General Guidelines
Use the following general guidelines to make sure that your course units will transfer to UC Riverside:
- Courses should not repeat material you have already completed.
- Courses should be taken in the proper sequence.
- Courses should be substantially similar to those offered by the University of California.
Institutions
The type of institution you attend impacts whether the class is transferable.
-
California Community Colleges
Refer to the Assist.org website to determine course transferability.
-
Other UC Campuses or UC Extension
UC courses numbered between 1 and 199 are transferable. UCR Extension Courses with an XRC designation will count toward your UC GPA. If the course is taken as "XR" it will not calculate into your UCR GPA. UC Extension courses numbered 1-199 and include the "X" designation (e.g., XSD, XLA, XI) are considered transferable. UC Extension courses numbered in the 200s, 300s, 400s are not transferable to UCR.
-
Institutions Outside of California
The institution must be regionally accredited. For a complete list of institution that have been deemed UC transferable, go to the UCR Articulation Library.
-
Institutions Outside of the United States
The institution must be recognized by the country's Ministry of Education or higher-education authority. Current UCR students are encouraged to complete international course work via the Educational Abroad Program (EAP), which are UC approved institutions and courses.
Transferability vs Articulation
Transferability refers to whether a course
taken at another institution can count
for transfer units at UC Riverside.
Articulation goes a step further – articulation
refers to the approved college courses that
are comparable to or "acceptable in lieu of"
corresponding courses at UCR.
Key Points to Know
- Not all transferable courses are articulated. Some courses may receive subject credit to meet a requirement without a formal articulation agreement.
- Advisor confirmation is essential. Check with your academic advisor or college office to see whether a transfer course can substitute for a UCR requirement and that the institution is regionally accredited.
- Certain UCR courses cannot be substituted. For example, PSYC 001 and ME 018B must be completed at UCR.
How Articulation Works
- If a transfer course has an active articulation to a UCR course, your degree audit will update automatically once UCR receives and processes your official transcript.
- During concurrent enrollment, you and your advisor will identify approved transfer courses that satisfy specific requirements.
- Use the UCR Articulation Library or Assist.org to review available courses.
Next Steps
Work with your advisor to identify if you will be able to satisfy your degree requirements with transfer work and discuss the approval process. Please keep in mind the following before you enroll for a course outside of UCR:
- Concurrent enrollment approval is required to transfer units to UCR (with exception of summer quarter).
- Some colleges and departments require prior approvals for substitution of transfer courses for UCR requirements.
- A grade of C- or better may be required by certain departments.
- Transfer Credit for writing courses may be restricted.
- Each student's specific exam scores/previous transfer work/GPA/etc. may affect which courses will apply to your degree audit.
Click here for more information on how to have your courses articulated to specific UCR course credit.