Diablo Valley College to UCLA
Nursing Transfer Plan
Semester-by-semester courses, IGETC requirements, and major prerequisites — verified from real articulation data.
From
Diablo Valley College
To
UCLA
NursingGPA Reality Check
UCLA's minimum GPA to apply as a transfer is 3.0, but the mid-50th percentile for admitted students overall is 3.77–4.00 — and Nursing is flagged by UCLA's own profile as a major where applicants' GPAs and coursework completion significantly exceed the campus average. With a Nursing admit rate hovering around 0.9%, you're essentially competing for a handful of seats against students with near-perfect transcripts. Your grades in BIOL 119, BIOL 120, BIOL 121, and CHEM 120 carry the most weight — these are the courses UCLA reviewers look at first to judge your readiness for upper-division clinical coursework.
Transfer Alliance Program (TAP)
DVC is a TAP member college, which means you can enroll in DVC's Honors Program and earn TAP certification — but read this carefully if your goal is Nursing: the UCLA School of Nursing does not participate in TAP, and TAP certification will not give you priority consideration for Nursing admission. Where TAP can still help you is by listing an L&S alternate major on your UC application, giving you a second admissions review if Nursing doesn't pan out. Enroll in the DVC Honors Program early, meet with an Honors counselor, complete the certification steps, and talk through a smart alternate major strategy — it could be the difference between getting into UCLA in some capacity versus getting shut out entirely.
Major Requirements
Nursing (School of Nursing B.S.) Major Preparation
Nursing (School of Nursing B.S.) at UCLA
Courses at Diablo Valley College that satisfy UCLA's Nursing major preparation, verified via ASSIST.org.
Students sometimes confuse UCLA's Nursing B.S. in the School of Nursing with the Public Health B.S. in the Fielding School of Public Health, or with the pre-nursing pathway at other UCs. These are entirely different programs with different prep requirements and admit rates — make sure you're looking at the School of Nursing specifically when pulling requirements from ASSIST.
| Course at Diablo Valley College | Satisfies at UCLA | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL 122 — Reading and Composition | English Composition requirement | 3 |
| MATH 120 — Introduction to Statistics | Statistics requirement | 4 |
| CHEM 120 — General Chemistry I | General Chemistry requirement | 5 |
| BIOL 119 — Human Anatomy | Human Anatomy requirement | 4 |
| BIOL 120 — Human Physiology | Human Physiology requirement | 4 |
| BIOL 121 — Microbiology | Microbiology requirement | 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 |
BIOL 119 → BIOL 120 (Anatomy before Physiology)
Human Anatomy (BIOL 119) is a prerequisite for Human Physiology (BIOL 120) at DVC — you cannot take them simultaneously. Since both are required for UCLA Nursing, you need at least two semesters just for this pair, which is why mapping your first semester correctly is critical.
DVC runs on semesters — UCLA runs on quarters
Expect a significant pace change when you transfer: a UCLA quarter compresses roughly the same material into 10 weeks instead of DVC's 18, so the study habits and time management routines that worked at DVC will need to be recalibrated immediately.
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 Before Your Science Sequence
DVC's Nursing prep is a six-course science and math gauntlet, and the order matters. Take CHEM 120 in your very first semester — it feeds into your ability to handle Microbiology (BIOL 121), and all three biology courses (BIOL 119, 120, 121) need to be spread across multiple semesters. If you push chemistry to semester two or three, you'll run out of time to complete all required courses before your UCLA application deadline in November of your transfer year.
TAP Won't Help You for Nursing — But Don't Ignore It
This surprises a lot of DVC students: the UCLA School of Nursing explicitly does not participate in the Transfer Alliance Program, so TAP certification gives you zero priority consideration for Nursing itself. That said, joining DVC's Honors Program and getting TAP-certified is still worth doing — it lets you list an L&S alternate major on your UC application, which means UCLA reviews you a second time if Nursing doesn't work out. Pick that alternate major carefully and complete its prep work too.
