Transfer Students

Transfer students are enthusiastically encouraged to study history at UC Santa Cruz! The history major requirements can be readily completed within two years, regardless of what preparatory history courses you have (or have not) completed prior to transferring. With advanced planning it is even possible to study abroad, pursue a quarter-long residential internship in Washington, D.C. or Sacramento, and graduate on time!

Preparing to Transfer

Get Advice

Questions about preparing for your UCSC history major? We're here to help! Send your questions to historyundergrad@ucsc.edu.

History is a non-screening major: transfer students who pursue this major are not required to complete specific preparatory history courses for consideration of admission to UC Santa Cruz.

While it is not a condition of admission, students from California Community Colleges are advised to complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) in preparation for transfer to UC Santa Cruz. Prospective transfer students may also wish to consult the UC Transfer Pathway for History and/or ASSIST.org, which includes transfer agreements and articulations between the University of California and California Community Colleges.


Satisfying History Major Requirements with Transfer Courses

You may apply a maximum of three history courses completed at a California community college (or other domestic university) to your history major requirements. Community college courses all count for lower division credit. Transfer courses may satisfy concentration and/or breadth requirements, just so long as no more than two are applied to a single geographic region:

Example One
Dylan has declared the Americas and Africa as their concentration, and selected the following three lower division transfer courses to apply to their history major:

  • HIST 17, History of the United States since 1876, to satisfy an Americas and Africa concentration requirement;
  • HIST 72, History of China, to satisfy an Asia and the Pacific breadth requirement;
  • HIST 4, World History Since 1500, to satisfy a Europe and the Mediterranean World breadth requirement.

Example Two
Taylor wants to take as many of their Asia and the Pacific concentration courses at UCSC as possible. Taylor selected the following three lower division transfer courses to apply to their history major:

  • HIST 17A, United States History to 1865, and HIST 17B, United States History since 1865, to satisfy both of their Americas and Africa breadth requirements;
  • HIST 4A, Survey of Western Civilization to 1648, to satisfy a Europe and the Mediterranean World breadth requirement.

Applying Transfer Courses to the History Major

  1. Check ASSIST.org to see which of your planned, in-progress, and/or completed California community college history courses have been approved to satisfy UCSC history major requirements. NOTE: You might discover that some of your history courses are not included on ASSIST.org. That's OK! As long as your history courses are UC transferable, you may still be able to apply them to your history major. Ask the history undergraduate program coordinator how to have theses courses reviewed. Be advised you may be asked to provide a course syllabus if supplemental information is need.
  2. Confirm your transfer courses appear in your UCSC academic record. Navigate to your Student Center in your MyUCSC student portal, and select "Transfer Credit: Report" from the drop-down menu under Academics. Transfer courses you wish to apply to your history major requirements must appear in your UCSC academic record before you proceed to Step 3.
  3. Schedule an advising appointment with the history undergraduate program coordinator to review your transfer courses and add them to your history major plan.

Sample Two Year Plan

Sample Two Year History Major Plan

Fall

Winter

Spring

Year 1

HIS 100, Skills & Methods
HIS Concentration Upper Div 1 of 3
misc. 5 credit course
HIS Concentration/Breadth: LowDiv4
HIS Concentration Upper Div 2 of 3
misc. 5 credit course
HIS Breadth Upper Div
HIS Concentration Upper Div 3 of 3
misc. 5 credit course

Year 2

HIS Concentration/Breadth UpperDiv
misc. 5 credit course
misc. 5 credit course
HIS Research Seminar
misc. 5 credit course
misc. 5 credit course
HIS Upper Div Elective
misc. 5 credit course
misc. 5 credit course

See Also