Transfer Credit

If you have already started at UC Berkeley, you must satisfy Entry Level Writing at UC Berkeley. You can do this through the College Writing Program's Berkeley Writing Assessment(link is external) or by completing the 6 unit COLWRIT R1A course with C or better. This course is offered on campus and fulfills both Entry Level Writing and Reading and Composition Part A. 

You can only take Reading and Composition (R&C) courses at another higher education institution after you have satisfied Entry Level Writing. These courses must be taken sequentially (ex: you cannot take R&C Part A and B at the same time or take part B before Part A) or you will not receive credit. For more information on non California Community College courses that cover R&C, see our Reading & Composition page (see "Transfer Courses" accordion at the bottom of the page).

You will not receive credit for a transfer course if you already completed a comparable UC Berkeley course with a passing grade (P or D- or higher).  

Additionally, if you take transfer courses that are judged to be equivalent, you will only receive unit credit for the first course taken.

If UC Berkeley has a credit restriction in moving from a higher level to a lower level (ex: no credit for Stat 2 after taking Stat 20), you should expect the same credit restriction to apply to transfer coursework. 

Transfer credit does not satisfy residence requirements, including senior residence, upper division units in residence, and major residence.

No more than 70 units of lower division transfer coursework (not including UC coursework) may be applied toward the 120 unit minimum required for graduation. This includes work from other higher education institutions. This limit does not apply to exam units. 

Even if you cannot earn additional units from lower division transfer classes, it is still possible to fulfill major or general education requirements with lower division transfer classes. For example, if you already have 70 lower division transfer units, you may still be able to take a CA Community College course to satisfy your International Studies Breadth, even if you would not receive additional units.

If you were admitted to UC Berkeley prior to Fall 2014, consult with an L&S College Adviser as you may fall under different guidelines for credit restrictions. 

Students who are not currently enrolled will not have their transfer work posted until readmitted or are reviewed for graduation.

Depending on the pre-health profession you are interested in, taking prerequisites for health professions schools at another institution after starting at UC Berkeley may negatively impact your application. It is highly recommended that you meet with a Pre-Med/Pre-Health Adviser to assess whether taking transfer coursework is a good choice for your goals. Generally, the UC Berkeley Pre-Health Advisers recommend that you take the vast majority of your pre-health required courses at UC Berkeley, unless you are a transfer student.