De Anza College to UC Berkeley
Biology Transfer Plan
Quarter-by-quarter courses, IGETC requirements, and major prerequisites — verified from real articulation data.
From
De Anza College
To
UC Berkeley
BiologyGPA Reality Check
UC Berkeley's published minimum is 3.0, but the middle 50% of admitted transfer students carried GPAs between 3.61 and 3.96 — and that's across all majors. Biology is a high-demand major in the College of Letters and Science, so competitive applicants are typically at the higher end of that range. Your grades in BIOL 6A, 6B, 6C and the full chemistry sequence matter most — those courses are the first thing reviewers look at when assessing your readiness for upper-division science work.
UC Berkeley Pathways to Four-Year Universities
De Anza is an official partner campus of UC Berkeley's Pathways to Four-Year Universities program, which means UC Berkeley advisers actually come to De Anza and meet with students like you. These advisers can review your course plan, flag missing prerequisites, and help you decide whether Berkeley Summer Sessions could fill any gaps. Check the De Anza Transfer Center's schedule for the next Pathways advising session and book a spot early — they fill up.
Major Requirements
Integrative Biology (L&S B.A.) Major Preparation
Integrative Biology (L&S B.A.) at UC Berkeley
Courses at De Anza College that satisfy UC Berkeley's Biology major preparation, verified via ASSIST.org.
UC Berkeley offers several biology-adjacent majors that transfer students frequently mix up. Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB) is a separate major in the same college — it goes deeper into biochemistry and genetics and has its own prerequisites. There's also a pre-med track that isn't a major at all, just a course plan layered on top of Integrative Biology or MCB. Make sure your ASSIST agreement is pulled for the specific major you're targeting, because the required courses are not identical.
| Course at De Anza College | Satisfies at UC Berkeley | Units |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 6A — Biological Concepts: Ecology, Evolution, Biodiversity | BIOLOGY 1A — General Biology Lecture and Lab | 6 |
| BIOL 6B — Biological Concepts: Cell Biology, Genetics, Development | BIOLOGY 1B — General Biology (partial) | 6 |
| BIOL 6C — Biological Concepts: Physiology | BIOLOGY 1B — General Biology (partial, completes sequence with BIOL 6B) | 6 |
| CHEM 1A — General Chemistry I | CHEM 1A — Chemical Structure and Reactivity | 5 |
| CHEM 1B — General Chemistry II | CHEM 3A — Chemical Structure and Reactivity | 5 |
| CHEM 1C — General Chemistry III | CHEM 3B — Chemical Structure and Reactivity | 5 |
| MATH 1A — Calculus | MATH 1A — Calculus | 5 |
| MATH 1B — Calculus | MATH 1B — Calculus | 5 |
| PHYS 4A — General Physics I | PHYSICS 7A — Physics for Scientists and Engineers | 4 |
| PHYS 4B — General Physics II | PHYSICS 7B — Physics for Scientists and Engineers | 4 |
General Education
Foundation GE at De Anza College
Complete these five courses at De Anza College to start your UC Berkeley GE pattern. Finishing full IGETC/Cal-GETC at the CC is ideal — these five give you the broadest head start, and CCN-tagged courses stay portable if you switch community colleges.
BIOL 10
Introductory Biology
CHEM 10
Introductory Chemistry
HIST 17A
History of the United States to Early National Era
ENGL C1000
Academic Reading and Writing
ENGL C1001
Critical Thinking and Writing
| Area | Course at De Anza College | Units |
|---|---|---|
Life Science | BIOL 10 — Introductory Biology | 5 |
Physical Science | CHEM 10 — Introductory Chemistry | 5 |
Humanities | HIST 17A — History of the United States to Early National Era | 4 |
English CompositionCCN | ENGL C1000 — Academic Reading and Writing | 5 |
Critical ThinkingCCN | ENGL C1001 — Critical Thinking and Writing | 5 |
BIOL 6A → 6B → 6C: All Three Required
De Anza's three-quarter biology sequence (BIOL 6A, 6B, 6C) together satisfy UC Berkeley's two-semester intro biology requirement — skip or delay any one of them and the requirement isn't met, which puts major declaration at risk after transfer.
De Anza runs on quarters — UC Berkeley runs on semesters
De Anza's quarter system means your biology and chemistry sequences span more individual courses across more terms than Berkeley's semester equivalents, so plan your three-year timeline carefully to finish all prep before your fall application deadline.
Preview
Your First Quarter
A preview of what Pipeline generates — exact courses, in the right order, every quarter.
Watch Out
Common Mistakes for This Transfer Path
De Anza's Three-Quarter Bio Sequence Is Non-Negotiable
Because De Anza runs on quarters, the biology intro sequence is split across three courses — BIOL 6A, 6B, and 6C — rather than two semesters like at Berkeley. You need all three to satisfy Berkeley's Biology 1A and 1B requirement, and each course is a prerequisite for the next. Students who assume 6A and 6B are enough and skip 6C arrive at Berkeley with an incomplete lower-division requirement, which can delay declaring the major.
