All Things CCC Transfer
Transfer is the future! According to The Campaign for College Opportunity, a California resident who earns a bachelor’s degree earns about 1 million dollars more over their lifetime when compared to a California resident with only a high school diploma. The California Community Colleges offer a guaranteed path to transfer, but with hundreds of California universities and various admissions requirements, transfer can get complicated. We make the transfer process easy to understand.
Click on any topic to navigate to any part of this page
Understanding Cal-GETC
If you are pursuing an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) at any of the 116 community colleges and plan to transfer to a California State University or a University of California, counselors will use the California General Education Transfer Curriculum (Cal-GETC). Check out our easy-to-understand Cal-GETC and education plan below. Keep in mind that the sections you see below will be the same at every California Community College, but the course titles in each section will change depending on the college you choose.
Area 1: English Communication
Area 1A: English Composition
Courses typically found in this area: English Composition
.
Take 1 course in this area
(3 semester or 4 quarter units)
Area 1B: Critical Thinking and Composition
Courses typically found in this area: ​Critical Thinking and Writing,
Communication, Philosophy & Others
Take 1 course in this area
(3 semester or 4 quarter units)
Area 1C: Oral Communication
Courses typically found in this area: Communication Studies (Public Speaking, Group, or Interpersonal) & Others
Take 1 course in this area
(3 semester or 4 quarter units)
Area 2: Mathematical Concepts & Quantitative Reasoning
Courses typically found in this area: College Algebra, Pre-calculus, (Calculus I, II, III), Statistics, Social Science Statistics & Others
Take 1 course in this area
(3 semester or 4 quarter units)
Area 3: Arts and Humanities
Area 3A: Arts
Courses typically found in this area: Sculpture, Graphic Design, Contemporary Arts, Music, Cinema, Dance, Theater & Others
Take 1 course in this area
(3 semester or 4 quarter units)
Area 3B: Humanities
Courses typically found in this area: Foreing Languages, ASL, History Studies, Philosophy Studies, Political Science, Humanities & Others
Take 1 course in this area
(3 semester or 4 quarter units)
Area 4: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Courses typically found in this area: Anthropology, Economics, Geography, History, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology & Others
Take 2 courses in this area from
2 different academic disciplines
(6 semester or 8 quarter units)
Area 5: Physical and Biological Sciences
Area 5A: Physical Science
Courses typically found in this area: Astronomy, Chemistry, Earth Science, Geology, Geography, Physics, Marine Science & Others
Take 1 course in this area
(3 semester or 4 quarter units)
Area 5B: Biological Science
Courses typically found in this area: Anthropology, Biology, Eviromental Studies, Zoology, Physiology, Biotechnology & Others
Area 5C: Laboratory
Courses typically found in this area: Chemistry Lab, Geography Lab, Physics Lab, Anthropology Lab, Biology Lab & Others
Take 1 Course in this Area
(3 semester or 4 quarter units)
Take 1 course in this area
(1 semester or 1 quarter unit)
For more details
Area 6: Ethnic Studies
Courses typically found in this area: Intro to Ethnic Studies, Native American Studies, African American Studies, Latine Studies & Others
Take 1 course in this area
(3 semester or 4 quarter units)
This is the end of the Cal-GETC requirements, but only the beginning of your ADT education plan. See below for more details.
Major Courses + Electives
Courses typically found in this area: Business Administration, Psychology, Nursing, Digital Arts, Acting, Dance, Nutrition & Others
Major + elective courses can count towards many areas above.
60 semester units are required for an associate degree or transfer.
CSU Graduation Requirement
Area 3
Area 4
U.S. History, Constitution and American Ideals
Courses typically found in this area: History Studies, Political Science & Others
Course requirements here may satisfy areas 3 & 4 above
UC Graduation Requirement
Courses typically found in this area: ASL, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese & Others
Language Other Than English
Course requirements here may satisfy other areas depending on CCC. For more details.
ADT at CA Private Universities & HBCU
Many private universities in California and HBCU accept the Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) with Cal-GETC. Explore the California Private Universities and HBCU that accept the ADT.
Students who want to find out whether a private/out-of-state university accepts the ADT or just Cal-GETC will need to contact the university's admissions department to confirm. Often, admissions departments post a list of curricula they accept on their website. Check out our ADT/Cal-GETC at Private/Out-of-State Universities Sample Email for guidance on how to approach a university representative with this question.
