De Anza College to UCLA
Biology Transfer Plan
Quarter-by-quarter courses, IGETC requirements, and major prerequisites — verified from real articulation data.
From
De Anza College
To
UCLA
BiologyGPA Reality Check
UCLA's published minimum GPA for transfer admission is 3.0, but the mid-50th percentile for admitted Biology students in Fall 2024 was 3.80–4.00 — meaning most successful applicants were extremely close to a perfect 4.0. Your major prep GPA carries the most weight: UCLA reviewers pay particular attention to your chemistry and biology series grades, so a B in CHEM 12A (Organic Chemistry I) can genuinely hurt your file. Aim for A's across all of CHEM 1A, 1B, 12A, BIOL 6A, and BIOL 6B — those six courses are the ones that make or break a Biology application.
Transfer Alliance Program (TAP)
De Anza College is a participating member of the UCLA Transfer Alliance Program (TAP). Completing De Anza's Honors Program and earning TAP certification gives you priority consideration for Biology and other College of Letters and Science majors — a meaningful edge in a pool where admit rates hover around 20%. To get certified, enroll in the Honors Program early, meet all its completion requirements, and submit your TAP Applicant Agreement Form alongside your UC application by December 1.
Major Requirements
Biology (Life Sciences B.S.) — College of Letters and Science Major Preparation
Biology (Life Sciences B.S.) — College of Letters and Science at UCLA
Courses at De Anza College that satisfy UCLA's Biology major preparation, verified via ASSIST.org.
Students often confuse UCLA Biology with three related Life Sciences majors: Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology (MCDB), Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB), and Physiological Sciences. All four share nearly identical lower-division prep, but they diverge sharply in upper-division focus and career tracks. Biology (the general major) is the broadest entry point; commit to the one that best matches your specific interests before you apply, because you cannot switch into a different life sciences major after admission.
| Course at De Anza College | Satisfies at UCLA | Units |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 6A — General Biology I | Life Sciences 1 — Evolution, Ecology, and Biodiversity | 5 |
| BIOL 6B — General Biology II | Life Sciences 2 — Cells, Tissues, and Organs | 5 |
| CHEM 1A — General Chemistry I | CHEM 20A — Chemical Structure | 5 |
| CHEM 1B — General Chemistry II | CHEM 20B — Chemical Energetics and Change | 5 |
| CHEM 12A — Organic Chemistry I | CHEM 30A — Organic Chemistry I | 5 |
| No equivalent at De Anza College | CHEM 30B — Organic Chemistry II (second semester of organic chemistry with lab; De Anza has no fully articulated equivalent for this second-semester orgo + lab combination) | — |
| MATH 1A — Calculus I | MATH 31A — Differential Calculus | 5 |
| MATH 1B — Calculus II | MATH 31B — Integration and Infinite Series | 5 |
| MATH 10 — Elementary Statistics | Stats 13 — Introduction to Statistical Methods | 5 |
| PHYS 4A — General Physics with Calculus I | PHYS 1A — Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Mechanics | 5 |
| PHYS 4B — General Physics with Calculus II | PHYS 1B — Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Oscillations, Waves, Electric and Magnetic Fields | 5 |
Courses with no equivalent must be taken at UCLA after transfer. Factor this into your first-year course plan.
General Education
Foundation GE at De Anza College
Complete these five courses at De Anza College to start your UCLA 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 |
CHEM 1A → CHEM 1B → CHEM 12A
General Chemistry I, II, and Organic Chemistry I form a three-quarter chain where each course is a prerequisite for the next — skip or delay any one of them and you push your entire chemistry timeline back a full quarter, which can make it impossible to show organic chemistry progress before your UCLA application is reviewed.
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 Has No Articulated Second-Semester Orgo
This is the biggest hidden trap for De Anza Biology students targeting UCLA: CHEM 12A (Organic Chemistry I) articulates cleanly, but there is no De Anza course that fully articulates to UCLA's CHEM 30B — the second semester of organic chemistry with lab. UCLA expects you to have at least one semester of organic chemistry in progress or completed at the time of application. Take CHEM 12A before you apply, and be upfront in your application that you will complete additional organic chemistry after transfer — UCLA's MCDB and Biology departments explicitly address this scenario for incoming transfers.
