Prospective MCS Transfer Students

Bodega Marine Lab boat

The UC Davis Earth and Planetary Sciences department welcomes prospective transfer students.

We advise careful planning, as many of our courses are only offered once a year. The following information is provided for your convenience, but is not meant to replace a consultation with one of our undergraduate advisors.


Prior to transferring into UC Davis, students must meet the Transfer Admission requirements. For the Marine and Coastal Science major at UC Davis, we strongly recommend that transfer students complete preparatory coursework equivalent to the following:

  • BIS 002A-002B-002C
  • CHE 002A-002B-002C
  • MAT 016A-016B-016C or 017A-017B-017C or 019A-019B-019C or 021A-021B-021C 
    • For focus in Marine Ecology and Organismal Biology only: Must take MAT 017A-017B-017C or 021A-021B
  • PHY 007A-007B-007C or 009A-009B-009C
  • CHE 008A-008B (for focus in Marine Ecology and Organismal Biology only)
  • IGETC, or the full General Education requirement

Students interested in the focus area in Marine Ecology and Organismal Biology must complete prerequisite courses to be eligible for admission. 

Please use assist.org to find course equivalents between your community college and UC Davis.

 

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.

    *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.

2-year Transfer Students | MCS Sample Academic Plan

 

2-year Transfer Students | MCS Sample Academic Plan

The following is a sample academic plan for 2-year transfer MCS majors. It assumes that you’ve completed the preparatory coursework. This information is provided for your convenience, but should be adjusted to each student's specific needs. These plans are not meant to replace a consultation with a major advisor, who can help you create a personalized academic plan. Classes are subject to change.  

Fall - Year 1WinterSpringSummer (or Fall) at BML
GEL 001 or 002 or 016 or 050 (3-4)GEL/ESP 116N** (3)BIS 105* (3)Field Requirement
STA 100 (4)BIS 101* (4)GEL/ESP 150B** (3)Focus Course (4)
Depth Course (4-5)Focus Course (3-4)Breadth Course (3-4) GEL/ESP 150C** (3)
Total: 12-15 unitsANS 198: Careers in Marine Science (2)Total: 12+ unitsBreadth Course (3-4)
 Total: 12+ units Total: 10 units
    
Fall - Year 2WinterSpring 
BIS 104* (3)Focus Course (3-4)GEL/ESP 150A** (4) 
Depth Course (4-5)Focus Course (3-4)Breadth Course (3-4)  
Research/Internship (3)UWP 101/102/104/UDCE (0-4)EVE/ESP 111 (1) 
Total: 12+ unitsTotal: 12+ unitsTotal: 12+ units 

Total graduation units: 180 (54-64 upper division)

Updated June 2024

*Only required for the focus in Marine Ecology and Organismal Biology
**Choose two from GEL/ESP 116N, 150A, 150B, and 150C 

MCS Sample Academic Plan for Transfers (pdf) revised 03/2024