Advising FAQs

Transferring/Transfer Credit

Your New Student Profile is a reflection of courses taken before enrolling at UCSB.  It can be found on the Progress tab on GOLD.  New Student Profiles for incoming students are processed during the summer and may not be available until the mid-fall quarter. If your New Student Profile is not available and you need to enroll in a course with a pre-requisite, see the “Enrolling in courses” section.  

Since the New Student Profile only reflects course work taken prior to transfer, it will not be updated. For current progress towards your degree, access your Major Progress Check, also found on the progress tab on GOLD.

You may only receive credit for a course once. If you are unsure about course equivalency credit for a major course, speak with the undergraduate major advisor in the major department. For course equivalency questions regarding all other courses, contact your College advisors. 

IGETC

Make sure that you have the official IGETC worksheet or Letter of Reciprocity sent from the issuing institution to the UCSB Office of Admissions.  Note: You must be eligible for a full or partial IGETC or UC reciprocity before matriculating to UCSB.  If you have questions, please see your College advisors. 

College of Letters & Science studentsInformation about IGETC, partial IGETC, and UC reciprocity can be found at http://www.duels.ucsb.edu/advising/planning/igetc.

For the College of Letters & Science and College of Engineering, IGETC satisfies all Area A-G, special subject, and writing requirements but does not cover the Entry Level Writing or American History and Institutions requirements. However, a course from your previous school might have fulfilled these requirements.  Check your Major Progress Check to see if these requirements are fulfilled.  College of Creative Studies students, see your College advisors.

Enrolling in Courses

Course transferability can be found on your New Student Profile, available on the Progress tab on GOLD. If you have taken non-UCSB courses that are not on your New Student Profile that you hope will count as prerequisites for UCSB courses, you must bring a copy of your transcript to the appropriate department (the department in which you are attempting to enroll in a course) for verification. Staff in that department can then mark your record to show that you have fulfilled the prerequisite(s) needed for the course you wish to take.

College of Letters & Science: For more information about course transferability and pre-requisites see: http://www.duels.ucsb.edu/advising/planning/transfer-credit.

Contact the undergraduate major advisor in your intended major for guidance on courses to take in preparation for your major. In addition to any remaining GE requirements (if applicable), you will also want to consider taking elective courses that will fulfill overall unit requirements.  You should enroll in 12 units (not including waitlisted courses) by the end of your first available pass time and then adjust your schedule during subsequent pass times.

An elective course is any course that satisfies unit requirements but does not apply towards GE, major or minor requirements. Elective units may be necessary to reach full time quarterly enrollment and total unit requirements for graduation. You might consider using elective units to explore another major/ minor, or participate in opportunities such as research, UCDC, UCCS or study abroad. For more information see your College advisors.

If a course you are trying to enroll in is full, check the department website for a department crash policy and, if not available, add yourself to the wait list on GOLD and then show up on the first day of class (lecture or section, whichever comes first) and follow the professor’s “crash” instructions.

For instructions on adding yourself to a course waitlist, see http://registrar.sa.ucsb.edu/waitlist.aspx.

If a course is not full (or does not have a wait list) but you are unable to add the course, check the Pre-requisite or restriction tab. If you have questions regarding any prerequisites or restrictions, contact the undergraduate major advisor in the department in which you are attempting to enroll in the course.

Large courses at UCSB typically have discussion sections along with lectures every week. When enrolling on GOLD, enrolling in the smaller section will automatically enroll you in the lecture.

Search for the course on GOLD, select add, and then enter the four-digit add code. Add codes override all restrictions but can only be used during an open pass time. 

Majors

Visit your department website for information about pre- and prep for the major coursework and then contact the undergraduate advisor in the department with any additional questions. Department undergraduate advisors may send an email to your UCSB email account requesting transcripts of your transfer work before junior transfer orientation.

See the following chart for information regarding meeting with College advisors versus department undergraduate major advisors.

If the Fall quarter has already begun or your New Student Profile has been created you will submit the change of major paperwork to your intended major department. Check the department website or speak with the undergraduate major advisor for instructions and any additional documentation that may be required. If the fall quarter has not yet begun and your New Student Profile has not yet been created, you should email the Office of Admissions with your change of major request.

To discuss if a double major is possible, see your College advisors.

For College of Letters & Science students: please see http://www.duels.ucsb.edu/advising/planning/major or speak with a College of Letters and Science academic advisor in the Transfer Student Center.

You should consider talking to your professors and TAs during office hours, visiting CLAS (http://clas.sa.ucsb.edu/) for individual and group services, or attending a study skills workshop at the Transfer Student Center.

There are a range of resources on campus including your undergraduate major advisor and your College advisors to discuss academic resources and options. You may also consider talking to your professors and TAs during office hours. 

Academic Policies

Information about academic review and academic disqualification can be found at the following websites:

College of Letters & Sciencehttp://www.duels.ucsb.edu/advising/difficulty

College of Engineeringhttps://engineering.ucsb.edu/undergraduate/academic-advising/academic-probation-academic-disqualification

College of Creative Studies: see the College advisors 

For information about repeating courses, see:

College of Letters & Sciencehttp://www.duels.ucsb.edu/advising/planning/repeat

College of Engineeringhttps://engineering.ucsb.edu/undergraduate/academic-advising/repeating-courses

College of Creative Studies: see the College advisors

Students considering enrolling in a course P/NP should meet with their College advisors to address the implications of this grading option.

For information about the P/NP grading option, see: https://my.sa.ucsb.edu/catalog/Current/AcademicPoliciesProcedures/PassedNotPassedGrades.aspx

Depending on your College, this may be possible. For a review of your particular situation, see a College advisor. 

Additional Opportunities

Visit the website or undergraduate major advisor in your department for information regarding research eligibility requirements and opportunities. Workshops regarding gaining research and presentation skills, as well as, information about the Transfer Student Research AwardFaculty Research Assistance Program (FRAP), and Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) Grant can be found at the Transfer Student Center.

Internship credit is only awarded through departments so speak with your undergraduate major advisor about opportunities and possible GPA requirements.  For information about finding internships, visit Career Services (http://career.sa.ucsb.edu/) or attend the “Job & Internship Search” workshop at the Transfer Student Center (transfercenter.ucsb.edu/workshops)

Yes! However, since not all quarter and destination combinations may work with your major, we suggest seeing both your major advisor and College advisors to discuss the possibilities.  

For information about studying abroad as a junior transfer, see https://eap.ucsb.edu/explore/identities.

Advising Road Map