De Anza College to UCLA
Nursing Transfer Plan
Quarter-by-quarter courses, IGETC requirements, and major prerequisites — verified from real articulation data.
From
De Anza College
To
UCLA
NursingGPA Reality Check
UCLA's minimum GPA to apply as a transfer is 3.0, but admitted Nursing students are in a completely different league — the program's transfer admit rate is roughly 0.9%, making it one of the most competitive programs on campus. Your science GPA is the number that matters most: UCLA reviewers pay close attention to how you performed in CHEM 1A, CHEM 1B, BIOL 40A, BIOL 40B, and BIOL 40C. A 3.0 is an eligibility floor, not a competitive floor — aim for a 3.8 or above, especially in your lab sciences.
Transfer Alliance Program (TAP)
De Anza participates in the UCLA Transfer Alliance Program (TAP), which gives certified students priority consideration for admission to majors in UCLA's College of Letters and Science. Here's the critical fine print for Nursing applicants: the UCLA School of Nursing is explicitly excluded from TAP — your TAP certification will not boost your Nursing application. You should still consider completing De Anza's Honors Program and getting TAP-certified so you can designate a Letters and Science backup major, which gives you a second shot at admission if Nursing doesn't come through.
Major Requirements
Nursing B.S. Prelicensure (UCLA School of Nursing) Major Preparation
Nursing B.S. Prelicensure (UCLA School of Nursing) at UCLA
Courses at De Anza College that satisfy UCLA's Nursing major preparation, verified via ASSIST.org.
Students sometimes confuse the Nursing B.S. Prelicensure program with UCLA's Public Health B.A. or B.S. — both involve health science coursework, but Public Health does not lead to an RN license. If your goal is to become a registered nurse, only the School of Nursing program qualifies. Public Health can be listed as a TAP alternate major; Nursing cannot.
| Course at De Anza College | Satisfies at UCLA | Units |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 1A — General Chemistry I | General Chemistry (first quarter) | 5 |
| CHEM 1B — General Chemistry II | General Chemistry (second quarter) | 5 |
| BIOL 40A — Human Anatomy | Human Anatomy prerequisite for Nursing | 5 |
| BIOL 40B — Human Physiology | Human Physiology prerequisite for Nursing | 5 |
| BIOL 40C — Microbiology | Microbiology prerequisite for Nursing | 5 |
| MATH 10 — Elementary Statistics | Introductory Statistics prerequisite for Nursing | 5 |
| EWRT 1A — Composition and Reading | English Composition (IGETC Area 1A / UC writing requirement) | 5 |
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 |
BIOL 40A → BIOL 40B (Anatomy before Physiology)
Human Anatomy (BIOL 40A) is a hard prerequisite for Human Physiology (BIOL 40B) at De Anza — you cannot take them simultaneously. Since both must be complete before transfer, missing BIOL 40A in an early quarter cascades into a compressed or incomplete science schedule by application time.
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 Organic Chemistry Course for Nursing
UCLA Nursing's prereq list requires general chemistry — and at De Anza, CHEM 1A and CHEM 1B cover that sequence cleanly. However, De Anza does not have an articulated biochemistry course that satisfies UCLA Nursing's biochemistry recommendation, meaning you may need to take that course after transfer or look for alternatives. Confirm the current ASSIST agreement each year, because articulations can change — never rely on what someone told you last cycle.
TAP Certification Does Not Help Your Nursing Application
This is the single most misunderstood thing about the De Anza–UCLA pipeline. The UCLA School of Nursing is formally excluded from the Transfer Alliance Program — TAP priority consideration does not apply to your Nursing application. Getting TAP-certified through De Anza's Honors Program is still worth doing if you plan to list a Letters and Science backup major, but do not count on it to improve your odds for Nursing itself.
Finish All Science Prereqs Before the Fall Application Window
UCLA strongly recommends completing major prep for highly selective programs — and Nursing, with a 0.9% admit rate, is as selective as it gets — as early in your time at De Anza as possible, ideally by fall quarter of your transfer year. That means BIOL 40A, BIOL 40B, BIOL 40C, CHEM 1A, and CHEM 1B should all be done or in-progress by the time you click submit in December. Courses you haven't started yet look like gaps to reviewers.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How hard is it to transfer from De Anza College to UCLA Nursing?
