Mt. San Antonio College to UCI
Nursing Transfer Plan
Semester-by-semester courses, IGETC requirements, and major prerequisites — verified from real articulation data.
From
Mt. San Antonio College
To
UC Irvine
NursingGPA Reality Check
UCI's minimum transferable GPA is 3.0 for Nursing Science, but admitted students from California community colleges come in with a median around 3.77–3.79 — and Nursing is described as one of UCI's most selective majors, with the overall program aiming to graduate only about 50 students per year. That gap between 3.0 and 3.77+ is real, and it matters. Your science courses — especially the three-semester general chemistry series (CHEM 10, 20, 21) and the biology prerequisites — carry the most weight. A B in organic chemistry is fine at most schools; here, you want As across the board in your major prep.
Major Requirements
Nursing Science (Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing B.S.) Major Preparation
Nursing Science (Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing B.S.) at UC Irvine
Courses at Mt. San Antonio College that satisfy UC Irvine's Nursing major preparation, verified via ASSIST.org.
Some students confuse UCI's Nursing Science B.S. with the university's Public Health B.S. or Pharmaceutical Sciences programs — both are life-science adjacent but lead to very different careers and have separate prerequisites. If you're drawn to healthcare but unsure about direct patient care, those programs are worth a separate look. Also note: UCI does not offer an RN-to-BSN or accelerated BSN for students who already hold a bachelor's degree.
| Course at Mt. San Antonio College | Satisfies at UCI | Units |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 10 — General Chemistry I | CHEM 1A — General Chemistry | 5 |
| CHEM 20 — General Chemistry II | CHEM 1B — General Chemistry | 5 |
| CHEM 21 — General Chemistry III | CHEM 1C — General Chemistry | 5 |
| BIOL 01A — Principles of Biology I | BIO SCI 93 — Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology | 4 |
| BIOL 01B — Principles of Biology II | BIO SCI 94 — Introduction to Organismal and Evolutionary Biology | 4 |
| BIOL 02A — Human Anatomy | Human Anatomy with laboratory — Nursing Science lower-division requirement | 4 |
| BIOL 02B — Human Physiology | Human Physiology with laboratory — Nursing Science lower-division requirement | 4 |
| BIOL 03 — Microbiology | Microbiology with laboratory — Nursing Science lower-division requirement | 4 |
| MATH 110 — Statistics | Statistics — Nursing Science lower-division requirement | 4 |
| ENGL 1A — Reading and Composition | English Composition I — UC-E requirement | 4 |
General Education
Foundation GE at Mt. San Antonio College
Complete these five courses at Mt. San Antonio College to start your UCI 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 1
General Biology
CHEM 10
Chemistry for Allied Health Majors
HIST 1
History of the United States
ENGL C1000
Academic Reading and Writing
ENGL C1001
Critical Thinking and Writing
| Area | Course at Mt. San Antonio College | Units |
|---|---|---|
Life Science | BIOL 1 — General Biology | 4 |
Physical Science | CHEM 10 — Chemistry for Allied Health Majors | 5 |
Humanities | HIST 1 — History of the United States | 3 |
English CompositionCCN | ENGL C1000 — Academic Reading and Writing | 4 |
Critical ThinkingCCN | ENGL C1001 — Critical Thinking and Writing | 4 |
CHEM 10 → CHEM 20 → CHEM 21
UCI's Nursing Science prerequisite list requires a full year of general chemistry with lab, equivalent to UCI's CHEM 1A/1B/1C — satisfied at Mt. SAC by CHEM 10, 20, and 21 in strict sequence. Missing the first course in any semester delays the entire chain and can cost you a full transfer cycle.
Mt. SAC runs on semesters — UCI runs on quarters
You'll be used to 16-week semesters at Mt. SAC, but UCI's quarter system moves faster — 10-week terms with exams hitting sooner — so expect to front-load your study habits before you arrive.
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
TAG Does Not Cover Nursing Science at UCI
The UCI Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) program explicitly excludes Nursing Science — along with Art, Business Administration, Dance, Music, and all Computer Science majors. There is no guaranteed admission pathway for this major, which means your GPA and completed prerequisites do all the heavy lifting. Do not plan your timeline around TAG certification for Nursing; instead, focus on finishing CHEM 10, 20, and 21 and all biology prerequisites with the strongest grades possible before you apply.
