Six of the University of California campuses offer a transfer admission guarantee (TAG) to California Community College (CCC) students provided they complete all the requirements. Yes, it is indeed a guaranteed admission. The six UCs are Davis, Santa Barbara, Irvine, Santa Cruz, Riverside and Merced.

Going forward, the admission process has been streamlined. Previously, each UC had varying rules, which often made it confusing. A TAG campus is merely a safety net. A student is not required to commit to that campus if admitted. Students also do not have to participate in TAG ,and almost two-thirds of CCC applicants get in without it.

TAG application opens on September 1st. Go here to access the application.

To qualify for TAG,  students must meet the following shared criteria:

• Complete at least 30 semester/45 quarter UC-transferable units at the time of TAG submission (end of summer 2024)
• Complete at least 30 semester/45 quarter UC-transferable units at one or more CCC by end of spring 2025
• A CCC must be the last school of attendance in a regular session (may be more than one)
• Complete 60 semester/90 quarter UC-transferable units by the end of spring 2025
• Will have completed IGETC area 1A or UC-E English course and IGETC area 2 or UC-M math course by fall 2024
• Will have completed the remaining 7-course pattern by spring 2025. See below.
• Can have no more than 19 UC-transferable units (semester or quarter) in spring 2025 to reach junior standing
• Must not exceed 80 semester/120 quarter total UC-transferable units after applying 70/105 lower-division limits (students with only CCC coursework and AP/IB/A level credits will not exceed this limit)
• Must earn a 2.0 GPA in all UC-transferable courses in current fall/winter/spring terms with no grade lower than C
• Must submit a TAG application through the UC Transfer Admission Planner (UC TAP) between September 1 and September 30, 2024
• Must submit the UC application between October 1 and November 30, 2024, and the TAG major and application major for the TAG campus must match
• Must submit a Transfer Academic Update (TAU) by January 31, 2025
• Must meet all campus-specific TAG criteria outlined in the chart below

The following students are not eligible for a TAG:

• Students who have already earned a bachelor’s or higher degree
• Students previously enrolled at a UC campus who intend to return to the same UC campus
• Students previously enrolled at a UC campus who were not in good standing when they left that UC
• Students concurrently enrolled in high school at the time of TAG submission

The following charts outline specific rules per TAG campus:

The minimum seven course pattern that must be completed by final spring term to qualify for TAG:

• Two transferable courses in English composition
• One transferable course in math concepts and quantitative reasoning
• Four transferable college courses chosen from at least two of the following subject areas:
  • arts and humanities
  • social and behavioral sciences
  • physical and biological sciences