Start Math and Chemistry in Your Very First Quarter
MATH 1A and CHEM 1A have no prerequisites at De Anza — they're your entry points into two of the longest sequential chains in this major. If you delay either by even one quarter, the downstream courses (MATH 1B, CHEM 1B, CHEM 1C, PHYS 4A, PHYS 4B) all shift, and you risk running out of time before your transfer application deadline. Day one of your first quarter, you should be in both.
IGETC Counts — But Read the Fine Print for L&S
Completing IGETC is accepted and actively recommended for Biology students transferring into UC Berkeley's College of Letters and Science — De Anza's own GE page confirms L&S requires full IGETC certification as part of their selection criteria. However, biology is a high-unit major, and De Anza's IGETC for STEM option allows you to defer some lower-division GE courses until after transfer, replacing them with calculus and science coursework before you go. Talk to a De Anza counselor before choosing between standard IGETC and IGETC for STEM.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How hard is it to transfer from De Anza College to UC Berkeley for Biology?
UC Berkeley's overall transfer admit rate for Fall 2025 was 24%, across all majors and all community colleges. Biology is a competitive major in the College of Letters and Science, and admitted transfer students typically show GPAs in the 3.61–3.96 range. Your grades in De Anza's BIOL 6A, 6B, and 6C and the full CHEM 1A/1B/1C sequence carry the most weight in the review.
Which De Anza courses do I need to complete before transferring to UC Berkeley Biology?
The core lower-division prep includes BIOL 6A, 6B, and 6C (the full intro biology sequence), CHEM 1A, 1B, and 1C (general chemistry), MATH 1A and 1B (calculus), and PHYS 4A and 4B (calculus-based physics). All of these have articulated equivalents at UC Berkeley — verify the current year's agreement on ASSIST.org before finalizing your plan.
Does De Anza have a transfer agreement with UC Berkeley?
UC Berkeley does not participate in the standard TAG (Transfer Admission Guarantee) program, so there is no guaranteed admission agreement. However, De Anza is an official partner of UC Berkeley's Pathways to Four-Year Universities program, which brings Berkeley advisers directly to De Anza's campus to help students plan their transfer pathway.
Can I use IGETC to satisfy general education requirements when transferring to UC Berkeley Biology?
Yes — UC Berkeley's College of Letters and Science accepts full IGETC certification, and De Anza's own GE documentation confirms L&S specifically requires full IGETC as part of its selection criteria for transfer. For biology majors, De Anza also offers an IGETC for STEM option that lets you defer some lower-division GE courses until after transfer, substituting calculus and science courses instead — talk to a counselor to see which version fits your timeline.
What is the difference between Integrative Biology and MCB at UC Berkeley for transfer students?
Integrative Biology (L&S B.A.) focuses on whole-organism biology — ecology, evolution, physiology, and biodiversity — while Molecular and Cell Biology (MCB) goes deeper into genetics, biochemistry, and cell-level mechanisms. Both are housed in the College of Letters and Science and share some lower-division prerequisites, but they are different majors with different upper-division requirements. Make sure your ASSIST agreement on ASSIST.org is pulled for the specific major you plan to declare, since the required prep courses are not completely identical.
Explore More
Related Transfer Plans
Planning to transfer from De Anza College to UC Berkeley to study Biology? You're looking at one of the most popular and competitive transfer pathways in California. UC Berkeley's overall transfer admit rate sits at 24% for Fall 2025, and Biology students targeting the Integrative Biology B.A. in the College of Letters and Science should realistically aim for a GPA in the 3.61–3.96 range — the mid-50th percentile for admitted transfers campus-wide. Transfer planning for this path is complex because De Anza runs on the quarter system while UC Berkeley runs on semesters, meaning your major prerequisites stretch across more individual courses. The lower-division major prerequisites include BIOL 6A (Biological Concepts: Ecology, Evolution, Biodiversity), BIOL 6B, and BIOL 6C — all three quarters of the intro biology sequence — plus the full CHEM 1A, 1B, and 1C general chemistry chain, MATH 1A and 1B calculus, and calculus-based physics through PHYS 4B. Each of these has an articulated equivalent at UC Berkeley, which you can verify on ASSIST.org. On the GE side, completing IGETC is accepted and encouraged for L&S Biology transfers — De Anza even offers an IGETC for STEM variant that lets biology students swap some lower-division GE courses for science and math units before transfer. De Anza is also a partner campus in UC Berkeley's Pathways to Four-Year Universities program, giving students access to Berkeley advisers directly on the De Anza campus. If you want a tool that maps all of this into a personalized quarter-by-quarter plan — tracking your IGETC progress, your major prerequisites, and your application timeline in one place — Pipeline is built exactly for that.
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