Diablo Valley College to UCLA
Biology Transfer Plan
Semester-by-semester courses, IGETC requirements, and major prerequisites — verified from real articulation data.
From
Diablo Valley College
To
UCLA
BiologyGPA Reality Check
UCLA's minimum transfer GPA is 3.0, but admitted Biology students in Fall 2024 had a mid-50th percentile GPA range of 3.80–4.00 — with a median of 3.9 campus-wide. That gap is not a technicality; it reflects a genuinely competitive applicant pool. Your grades in CHEM 120, CHEM 122, CHEM 230, and the Life Sciences series carry the most weight because they signal directly whether you can survive upper-division biology at UCLA. A B in organic chemistry will not sink you, but a pattern of mediocre science grades almost certainly will.
Transfer Alliance Program (TAP)
DVC is a TAP member college, which means you have access to one of the most valuable tools in the UCLA transfer process. By completing DVC's Honors Program and signing the TAP Applicant Agreement Form, you get priority consideration for admission to Biology in the College of Letters and Science — plus a safety net in the form of an alternate major if Biology doesn't pan out. Visit the DVC Honors Program counselor as early as your first semester to confirm you're on track, because TAP certification is tied to completing the program before you apply.
Major Requirements
Biology (College of Letters and Science, B.S.) Major Preparation
Biology (College of Letters and Science, B.S.) at UCLA
Courses at Diablo Valley College that satisfy UCLA's Biology major preparation, verified via ASSIST.org.
UCLA also offers a Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology (MCDB) B.S. and a Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics (MIMG) B.S., both in the College of Letters and Science. Students often confuse these with Biology — they share some lower-division prep but differ significantly in upper-division coursework and focus. Check ASSIST separately for each if you're considering one of those as a backup.
| Course at Diablo Valley College | Satisfies at UCLA | Units |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 120 — General Chemistry I | CHEM 20A — Chemical Structure | 5 |
| CHEM 122 — General Chemistry II | CHEM 20B — Chemical Energetics and Change | 5 |
| CHEM 230 — Organic Chemistry I | CHEM 30A — Organic Chemistry I: Structure and Reactivity | 5 |
| CHEM 232 — Organic Chemistry II | CHEM 30B — Organic Chemistry II: Reactivity, Synthesis, and Spectroscopy | 5 |
| BIOL 120 — General Biology: Principles and Applications | LS 7A — Life Science 7A (Evolution, Ecology, and Biodiversity) | 4 |
| BIOL 122 — General Biology: Cell Biology and Genetics | LS 7B — Life Science 7B (Cells, Tissues, and Organs) | 4 |
| MATH 192 — Calculus I | MATH 31A — Differential and Integral Calculus | 4 |
| MATH 193 — Calculus II | MATH 31B — Integration and Infinite Series | 4 |
| PHYS 120 — Physics with Calculus I | PHYS 1A — Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Mechanics | 4 |
| PHYS 122 — Physics with Calculus II | PHYS 1B — Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Oscillations, Waves, Electric and Magnetic Fields | 4 |
General Education
Foundation GE at Diablo Valley College
Complete these five courses at Diablo Valley 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.
ANTHR 115
Primate Evolution and Adaptation
CHEM 107
Integrated Inorganic, Organic, and Biological Chemistry
HIST 120
History of the United States before 1865
ENGL C1000
Academic Reading and Writing
ENGL C1001
Critical Thinking and Writing
| Area | Course at Diablo Valley College | Units |
|---|---|---|
Life Science | ANTHR 115 — Primate Evolution and Adaptation | 3 |
Physical Science | CHEM 107 — Integrated Inorganic, Organic, and Biological Chemistry | 5 |
Humanities | HIST 120 — History of the United States before 1865 | 3 |
English CompositionCCN | ENGL C1000 — Academic Reading and Writing | 3 |
Critical ThinkingCCN | ENGL C1001 — Critical Thinking and Writing | 3 |
CHEM 120 → CHEM 230 (Four-Course Chemistry Chain)
General Chemistry I (CHEM 120) and General Chemistry II (CHEM 122) must both be completed before you can enroll in Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 230) — and all four chemistry courses need to be done or in-progress by the time you apply to UCLA. If you don't start CHEM 120 in your first semester at DVC, the entire chain shifts back and you risk arriving at UCLA with incomplete major prep, which is one of the most common reasons otherwise-qualified Biology applicants don't get in.
UCLA runs on quarters — DVC runs on semesters
Your DVC semester courses are longer and cover more material per class than a UCLA quarter course, so the transition will feel fast-paced at first — budget extra study time in your first quarter at UCLA while you adjust to the accelerated pace.
Preview
Your First Semester
A preview of what Pipeline generates — exact courses, in the right order, every semester.
Watch Out
Common Mistakes for This Transfer Path
Start Chemistry and Calculus Simultaneously, First Semester
UCLA Biology requires CHEM 120 → CHEM 122 → CHEM 230 → CHEM 232 plus two semesters of calculus and two semesters of physics — that is a four-to-five semester chain if you don't start immediately. DVC is on semesters, which gives you more time per course than a quarter-system student, but it also means you have fewer total terms to fit everything in before your application deadline. Take CHEM 120 and MATH 192 together in your very first semester — delaying either one by a single semester can make it impossible to complete all lower-division prep before you apply.