Mt. SAC's Three-Semester Chemistry Sequence Takes Planning
Unlike some quarter-system community colleges that can compress prerequisites faster, Mt. San Antonio College runs on semesters — meaning CHEM 10, CHEM 20, and CHEM 21 each occupy a full semester and must be taken in strict sequence. If you miss CHEM 10 in your very first semester, you push your entire chemistry sequence — and potentially your application timeline — back by a full year. Start CHEM 10 in your first fall semester, no exceptions.
Do Not Transfer Into a Non-Nursing Major Hoping to Switch Later
UCI's School of Nursing is explicit: students admitted as transfers to a non-nursing major are not eligible to apply for a change of major into Nursing Science. If you don't get in as a direct Nursing Science transfer, your only path back in is reapplying from the outside the following year. List Nursing Science as your primary major on your UC application and list a viable backup second-choice major — not as a stepping stone, but as a real plan B.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What GPA do I need to transfer from Mt. San Antonio College to UCI Nursing Science?
UCI requires a minimum 3.0 cumulative UC-transferable GPA for Nursing Science, but the median GPA of admitted California community college transfers is around 3.77–3.79. Given that Nursing is one of UCI's most selective majors with a program goal of roughly 50 graduates per year, treat 3.7+ as your real target — and make sure your science courses like CHEM 10 and BIOL 02A are among your strongest grades.
Is TAG available for Nursing Science at UCI from Mt. San Antonio College?
No — UCI's Transfer Admission Guarantee explicitly excludes Nursing Science, along with Art, Business Administration, Dance, Music, and all majors in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences. Mt. SAC students applying to UCI Nursing must go through the standard competitive transfer process. There is no guaranteed admission shortcut for this major.
What classes do I need to take at Mt. San Antonio College before transferring to UCI Nursing?
The core lower-division prerequisites include a three-semester general chemistry series (CHEM 10, 20, and 21), two semesters of biology (BIOL 01A and 01B), Human Anatomy (BIOL 02A), Human Physiology (BIOL 02B), Microbiology (BIOL 03), Statistics (MATH 110), and English Composition (ENGL 1A). All science courses require a lab component, and every course must be completed with a letter grade of C or better — Pass/No Pass is not accepted.
Can I transfer to UCI Nursing and then switch majors if I'm not admitted to Nursing Science directly?
No — UCI is very clear that students admitted as transfers to a non-nursing major are not eligible to change their major to Nursing Science. You must apply directly as a Nursing Science transfer applicant. If you are not admitted to Nursing Science but are admitted to UCI under a second-choice major, your only option is to reapply externally the following year.
Does IGETC count toward the UCI Nursing Science transfer requirements?
Yes, IGETC is accepted for Nursing Science at UCI and can satisfy the general education breadth requirements for transfer. However, completing IGETC does not replace the major-specific prerequisites — you still need to finish all the required science courses like CHEM 10 through CHEM 21 and the full biology series. Completing both IGETC and your major prep concurrently is the most efficient path, but the science prerequisites must always be prioritized since they take the most semesters to complete.
Explore More
Related Transfer Plans
Planning to transfer from Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) to UC Irvine as a Nursing Science major is one of the most challenging — and rewarding — transfer pathways in the California community college system. The UCI Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing's BS in Nursing Science is a highly selective program with an admit rate well under 10%, and the median GPA of admitted California community college transfers sits around 3.77. Transfer planning for this pathway starts on day one at Mt. SAC: the three-semester general chemistry sequence beginning with CHEM 10 must be started in your very first fall semester, because any delay cascades across your entire prerequisite timeline. Beyond chemistry, the major prerequisites include Human Anatomy (BIOL 02A), Human Physiology (BIOL 02B), Microbiology (BIOL 03), a two-semester biology series, Statistics (MATH 110), and English Composition (ENGL 1A). IGETC is accepted for this major and can be completed alongside your major prerequisites to meet UC breadth requirements before you arrive at UCI. One important caution for Mt. San Antonio College students: UCI's Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) program explicitly does not cover Nursing Science, so there is no guaranteed admission pathway — every applicant competes on the merits of their GPA and completed coursework. Students also need to know that being admitted to a different UCI major and then switching into Nursing Science is not permitted; transfer applicants must apply directly to the major. Tools like Pipeline help students at Mt. SAC build a personalized term-by-term plan that sequences major prerequisites in the right order, tracks IGETC progress, and flags potential bottlenecks before they derail a transfer application — essential for a pathway this demanding.
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