Welcome to UCSD! - Transfer Student Information
The following information about the Division of Biological Sciences is intended to provide some basic information to transfer students.
Transfer Information
Step 1: Check www.assist.org, the official source for articulation and student transfer information. You will find how your lower division courses transfer. Please be aware that just because courses transfered from your community college DOES NOT mean that they are equivalent. If you took a course that does not appear on assist.org and you think it is equivalent, you must file an undergraduate student petition with Biology Student Affairs.
Please check your transfer record on TritonLink. Are the courses you took listed? Are there equivalent courses listed? If you took a course and it does not appear on your TritonLink record, please contact the Registrar's Office. If a lower-division course appears, but does not show an equivalent, you must file an undergraduate student petition with Biology Student Affairs.
Step 2: Once you have determined which courses you have completed, take a look at the biology courses offered for 2006-07 and at the biology course prerequisites. Prerequisites are enforced in ALL biology courses.
Step 3: Register for your courses. What do you do if the class you want to take is FULL? Please read and understand the university waitlist procedures on TritonLink.
Step 4: Enjoy your quarter at UCSD. If you have any questions about your major, biology classes, etc., please contact Biology Student Affairs at (858) 534-0557 or email question@biology.ucsd.edu
Lab Requirement
The Division of Biological Sciences will require students in all biology majors, with the exception of bioinformatics, to take one biology lab before the end of the sophomore year. Transfer students may petition to have community college course work cover the lab requirement. Please see a Biology Student Affairs advisor for further information.
Residency Requirement
To receive a bachelor of science degree in biology from UCSD, all students must complete at least nine upper-division biology courses (each course must be at least four units) in the Division of Biological Sciences while officially enrolled at UCSD.
Note: Students with transfer course work need to fulfill the UCSD upper-division major requirement which consists of twelve or more upper-division courses (forty-eight or more units).
Changing Your Major to Biology
If you enter UCSD under another major or are undeclared, you may change to the Biology major of your choice. Declaration of major forms are available on-line, at the Registrar's office, or at the Student Affairs Office. Students changing to Biology will be subject to the same requirements in order to remain in the major as detailed above. All Change of Major forms will be reviewed and approved/denied by the Division of Biological Sciences.
AP Biology Credit
Students admitted to UCSD fall 2008 and after who received a 4 or 5 on the Biology AP exam:
You will be exempt from BILD 1, BILD 2 and BILD 3. You will receive credit for these courses. If taken again, no credit will be given.
Students admitted to UCSD prior to fall 2008 and who received a 4 or 5 on the Biology AP exam:
You will be exempt from BILD 1 and BILD 2. You will receive credit for these courses. If taken again, no credit will be given.
Any student with a score of 3 on the Biology AP exam will give credit for BILD 10 regardless of when the student began at UCSD.
Satisfactory Progress
Your GPA in Biology coursework cannot fall below 2.0 (a "C" average). If it does, you will be placed on academic probation by the Division of Biological Sciences, and allowed one quarter in which to raise your GPA. If you do not do so, you may be dropped from the major.
For More Information
There are many sources of information and counseling available to you-your College Advisors, the Advisors in the Biology Student Affairs Office, and the Biology portion of the UCSD General Catalog.
