The UC Davis Earth and Planetary Sciences department welcomes prospective transfer students.
UC Davis is a wonderful place to study Geology, with plenty of opportunities for transfer students and a thriving transfer community. Watch this presentation to California Community College students for more information about applying, joining the Geology major, and resources for success as a Geology major at UC Davis.
UC Davis: a Best Value College
In 2019, money.com ranked UC Davis 5th in the nation for Best Value Colleges; over half of our students graduated debt-free.
Prior to transferring into UC Davis, students must meet the Transfer Admission requirements. For the Bachelor of Science degree program in Geology at UC Davis, we strongly recommend that transfer students complete preparatory coursework equivalent to the following:
- Calculus with Linear Algebra (MAT 016A-016B-016C-022A or 017A-017B-017C or 019A-019B-019C or 021A-021B-022A or MAT 021A-021B-021C)
- Three quarters of Chemistry (CHE 002A-002B-002C). (CHE 002C replaces GEL 055).
- Three quarters of Physics (PHY 007A-007B-007C or 009A-009B-009C). (PHY 007C/009C replaces GEL 056).
- Physical Geology with Laboratory (GEL 050, 050L)
- History of Life (GEL 003) or Geobiology (GEL 053; only offered at UC Davis)
- Statistics (STA 013)
- IGETC, or the full General Education requirement
Students who transfer in with all this coursework done will be well prepared to finish the degree in two years. Students who are missing some or all of chemistry, math, or physics cannot be guaranteed a two-year plan. Our core Geology classes have strict prerequisites, are only taught in sequence, and are offered every other year.
Please feel free to contact the geology major advisor if you would like to discuss your specific preparation for transfer.
Current Transfer Students
- Transfer credit evaluation
- If you are an incoming student who has transfer credit from another 4-year university (including other UC's), out-of-state community college, or from A-Levels, you likely have coursework that needs to be evaluated. While there are transfer agreements in place already with the California community colleges*, which can be reviewed on assist.org, this is not the case for any school that is not a California community college. A-Levels need to be evaluated for course equivalence as well. Please note that this evaluation does not apply to General Education (GE) attributes such as Science & Engineering (SE) or Social Science (SS). To have any courses evaluated for GE attributes, complete the GE Credit Request on OASIS. See more at the Office of the University Registrar's Transfer Credit FAQ page.
*California community college students who took only a partial series at their community college or completed a series at multiple schools, even if they are in the same district, will need to have that course work evaluated.
Common subjects for evaluation
Biology: For each biology course you would like evaluated, please email a complete syllabus that also includes a lecture schedule to cbsundergrads@ucdavis.edu.
Chemistry: Complete chemistry department equivalency request (preferred method) OR email the syllabi for any chemistry classes that you want evaluated to chemundergrads@ucdavis.edu. Include a detailed syllabus of the class (showing week-to-week topics covered in lectures and labs). Course descriptions from the website or catalog are not sufficient. Also the following information about each class: Name of college or university, Course name and number, Course description, Textbook information, UCD chemistry course that is being proposed as equivalent. Once this is sent in, students can expect a response within 2-4 weeks.
Geology: Email the syllabi for any geology classes that you want evaluated to geology-advisors@ucdavis.edu.
Economics: Email the syllabi for any economics classes that you want evaluated to eheadvisingcenter@ucdavis.edu. You can also check their transfer database for pre-existing articulations for non-Assist schools.
Math: Math has an equivalency request form. You can also check their transfer database for pre-existing articulations.
Physics: Physics has an equivalency request form. You can also check their transfer database for pre-existing articulations.
Political Science: Email the syllabi for any political science classes that you want evaluated to poladvising@ucdavis.edu.
Statistics: Statistics has an equivalency request form.