Trasferring without an ADT
CA Public Universities
Private & Out-of-State Universities
CSU and UC
California Private
Out-of-State
Students can transfer to a California State University (CSU) or a University of California (UC) without an ADT. CSUs and UCs have lists of required courses for transfer, and both systems require a total of 60 transferable units. Check out the Transfer Resources section and find “Assist.” Assist pulls a list of transferable courses students can take at their community college to satisfy admissions requirements for the CSUs or UCs. For help navigating Assist, check out our workshop, Beyond the Textbook: Assist.
Some California private universities have their admissions requirements listed on Assist. You can search for the university you are interested in on Assist to see if its admissions requirements are listed there. For the most part, private universities in California do not list their transfer admissions requirements on Assist, so students will have to conduct independent research to find them.
Out-of-state universities will not list their transfer admission requirements on Assist. Visiting the university's Admission Office or its webpage will often list admissions requirements.
California Private & Out-of-State Universities
Check out the Transfer Resources section and find “Transferology.” Transferology has admissions requirements for hundreds of universities, and while it is not a guarantee that your university will have its admissions requirements there, it’s a pretty good place to start your search.
In the event that your university does not have accessible transfer admissions requirements listed online, check out our Transferring Community College Course Credit to Private/Out-of-State Universities Sample Email for a guide on how to approach a university representative about their university's admissions requirements. For help starting your research on transfer admissions requirements at private universities, check out our workshop, Beyond the Textbook: Private Universities Transfer Admissions.
Transfer Resources
Exploration Resources
Assist gives students easy-to-understand articulation agreements between California Community Colleges, CSUs, UCs, and some California private universities. An articulation agreement lists the transferable courses a California university wants students to take at their California Community College. For help using this tool, check out our Beyond the Textbook: Assist workshop.
Transferology provides students with information on how their coursework will transfer to hundreds of private and public colleges and universities across the country. For help using this tool, check out our Beyond the Textbook: Transferology workshop.
ADT Major & Campus Search is for students pursuing an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) and want to confirm how a major will transfer from a California Community College to the CSUs. For help using this tool, check out our Beyond the Textbook: ADT Major & Campus Search workshop.
The CSU Transfer Planner is a tool for students who are transferring from a California Community College to a CSU campus. Students can enter their community college coursework in the planner, and the planner will provide an overview of how CSU admissions requirements are being met. For help using this tool, check out our Beyond the Textbook: CSU Transfer Planner workshop.
The UC Transfer Admission Planner is a tool for students who are transferring from a California Community College to a UC campus. Students can enter their community college coursework in the planner, and the planner will provide an overview of how UC admissions requirements are being met. For help using this tool, check out our Beyond the Textbook: UC TAP workshop.
As the name suggests, the Transfer Admissions Guarantee offers a guaranteed transfer pathway for California Community College students to a UC campus. Students must complete the TAG application and TAG one participating UC campus. There are only 6 UCs that participate in the TAG program; check out the UC TAG list. For help using this tool, check out our Beyond the Textbook: TAG workshop.
The Center for Community College Partnerships at UCLA provides support and mentorship to California Community College students who are considering transferring to UCLA. CCCP offers a wide range of support, including workshops, events, and immersive experiences, to help people learn more about the campus. For help using this resource, check out our Beyond the Textbook: CCCP workshop.
Start your Application
To apply for transfer to a California State University, apply through Cal State Apply. For help navigating Cal State Apply, check out our Beyond the Textbook: Cal State Apply workshop.
To apply for transfer to a University of California, apply through the UC application. For help navigating the UC Application, check out our Beyond the Textbook: UC Apply workshop.
To apply for transfer to many private, out-of-state, and HBCUs through The Common Application. The Common App is used to apply to many HBUC and private universities. For help navigating the Common App, check out our Beyond the Textbook: Common App workshop.
UC Personal Insight Questions
On the University of California transfer application, you will find a list of Personal Insight Questions (PIQs). PIQs are evaluated along with transcripts and other application materials. Developing well-written, genuine PIQs is a great way to stand out. Check out our Transfer PIQs Written Sample for ideas on how to write your PIQs, leveraging your unique experiences as a community college student and diverse identities.
