Course Evaluation - Central Evaluation Unit

Eligibility

Unit credits can be awarded for college-level transfer coursework that is similar in scope and depth to undergraduate courses offered at the UC campuses. The transfer course must:

be listed in the institution’s official course catalog for the year in which the course was completed
include the same, or similar, content to UC undergraduate courses
require the same, or similar, prerequisite coursework
be offered at the same level of instruction.

The coursework must be issued on an official transcript from a United States regionally accredited college or university, or from a university recognized by the Ministry of Education (or higher-education authority/appropriate government agency) in another country that offers university-level academic degree program courses comparable to a U.S. associate’s or bachelor’s degree.

Undergraduate students are awarded a maximum of 70 lower division units. This includes all community college units and any unit identified as a lower division course by the transfer institution.

Course evaluation & articulation

The Central Evaluation Unit (CEU) conducts an evaluation of each transcript submitted to Berkeley and determines if a course is UC transferable and at what level of articulation. Articulation is essentially an agreement that a course from an institution outside of Berkeley can be used to satisfy a degree requirement.

There are two levels of transfer course evaluation and articulation:

UC transferable – At this level, a course meets the curricular and institutional criteria outlined above and is eligible for unit credits toward the minimum overall degree requirement of 120 units. This is the most basic level of course evaluation.
Course articulation

1. Course-to-requirement articulation – At this level, a course is approved to satisfy a degree requirement, such as general education breadth or an upper division major elective requirement. The course has not been approved as equivalent to a specific Berkeley course but does include appropriate content to allow it to satisfy a specific degree requirement in lieu of taking the Berkeley course.
2. Course-to-course articulation – At this level, a transfer course has been approved as equivalent to a Berkeley course and may satisfy all degree requirements* in which the Berkeley course is accepted.

*Some exceptions exist for the American Cultures and Breadth requirements. The transfer course must also be articulated to the respective requirement. Refer to ASSIST for the list of approved California community college courses that may satisfy the Breadth requirements and to the American Cultures website for the list of approved courses to satisfy the American Cultures requirement.

Transfer coursework from the California Community Colleges

The lists of UC transferable courses, course-to-requirement, and course-to-course articulations for the California community colleges are established as part of the ASSIST program and published as a searchable database on the program’s website.

The transfer articulation unit at the UC Office of the President (UCOP) reviews California community college courses for UC transferability. Approved courses are listed on the UC Transferable Courses Agreements on ASSIST. Each campus then reviews the coursework to determine if it can be accepted for a course-to-requirement or course-to-course articulation. These approvals are then published as either Departmental, Major, or General Education articulation agreements on ASSIST to help you identify pre-approved courses for transferable units, major preparation, or breadth. More information on how California community college courses are reviewed.

Transfer coursework from other UC campuses

All undergraduate courses (numbered 1-199) from the UC campuses are transferable to Berkeley. This means, at a minimum, unit credits will be awarded for any undergraduate course taken at another UC campus.

In addition to awarded units, courses taken at other UC campuses are also awarded grade points which are calculated into the Berkeley GPA.

To determine if a UC course is eligible to satisfy a degree requirement, refer to Step 2 in the section below.

Transfer coursework from UC Extension

All undergraduate courses (numbered X1- X199) from any UC Extension program are transferable to Berkeley.

Additionally, UC Berkeley Extension courses numbered XB1 – XB199 are transferable, and grade points from XB courses are awarded and calculated into the Berkeley GPA per the criteria outlined in the Berkeley Academic Senate regulations.

All XB courses are considered to be equivalent to a Berkeley course and are considered a repeat if you have previously taken the course as a Berkeley student. See the FAQs below for more information on transfer credit and repeats.

Transfer coursework from other domestic and international institutions

Courses completed at other domestic or international institutions undergo a two-step evaluation process. If you are planning on studying abroad through an independent program, please contact Berkeley Study Abroad for more information on pre-evaluation of coursework.

Evaluation for UC transferability
First, the course is reviewed for UC transferability. This step checks that the coursework is eligible for unit credits by meeting the curricular and institutional criteria described in the Eligibility section of this website.

To request a transfer course be reviewed for UC transferability, please contact the CEU by opening a CSC case. This evaluation can also confirm how many units you may earn from the course and whether lower or upper division units will be awarded.

If you have already completed the transfer course, then the review for UC transferability will occur when the official transcript is received.

Remember, this step is not required for UC campus and UC Extension undergraduate courses (courses numbered 1-199) as these are all transferable to Berkeley for unit credits. For the California community colleges, the list of UC transferable courses is available on ASSIST.
Review for a degree requirement
Second, the course is reviewed for eligibility to satisfy a degree requirement. If you intend to use the transfer course for unit credits only, this step is not needed.

Newly admitted and continuing Berkeley students: Use the chart below to identify the unit responsible for the requirement. Contact the unit to confirm whether the transfer course(s) may be used to fulfill the degree requirement:

Requirement	Unit Responsible
American History and Institutions (University requirements)	The Central Evaluation Unit open a CSC case
American Cultures (Berkeley campus requirement)	The American Cultures Center
College Requirement	Haas School of Business College of Chemistry College of Engineering College of Environmental Design College of Letters and Science Rausser College of Natural Resources
Major Requirement	College of Letters and Science students, contact the adviser for your major or intended major. All other students see the link for your college advising unit above
Minor Requirement	Contact the adviser for your minor program

Remember, this step is not required for transfer courses taken at the California community colleges. The course-to-requirement and course-to-course articulations for these institutions are available on ASSIST.

