Division of Biological Sciences

Division of Biological Sciences

Exceptional Admission Information

The Spring 2011 Exceptional Admission application window will be open from Friday, May 20th- Friday, June 3rd. See below for details.

Click HERE to see the statistics for Winter 2011 applicants.

Admission Policy

The DBS (Division of Biological Sciences) Exceptional Admission program is an opportunity for academically exceptional UCSD students to apply for admission to a Biological Sciences major.

Through the Exceptional Admissions process,150 academically exceptional UCSD undergraduate students who were not admitted to a biology major as entering students will be admitted to the DBS each academic year. Exceptional admission will be considered for students meeting the following minimum requirements:

  1. Completed at least one year/three quarters in residence at UCSD
  2. Have completed all lower division requirements for the requested major
  3. Students will be ranked based on overall UCSD GPA and admitted according to rank
  4. Students who have completed more than six full quarters at UCSD, i.e., students who apply later than the final day of their sixth academic quarter at UCSD will not be considered. 

Note: Students who meet the criteria for Exceptional Admission will be given priority to the requested biology major.  Space permitting, students who do not meet the criteria may also be considered for admission to the requested biology major.

As admission is based on available space, meeting these requirements does not guarantee admission. Students should be aware that applications will be evaluated based on academic excellence and that dropping and/or repeating courses may negatively affect the opportunity for admission.

Admission Process

Applications will be accepted during two periods.  The application will be open for two weeks only.  Please plan accordingly!

Winter 2011

The Exceptional Admissions Application Window for Winter 2011 is now closed. Students are not permitted to apply after the application window deadline.

Spring 2011

The Spring 2011 Exceptional Admissions application window will be open from Friday, May 20th at 8:00am through Friday, June 3rd at 4:00pm. Students are not permitted to apply after the deadline. Students will be notified of their status via the Virtual Advising Center within 3-4 weeks of the application deadline.

All decisions are final and may not be reviewed or petitioned further.