DVC Uses Semesters — UCLA Runs on Quarters
When you arrive at UCLA, one quarter moves faster than any semester you've experienced at DVC — roughly 10 weeks compared to 18. The payoff is that your semester-length Anatomy and Physiology courses at DVC give you deeper exposure to material than a typical quarter-system student gets before transfer, which is a real academic advantage in your upper-division Nursing coursework. Still, plan for the pace shock — UCLA's quarter system means midterms arrive almost immediately after the first week.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What are my chances of getting into UCLA Nursing from Diablo Valley College?
UCLA Nursing is one of the most competitive transfer majors at any UC campus — the admit rate for Nursing transfers was approximately 0.9% in recent cycles, making it more selective than most engineering programs. Diablo Valley College sent 737 total transfer applicants to UCLA in 2024, with a 23% overall acceptance rate across all majors, but Nursing applicants should expect those odds to be far lower. Completing all required science courses like BIOL 119, BIOL 120, and BIOL 121 with strong grades is non-negotiable.
Does TAP help Diablo Valley College students get into UCLA Nursing?
Not for Nursing directly — the UCLA School of Nursing explicitly does not participate in the Transfer Alliance Program, so TAP certification provides no priority consideration for Nursing admission. However, DVC students can still join the Honors Program, earn TAP certification, and designate an L&S alternate major, which gives UCLA a reason to review your application a second time if you're not admitted to Nursing.
What courses do I need to take at DVC to transfer to UCLA Nursing?
UCLA's School of Nursing requires specific lower-division science and math prerequisites completed before transfer. At Diablo Valley College, the key courses are BIOL 119 (Human Anatomy), BIOL 120 (Human Physiology), BIOL 121 (Microbiology), CHEM 120 (General Chemistry I), MATH 120 (Introduction to Statistics), and ENGL 122 (Reading and Composition). Always verify current requirements on ASSIST.org, as articulation agreements can be updated.
Can I complete IGETC at DVC and use it for UCLA Nursing?
Yes — IGETC is accepted for the UCLA School of Nursing, and completing it at DVC satisfies your lower-division general education requirements so you can focus on upper-division Nursing coursework after transfer. That said, Nursing's science prerequisites are extensive, so work with a DVC counselor to sequence IGETC courses alongside your major prep — particularly in your first semester, when ENGL 122 can double as both an IGETC Area 1A requirement and a Nursing prerequisite.
How long does it take to transfer from DVC to UCLA Nursing?
Most students need two full academic years at DVC to complete all Nursing prerequisites and 60 transferable semester units. The biology sequence alone — BIOL 119 in semester one, BIOL 120 in semester two, and BIOL 121 in semester three — requires careful scheduling across at least three semesters. Add CHEM 120, MATH 120, and your IGETC courses, and a realistic timeline is four semesters (two full years) with no room for delays in the science sequence.
Explore More
Related Transfer Plans
Planning a transfer from Diablo Valley College to UCLA for Nursing is one of the most demanding academic paths a California community college student can pursue. The UCLA School of Nursing awards a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and sits outside the College of Letters and Science — which matters for transfer planning because it also sits outside the Transfer Alliance Program (TAP), meaning TAP certification does not provide priority consideration for Nursing applicants. With an admit rate around 0.9%, Nursing at UCLA is among the most selective transfer majors at any UC campus, and the mid-50th percentile GPA range for admitted UCLA transfers overall runs from 3.77 to 4.00 — with Nursing applicants expected to exceed that bar. At Diablo Valley College, students planning this pathway need to complete a rigorous set of major prerequisites before transfer: Human Anatomy (BIOL 119), Human Physiology (BIOL 120), Microbiology (BIOL 121), General Chemistry I (CHEM 120), Introduction to Statistics (MATH 120), and Reading and Composition (ENGL 122). The sequence matters as much as the courses themselves — BIOL 119 is a prerequisite for BIOL 120, and chemistry background is critical before tackling Microbiology. IGETC is accepted for this major, giving DVC students a structured path to clear lower-division general education requirements while completing science prerequisites. Transfer planning for this pathway requires careful coordination of at least four semesters of coursework, and tools like Pipeline help students build personalized, semester-by-semester plans that account for prerequisite chains, IGETC completion, and the application timeline — so nothing falls through the cracks on the road from Diablo Valley College to the UCLA School of Nursing.
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