FAQ

Is there a limit to the number of courses I can transfer?
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There is no limit to the number of courses you can transfer; however, there is a limit to the total number of lower division transfer units you may earn, and there may be a limit as to how many transfer courses you may apply toward degree requirements.

No more than 70 lower division units from transfer coursework will be added to your cumulative unit total. If you completed more than 70 lower division units, however, all courses will still be considered for degree requirements; a maximum of 70 units will be counted toward the 120 minimum units needed for graduation.

There is no limit to the number of upper division units you may transfer; however, be aware many majors restrict the number of upper division courses that may be counted to fulfill major requirements.

Before enrolling in a transfer course, consult the unit assigning the requirement (i.e. your college advising office, or major/minor department) to be sure the transfer can be used to satisfy the requirement.

Am I allowed to take transfer courses after I have started at UC Berkeley?
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Yes! You can complete transfer coursework after you begin your studies at Berkeley, including the summer before your first term. Even if you have already transferred more than 70 lower division units, you may take additional lower division transfer courses if they are needed to complete your degree. Before enrolling in a transfer course, consult the unit assigning the requirement (i.e. your college advising office, or major/minor department) to be sure the transfer course can be used to satisfy the requirement.

You are required to obtain approval from your college if you plan to concurrently enroll at another college or university while also enrolled at Berkeley for a fall or spring term. This approval is not needed if you will be concurrently enrolling at another institution during the summer term.

Can I earn credit for a Berkeley course after taking an equivalent course at another institution?
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Yes, unit and subject credit can be awarded for a Berkeley course after earning credit for an equivalent transfer course. In this scenario, an equivalent transfer course is defined as one that has a course-to-course articulation agreement with a Berkeley course (as published in ASSIST).

A department may restrict enrollment in a Berkeley course for students that have already completed an equivalent transfer course to ensure that students who have not yet taken the course have an opportunity to do so. However, if you are able to enroll in the Berkeley course, you will still earn credit for both the transfer and Berkeley course.

Can I earn credit for a transfer course after taking the equivalent course at Berkeley?
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If you have already earned unit credits for the Berkeley course by receiving a grade of P or D- or higher, additional unit credits will not be awarded for the transfer course. In this scenario, an equivalent transfer course is defined as one that has a course-to-course articulation agreement with a Berkeley course (as published in ASSIST).

If you earned an F or NP grade in the Berkeley course, and thus have not earned unit credits in the course, you may earn unit credits for the equivalent transfer course.

Can I use a transfer course to repeat a Berkeley course?
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Yes, it is possible to use a transfer course to repeat a Berkeley course in which a deficient grade was earned. If you are interested in using a transfer course to repeat a Berkeley course, we advise you to confirm your plan with your advisor before enrolling.

A few things to note:
- Unit credits are only awarded once - If you already earned unit credits for the Berkeley course by receiving a grade of P or D- or higher, additional unit credits will not be awarded for the repeated transfer course. An equivalent transfer course is defined as one that has a course-to-course articulation agreement with a Berkeley course
- The deficient grade may remain in the GPA. A deficient grade may only be removed from the Berkeley GPA if it’s replaced with a transfer course that earns grade points and is considered equivalent to the Berkeley course. As such, grades from transfer courses taken at the California Community Colleges, UC Extension (non-XB), and domestic and international institutions cannot be used to replace a deficient grade in the Berkeley GPA. Although you may earn unit and subject credit for the repeated course toward fulfilling degree requirements, the deficient grade will remain the GPA.
UC Berkeley Extension XB courses can replace a deficient grade from the GPA for an equivalent Berkeley course if grade points are awarded per the criteria outlined in the Berkeley Academic Senate regulations and if fewer than 12 units have been repeated.

In addition, a UC course (non-extension) may replace a deficient grade in the GPA if the UC course has a course-to-course agreement with the Berkeley course, and if fewer than 12 units have been repeated.

If you are using a transfer course to repeat a Berkeley course for subject credit only - this is when you repeat a course in which you already earned a passing grade - you will not earn additional unit credits for the transfer course, but the course will still be added to your Transfer Credit Report. If your APR does not automatically update to pull in this transfer course to fulfill the respective requirement, please contact your advisor to make a manual update to your APR.

How are courses completed through UC Berkeley Extension’s Concurrent Enrollment handled?
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If you attended UC Berkeley Extension’s Concurrent Enrollment program, the CEU conducts an “internal transfer” 6-8 weeks after the term ends to add the Concurrent Enrollment courses to your Berkeley undergraduate record. This happens automatically for all matriculated students that were not dismissed during the time they enrolled in this program.

Before the internal transfer occurs, you may see your final grades in My Academics, Cal Central, but note that they are not being counted in your unit total, GPA or fulfilling degree requirements. Once the CEU has added your Concurrent Enrollment courses to your undergraduate record, you will see the Berkeley Extension courses in your Transfer Credit Report, and the units and grade points (if applicable) will be counted.