Assessing Degree Progress

Overview

An important part of planning your courses each term is reviewing the coursework and requirements you have already completed in order to assess the progress you have made towards completing your degree.

Academic Progress Report (APR)

The Academic Progress Report (APR) is a tool available to you that is designed to track progress toward completion of degree requirements, including:

University of California (UC)
UC Berkeley Campus (American Cultures requirement)
College of Letters and Science requirements (e.g. 7-course breadth and Essential Skills)
Major and Minor Requirements*

*More work is needed in the APR to accurately track completion of requirements for all majors and minors. About 1/3rd of all majors use the APR. Check with your Undergraduate Major Adviser or Minor Adviser for guidance on how to verify progress towards major requirements or minor requirements.

Some majors and minors do not use the APR, so you may need to double check these requirements with the appropriate Undergraduate Major Adviser or Minor Adviser.

How to use the APR

Please review the Central Evaluation Unit's webpage on the Academic Progress Report for an overview and common questions related to the APR. You may also view the video below for instructions on how to use the APR. However, if you are confused by your APR, L&S Advising can help. See a L&S Peer Adviser in the residence hall, our intake staff, or meet with an L&S College Adviser to review it with you.

Note: If you have any incomplete or missing grades you do not intend to finish in your academic record, we recommend seeing an L&S College Adviser to review your unit counts.

Academic Progress Report Tutorial

Play this video for an overview of the Academic Progress Report.

Frequently Asked Questions

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What requirements can I fulfill with high school exam credits?

You may receive unit credit for qualifying exams:

SAT
ACT
Advanced Placement (AP)
GCE A-level
International Baccalaureate (IB)

In addition to unit credit, certain scores may fulfill UC and College of Letters and Science Essential Skills requirements. L&S Seven-Course Breadth requirements may NOT be fulfilled with exam credit. To review qualifying exam scores for UC and L&S essential skills requirements, visit the Degree Requirements page.

What requirements can I fulfill with transfer credit from a California Community College?

In addition to unit credit, passing grades in approved courses may fulfill UC, campus, and/or College of Letters & Science requirements. To find out what credit you may receive, go to: assist.org. Select the academic year and institutions you wish to view agreements for. Select to view the agreement by “General Education/Breadth Agreement”. This will show you the articulation agreement between UC Berkeley and your CA community college campus, and all courses that are approved to fulfill Essential Skills and Seven-Course Breadth requirements for the College of Letters and Science.

You can find more information on our Transfer Credit page.

Will my exam and transfer credit fulfill major requirements?

It is important to be aware that major and minor departments set their own policies for the acceptance of exam and transfer credit. Some majors may not accept AP/IB exam credit for prerequisite requirements. If you want to know if exam credit can fulfill a prerequisite requirement for a major, review the major or minor department's website to learn more about prerequisite requirements or consult with a Undergraduate Major Adviser.

New Students: Initial Credit Review

All credit-bearing exams (e.g. Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), GCE A-Level) and transfer course work submitted by freshmen and transfer students prior to their arrival to Berkeley is reviewed by the campus' Central Evaluation Unit as part of the initial transfer credit review.

The Initial Transfer Credit review is generally completed by mid-October for students admitted to Berkeley in the fall semester, and mid-February for students admitted to a spring semester.

At that time, all transfer work eligible for unit credit towards the Berkeley degree will be posted to the Transfer Credit Report, and any degree requirements satisfied by exams and California Community College Courses (as published in assist.org), will be updated in the Academic Progress Report. Both of these reports are available in CalCentral My Academics. If you have completed transfer course work at a non-California Community College, allow for a few more weeks for the College to review this credit.

If you are unsure if Admissions has received your transcript, please allow 4-6 weeks before following up on your transcripts. After that time, you may open a case with Cal Student Central to see if your transcripts were received.

What if I think there is an error in my transfer credit report or academic progress report?

After the Initial Transfer Credit review is complete, please direct any questions or concerns about missing transfer work for unit credit and/or the Entry Level Writing, American History and Institutions, and American Cultures requirements to the Central Evaluation Unit by opening a case with Cal Student Central.

If you received unit credit for non-CA community college transfer work and would like that coursework reviewed for Essential Skills or Breadth requirements, submit your syllabi for review. Any questions regarding using transfer work to satisfy College requirements should be directed to the college advising, and for your intended major, to the department offering the major program of interest. For more information, please check out our Transfer Credit page.