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 2A-B-C
  • CHE 2A-B-C
  • MAT 16A-B-C or 17A-B-C or 19A-B-C or 21A-B-C
  • PHY 7A-B-C or 9A-B-C
  • CHE 8A-B (for focus in Marine Ecology and Organismal Biology only)

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.

  • 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, please contact the College of Agriculture & Environmental Sciences dean's office.

    *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: 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 courseworkThis 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.  

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

Year 1

  • Fall Quarter Total: 12-15 units
    • STA 100 (4)
    • Depth Course (4-5)
    • GEL 1 or 2 or 16 or 50 (3-4)
  • Winter Quarter Total: 12+ units 
    • BIS 101* (4)
    • Focus Course (3-4)
    • GEL/ESP 116N** (3)
    • ANS 198: Careers in Marine Science (2)
  • Spring Quarter Total: 12+ units  
    • BIS 105* (3)
    • GEL/ESP 150B** (3)
    • Breadth Course (3-4) 
  • Summer (or Fall) at BML Total: 10 units 
    • Field Requirement
    • Focus Course (4)
    • GEL/ESP 150C** (3)
    • Research/Internship (3)

Year 2

  • Fall Quarter Total: 12+ units 
    • BIS 104* (3)
    • Depth Course (4-5)
    • Breadth Course (3-4)
  • Winter Quarter Total: 12+ units
    • Focus Course (3-4)
    • Focus Course (3-4)
    • UWP 101 or 102 or 104 or UDCE
  • Spring Quarter Total: 12+ units
    • GEL/ESP 150A** (4)
    • Breadth Course (3-4) 
    • EVE/ESP 111 (1)

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