DVC Has No Articulated Equivalent for the LS 7C Life Sciences Course
UCLA's Life Sciences series for Biology includes LS 7A, 7B, and 7C — but the ASSIST agreement for DVC only articulates courses for LS 7A and LS 7B. There is no DVC course that satisfies LS 7C (Principles of Physiology), so you will take that course after you arrive at UCLA. This is different from some other TAP member schools that have a full three-course life sciences articulation. Don't panic — it's expected — but budget for it in your UCLA four-year plan so it doesn't delay your upper-division progression.
TAP Certification Requires More Than Just Good Grades
Getting into DVC's Honors Program isn't automatic — you need to actively enroll, take designated Honors sections, and meet with an Honors counselor regularly. TAP certification at DVC also involves a community service or civic engagement component, and the TAP Applicant Agreement Form must be submitted during a specific window in January through early March of your application year. Missing any one of these steps means you apply to UCLA without the priority review that TAP provides — a significant disadvantage in a pool where Biology admits only about 20% of applicants.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the transfer acceptance rate from Diablo Valley College to UCLA for Biology?
In Fall 2024, 737 students applied from Diablo Valley College to UCLA overall, with a 23% admit rate across all majors. UCLA Biology specifically admitted about 20% of transfer applicants that same cycle, with admitted students carrying a mid-50th percentile GPA of 3.80–4.00. That means even with a competitive GPA, you'll want to have your CHEM 120 through CHEM 232 sequence well underway before you submit your application in November.
What courses do I need to take at Diablo Valley College to transfer to UCLA as a Biology major?
The core lower-division prep includes the full general and organic chemistry sequence (CHEM 120, CHEM 122, CHEM 230, CHEM 232), two life sciences courses (BIOL 120 and BIOL 122), two semesters of calculus (MATH 192 and MATH 193), and two semesters of calculus-based physics (PHYS 120 and PHYS 122). All of these have articulated equivalents on ASSIST for the DVC-to-UCLA Biology agreement. You should verify the current agreement at assist.org each year since articulations can be updated.
Does the UCLA Transfer Alliance Program (TAP) help with Biology admissions from DVC?
Yes — DVC is a TAP member college, and Biology is a College of Letters and Science major, which means TAP certification gives you priority consideration during UCLA's review process. To get certified, you need to complete DVC's Honors Program requirements and submit a TAP Applicant Agreement Form during the January-to-early-March certification window. Given that Biology admits only about 20% of transfer applicants, the priority review TAP provides is genuinely meaningful.
Can I use IGETC when transferring from Diablo Valley College to UCLA for Biology?
Yes, IGETC is accepted for the UCLA Biology B.S. in the College of Letters and Science, and completing it at DVC satisfies your lower-division general education requirements before you arrive on campus. That said, your major prep courses — CHEM 120, MATH 192, BIOL 120, and the rest of the science sequence — take priority. If you're running short on units, finish major prep first and fill IGETC requirements around it, not the other way around.
How many units do I need to transfer from Diablo Valley College to UCLA?
UCLA requires 60 semester units of transferable coursework to be at junior-level standing by the end of the spring term before you transfer. DVC is on a semester system, so each of your science courses typically counts for 4–5 units — your CHEM 120 and CHEM 122 courses alone are 5 units each. Between your major prep sequence and IGETC coursework, hitting 60 units is very achievable in four semesters if you plan carefully from the start.
Explore More
Related Transfer Plans
Students at Diablo Valley College (DVC) who are planning to transfer to UCLA as Biology majors are navigating one of the more demanding science pathways in the California community college system. The Biology B.S. at UCLA sits in the College of Letters and Science and carries a Fall 2024 transfer admit rate of approximately 20%, with admitted students showing a mid-50th percentile GPA range of 3.80–4.00 — figures that underscore just how competitive transfer planning needs to be. The lower-division major prerequisites are substantial: the ASSIST articulation agreement between Diablo Valley College and UCLA maps DVC's CHEM 120 (General Chemistry I) through a four-course chemistry sequence, two life sciences courses, two semesters of calculus-based physics, and the full MATH 192–193 calculus series. IGETC is accepted for this major, giving DVC students a recognized pathway to satisfy UCLA's lower-division general education requirements before arriving on campus. DVC is also a member of the UCLA Transfer Alliance Program (TAP), meaning students who complete DVC's Honors Program can earn TAP certification and receive priority consideration during the admissions review process — a significant advantage given how selective the Biology major has become. Because DVC operates on a semester calendar while UCLA runs on quarters, students who start CHEM 120 and MATH 192 simultaneously in their first semester give themselves the best chance of completing all major prerequisites on time. Tools like Pipeline help students at Diablo Valley College build a personalized, semester-by-semester transfer plan that maps every major prerequisite, tracks IGETC completion, and accounts for prerequisite chains — so nothing gets missed between now and the November application deadline.
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