UCLA Nursing is one of the most competitive transfer programs in the country, with an admit rate of roughly 0.9% across all applicants. There is no major-specific admit rate published for De Anza students alone, but the program receives far more applications than it has seats. Your best shot is a near-perfect science GPA across CHEM 1A, BIOL 40A, BIOL 40B, and BIOL 40C, combined with a strong supplemental application.
What courses do I need to take at De Anza College to prepare for UCLA Nursing?
The core lower-division prep includes General Chemistry I and II (CHEM 1A and CHEM 1B), Human Anatomy (BIOL 40A), Human Physiology (BIOL 40B), Microbiology (BIOL 40C), and Elementary Statistics (MATH 10). All of these must be completed with a C or better, and UCLA expects to see most or all of them done before you apply. Check the current ASSIST agreement at assist.org each year, as articulations can be updated.
Does the UCLA Transfer Alliance Program (TAP) help De Anza students get into Nursing?
No — and this is important to understand clearly. The UCLA School of Nursing is explicitly excluded from the TAP program, meaning TAP certification through De Anza's Honors Program does not give you priority consideration for Nursing. You can still get TAP-certified and list a Letters and Science alternate major (like Public Health B.A.) as a backup, which is worth doing — but TAP provides no direct advantage for your Nursing application.
Can I use IGETC to satisfy general education requirements when transferring to UCLA Nursing?
Yes, IGETC is accepted for the UCLA School of Nursing. However, completing IGETC should come second to finishing all of your major prep — courses like BIOL 40A, BIOL 40B, BIOL 40C, CHEM 1A, and CHEM 1B are far more important to reviewers than GE breadth. If you're running out of quarters, prioritize science prerequisites over IGETC electives.
What GPA do I realistically need to transfer from De Anza to UCLA Nursing?
The overall mid-50th percentile GPA for all admitted UCLA transfer students in 2024 was 3.77–4.00, and Nursing — with its 0.9% admit rate — skews even higher. A 3.0 meets the minimum eligibility bar, but it will not make you competitive for Nursing. Aim for a 3.8 or higher, and make sure your performance in De Anza's CHEM 1A, BIOL 40A, BIOL 40B, and BIOL 40C is as strong as possible, since those are the courses UCLA Nursing reviewers will scrutinize most.
Explore More
Related Transfer Plans
Planning to transfer from De Anza College to UCLA's School of Nursing is one of the most ambitious goals a California community college student can pursue — and one that requires early, deliberate transfer planning to have any realistic shot. The Nursing B.S. Prelicensure program at UCLA sits inside the UCLA School of Nursing, a standalone professional school with a transfer admit rate of approximately 0.9%, making it among the most selective programs on campus. Students at De Anza College preparing for this pathway need to complete a rigorous set of major prerequisites at the community college level before applying, including General Chemistry I (CHEM 1A), Human Anatomy (BIOL 40A), Human Physiology (BIOL 40B), Microbiology (BIOL 40C), and Elementary Statistics (MATH 10). IGETC is accepted by the UCLA School of Nursing, but finishing major prerequisites takes clear priority over general education breadth courses — a reality that changes how students should sequence their quarters at De Anza. The Transfer Alliance Program (TAP) is available through De Anza's Honors Program and offers priority consideration for UCLA College of Letters and Science majors, but it's critical to know that the School of Nursing is explicitly excluded from TAP, so certification through De Anza's Honors Program will not directly boost a Nursing application. Admitted UCLA transfer students overall showed a mid-50th percentile GPA range of 3.77–4.00 in 2024, and Nursing applicants should expect the realistic competitive bar to sit at the very top of that range. Tools like Pipeline help students at De Anza College build personalized, quarter-by-quarter course plans that account for these prerequisite chains, IGETC completion, and application-cycle deadlines — so nothing critical gets left off your schedule before you apply.
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