UC San Diego.
About Us
Admissions and Relations with Schools
International specialists
Phone:
+1 858 534 4831
Fax:
+1 858 534 5629
Email
Post-Graduate Information
If you are a candidate for a master's, doctoral, or professional degree, go to the Office of Graduate Studies
International Students
Tritons Talk
Kameron
Neuroscience
"I was a transfer student and I didn’t know anybody, so every day I made it a personal point when I got on the shuttle to meet a new person every day ..." read more