Transferring Courses

The transfer credit process is similar for both new students and continuing students.

• New transfer students should follow all transcript deadlines and instructions set by Admissions.
• Continuing UC Davis students, who have taken coursework outside of UC Davis, must send an official transcript to Admissions.

When your transcript is first processed, course credit is most often assigned based on existing agreements that institutions have with UC Davis. Once your transfer credit has been processed by the University, you can check how your coursework transferred using the Academic Record tab in OASIS. If a course is not listed as directly equivalent to a UC Davis course, but you believe that it is equivalent, follow the steps for Course Equivalency.

You can find more information on the OUR Transfer Credit website.

Frequently Asked Questions About Transfer Credit

• How do I transfer my summer classes?
• If you took courses somewhere other than UC Davis, you must submit an official transcript to UC Davis Admissions in order to transfer the courses.
• I plan to take courses elsewhere in my last year at UC Davis. Is that ok?
• Maybe. Students are subject to the UC Davis Campus Residence Requirement (or Senior Residence), which requires that at least 35 of your final 45 units before graduation must be UC Davis courses. For questions about this, contact the College of Engineering dean’s office.
• How can I get General Education credit for a class I took somewhere else?
• Use the General Education Credit Request in OASIS and contact the College of Engineering dean's office for any questions about GE.
• What is course articulation?
• The transfer credit process is often referred to as course articulation. Articulation is when your transferred course(s) is evaluated and deemed equivalent to a UC Davis course. If you hear advisors or Admissions staff refer to articulated courses, it means courses that have been sent to Admissions, reviewed for equivalency, and posted to your UC Davis record.
  
  Note that this is different than matriculation. Matriculation is when a new student begins their first quarter at UC Davis. Therefore, all transfer credit taken before the first quarter is considered pre-matriculation credit. 
• How do I know what can be transferred to UC Davis?
• UC Davis does not provide pre-evaluations of credit or transcripts. Instead, reference ASSIST.org specifically for any California Community College credit, and the UC Statement of Transfer Credit Practices for guidance on all sources of transfer work, to help you assess the transferability of your credit. 
• If I completed a series of transfer courses across multiple CCCs, why was I not awarded the complete UC Davis series?  
• California Community College courses seen on ASSIST, strictly apply to the individual college listed. If you started a series at one California Community College (CCC) and completed it at another, you are not automatically awarded the complete series at UC Davis. It does not matter if both CCCs are within the same district. This is to ensure you were taught the necessary topics, breadth, and depth of content throughout the series of coursework to be successful at UC Davis. However, to have this manually changed, you may petition the appropriate department.

Transfer Credit Policy:

The expectation to earn a degree in Materials Science and Engineering at UC Davis is to take the classes that UC Davis offers. Only in extenuating circumstances will the department approve courses to be taken at other 4-year institutions.

Transfer requests may be reviewed for the following reason: (Approval is not guaranteed)
- Courses completed at a 4-year institution prior to admission to UC Davis - no course sub petition required; please contact a CHMS advisor
- Unable to get into a required, core course (not a technical elective) at UCD in final quarter

Please note, requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the faculty on the EMS Undergraduate Affairs Committee. Even if you meet one of the above reasons, your request may be denied.

Students requesting transfer credit be reviewed must submit a Course Substitution Petition and provide a course syllabus including detailed course description and course assignments, a personal statement explaining extenuating circumstances - why you were not able to take the course at UCD, why you need to take the course at the other school, and why you think the course at the other institution should count for the specific EMS course at UCD. 

Course Substitutions

The Course Substitution Petition is a request to apply a course to your major requirements that is not already listed as an option for your major. Basically, by submitting this petition, you are requesting to change the major requirements as written by allowing you to use a course that is not already listed for your major. Substitutions are granted on a case-by-case basis and typically only for extenuating circumstances.

UC Davis Courses
You may submit a petition if your UCD course is not already listed on your major requirements, and for one or more of the following reasons:

• The course is similar to other courses required for your major.
• The course is related to your major and might satisfy a category for your major requirements.

You must provide a course syllabus with a detailed course description and course assignments, and a personal statement explaining why you think the course should count for the major, how the course relates to the major, how the course is similar to a course(s) in the major already, why you cannot take the EMS course option(s), and how the proposed course will relate to your major and benefit your education and career goals.