Both Campuses Run on Quarters — Use That Advantage
De Anza and UCLA are both on the quarter system, which means your course credits map directly without semester conversion headaches. A 5-unit CHEM 1A at De Anza lines up cleanly with UCLA's quarter-unit system, unlike students transferring from semester schools who often lose partial credit in conversion. Use this to your advantage by planning a full three-quarter chemistry sequence — CHEM 1A in fall quarter, CHEM 1B in winter quarter, CHEM 12A in spring quarter — before you apply.
Don't Sleep on the TAP Alternate Major Safety Net
TAP-certified De Anza students are one of the only transfer applicant groups UCLA will consider for an alternate major if you're denied from your first choice. If Biology is denied but you listed an approved alternate — say, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology or Physiological Sciences — UCLA will review you for that second major automatically. Non-TAP applicants get no such review, so the De Anza Honors Program is genuinely worth the extra effort even beyond the priority consideration boost.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What GPA do I need to transfer from De Anza College to UCLA for Biology?
The official UC minimum GPA is 3.0, but don't let that number fool you. Admitted Biology transfer students at UCLA in Fall 2024 had a mid-50th percentile GPA of 3.80–4.00, meaning competition is fierce. Your grades in courses like CHEM 1A, CHEM 12A, BIOL 6A, and BIOL 6B will carry the most weight in UCLA's review.
Which De Anza courses count as major prep for UCLA Biology?
The core lower-division prep includes BIOL 6A and 6B (the general biology series), CHEM 1A and 1B (general chemistry), CHEM 12A (organic chemistry), MATH 1A and 1B (calculus), MATH 10 (statistics), and PHYS 4A and 4B (calculus-based physics). Always verify the current articulation agreement on ASSIST.org since requirements can update annually.
Does De Anza College have a TAP agreement with UCLA?
Yes — De Anza is a participating member of the UCLA Transfer Alliance Program (TAP). If you complete De Anza's Honors Program and earn TAP certification, you receive priority consideration for admission to majors in UCLA's College of Letters and Science, which includes Biology. You must submit a TAP Applicant Agreement Form and your UC application by December 1.
Is IGETC accepted for UCLA Biology transfers from De Anza?
Yes, IGETC is accepted for Biology (Life Sciences) at UCLA, and De Anza students can use IGETC for STEM certification to defer certain lower-division GE courses until after transfer. However, completing IGETC should never come at the expense of major prep — UCLA reviewers weight your chemistry and biology grades heavily, so prioritize those sequences first.
How many people apply to transfer to UCLA Biology, and what are my odds?
In Fall 2024, approximately 27,167 students applied to transfer to UCLA overall, with Biology carrying a 20% admit rate for that cycle. That sounds reasonable on paper, but the GPA range of admitted students (3.80–4.00) reveals how tight the competition really is. Your best lever is a clean, complete major prep record — especially in the chemistry series.
Explore More
Related Transfer Plans
Planning to transfer from De Anza College to UCLA as a Biology major is one of the most well-traveled — and most demanding — pathways in the California community college transfer system. De Anza College, located in Cupertino and consistently ranked among California's top transfer institutions, sends more students to UC campuses like UCLA than nearly any other community college in the state. But strong volume doesn't mean easy odds: UCLA Biology transfer applicants faced a 20% admit rate in Fall 2024, with admitted students clustered in a GPA range of 3.80–4.00. Successful transfer planning starts with understanding exactly which major prerequisites apply to you. For Biology (Life Sciences B.S.) in UCLA's College of Letters and Science, that means completing a full year of general biology, a year of general chemistry, organic chemistry, calculus, statistics, and calculus-based physics before you apply — all courses that are part of a tightly sequenced prerequisite chain. At De Anza, courses like CHEM 1A (General Chemistry I) and BIOL 6A (General Biology I) have clear ASSIST.org articulation to UCLA equivalents, but there is one important gap: De Anza does not have a fully articulated equivalent for UCLA's second semester of organic chemistry, which means students need to plan ahead for that requirement. Completing IGETC is accepted and encouraged for this major, giving De Anza students a streamlined path to satisfying UCLA's general education requirements. De Anza students also have access to the UCLA Transfer Alliance Program (TAP), which provides priority consideration to students who complete the De Anza Honors Program — a real advantage in a competitive pool. Tools like Pipeline help students turn all of this complexity into a personalized quarter-by-quarter plan, so nothing falls through the cracks between now and the day you walk onto Westwood's campus.
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