Transfer Information

Mendocino College has articulation agreements with CSU and University of California (UC).  These articulation agreements allow students to plan a transfer program in their desired major and transfer to specific university.  Mendocino College’s articulation with CSU and UC may be found at www.assist.org.  For CSU General Education Breadth Requirements see below.

• CSU General Education Breadth Requirements

An Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) is a degree offered at California Community Colleges. Students who earn an ADT degree meet the minimum eligibility requirements and guaranteed admission to a CSU, but not necessarily to a particular campus or major. In addition, once at the CSU, if admitted and enrolled in a designated similar degree program, students have the opportunity to complete the bachelor’s degree with as little as 60 semester units of coursework.

• About CSU Associate Degree for Transfer
• Check out Mendocino College’s Associate Degrees for Transfer 

  The official transfer and articulation system for California’s public colleges and universities.

https://www2.calstate.edu/apply

  https://www2.calstate.edu/attend/campuses

  https://www2.calstate.edu/apply/transfer

Overview

California Community College students planning to transfer to a UC campus are required to complete 60 UC-transferable units by the end of the Spring semester prior to transfer for the following Fall semester. These 60 units must include a specific minimum 7-course general education pattern and all of the major preparation classes for your major.  See UC Transfer Admission Requirements  for more specifics.

• The seven GE courses should be chosen from the IGETC Worksheet.  
• The two English composition courses must be chosen from Area 1A and Area 1B of IGETC. 
• Major prep classes can be looked up on the ASSIST website or students can choose to follow a UC Pathway.

GPA Requirement

To be eligible for UC admission, you must have a minimum 2.4 GPA for your UC-transferable courses, although some majors and some campuses will require a higher GPA for admission.  You can find this information by searching “Selective Major Requirements” on the website for each campus you are considering.

Full or Partial IGETC?

We recommend that most students complete the entire IGETC pattern prior to transfer.  However, students planning to major in one of the STEM majors should focus on completing major prep courses and may not have time to complete all of IGETC before transfer.  These students will need to complete the minimum 7-course GE pattern along with their major prep courses.

Transfer Counseling

We encourage you to consult with a Mendocino College Counselor for assistance in interpreting the information presented here and on these websites and to develop an education plan for UC transfer.

Six UC campuses offer the Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) program for California community college students who meet specific requirements. By participating in TAG, you may receive early review of your academic records, early admission notification and specific guidance about major preparation and general education coursework.

TAG applications are due Sept. 30 each year.  In order to be eligible for the TAG program, you must have already completed at least 30 UC-transferable units by the summer prior to the following fall transfer.

You can only apply for a TAG to one campus during each application period. If your TAG application is approved, that means that you are guaranteed admission to a specific major at that campus as long as you complete the remaining courses in your TAG agreement with the GPA that is specified in that agreement.  You must also submit a UC application for admission during the regular application period (Nov. 1-30 for Fall admission) for your intended TAG major.  However, you are not committed to attend that UC campus yet.  You are still free to apply to other UC campuses or any other university of your choice.

The minimum standards to qualify for a TAG depend on the campus and the major for which you are applying.  Select the campus below to see detailed TAG requirements for the major that you plan to study at that campus. 

• UC Davis
• UC Irvine
• UC Merced
• UC Riverside
• UC Santa Barbara
• UC Santa Cruz

Create an account with UC Transfer Admission Planner (TAP) your first semester at Mendocino College to assist you in planning your coursework and keeping track of coursework completed. 

  The official transfer and articulation system for California’s public colleges and universities.

  https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/how-to-apply/applying-as-a-transfer

  https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/campuses-majors

  https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/ap-exam-credits/ap-credits

Perhaps the most intimidating aspect of transfer to out-of-state and many independent schools is the absence of the articulation agreements.  These agreements, which exist between California’s community colleges and public universities, provide assurance that transfer credit will be granted for the classes you are taking at Mendocino.  With a few exceptions, no one at Mendocino can tell you with absolute certainty how an out-of-state or independent institution will treat your community college coursework. To find out about those exceptions, go to articulation with independent universities.  Aside from actually applying, the only way to know is to ask for an informal evaluation from the target university.

It is important that you gather some basic information about the transfer requirements for your target out-of-state or independent school before you begin inquiring about specific course credit. You will need to consult the school’s website to find out:

• The minimum number of units you need to apply as a transfer student
• Any other transfer selection criteria, such as GPA minimums
• Lower-division General Education requirements
• Lower-division prerequisites necessary to enter your major
• Application procedures and deadlines

Here are some tips:

• Unit and GPA requirements are usually a part of information for transfer students in an “Admissions” section.
• General Education requirements are among the graduation requirements for a degree from the university.  They may be called by other terms, such as Liberal Studies, Essential Skills, or Foundations.
• Lower division major prerequisites will be on the pages that describe each major.
• For both GE and major preparation, you might need to look up the institution’s course numbering, in order to separate lower-division from upper-division.

Your MC counselor will compare the information that you have gathered to the courses offered at MC and make an educated guess about which MC courses will meet the requirements for transfer to your target school. Based on that guess, you and your counselor will write a tentative educational plan. It may take more than one appointment session to accomplish this step.

At this point it is necessary to identify an admissions advisor at your target university.  Look on the admissions website for an advisor who specifically works with students in California or your major.  Your goal is to locate an advisor who will review your plan and provide feedback on whether it will meet the requirements to be admitted at the level you are seeking.  You will offer to email the plan to them and ask the advisor to email their approval or suggestions for changes.  You may also have to make separate contact with an advisor in the department of your major to find out about major preparation.

One of the things you will want to let the university advisor know about is the availability of all MC complete course outlines available online.  This will greatly facilitate the advisor’s ability to evaluate the MC courses you propose to transfer.  Your MC counselor can show you how to access those outlines, so that you can pass instructions on to the university advisor.

After you receive the university advisor’s evaluation of your plan, meet again with your MC counselor to review the feedback and make any necessary adjustments.  Continue to meet regularly with your counselor, especially at any point that you want to take different courses or make any other changes that are not in the approved plan.  Of course, follow all application instructions and meet deadlines set by the university.

In most cases, all you need to do to transfer to another community college is to submit an application for admission and enroll in classes at the new college.  However, it is also recommended that you complete the new student orientation, satisfy the math and English placement step, apply for financial aid, and meet with a counselor.  You will also need to request that Mendocino send your official transcript to the new college.

Some programs of study at community colleges are selective entry programs.  That means that you, as a prospective student, must complete specific courses (prerequisites) and meet specific GPA standards to be eligible for selection.  These programs generally have more applicants than can be admitted, so selection is competitive.  The Registered Nurse program and the Physical Therapy Assistant program at Mendocino College are two examples of selective entry programs.  The Dental Hygiene program and the Radiologic Technology program at Santa Rosa Junior College are also examples.  If you want to apply to any of these programs, you can take the prerequisite courses at Mendocino College.  We recommend that you talk to an academic counselor for details.

Students can complete the freshman and sophomore requirements of a 4-year degree at a community college and then transfer to a CSU or UC to complete the junior and senior requirements.  These students are given high priority for admission to one of these two public university systems.  See the information below and talk to an academic counselor for details.

• CSU Transfer
• UC Transfer