Mt. San Antonio College to UCSD
Business Administration Transfer Plan
Semester-by-semester courses, IGETC requirements, and major prerequisites — verified from real articulation data.
From
Mt. San Antonio College
To
UC San Diego
Business AdministrationGPA Reality Check
UCSD's published minimum GPA for transfer eligibility is 3.0, but the middle 50% of enrolled transfer students came in with GPAs between 3.45 and 3.92. That gap is real and it matters — especially for Business Administration, which is a selective major with limited enrollment. Your grades in MATH 181, MATH 160, and ACCT 1A carry the most weight because they directly signal whether you can handle the quantitative demands of the Rady School curriculum. A 3.0 gets your application read; a 3.7 or above is what makes it competitive.
Major Requirements
Business Administration (Rady School of Management B.S.) Major Preparation
Business Administration (Rady School of Management B.S.) at UC San Diego
Courses at Mt. San Antonio College that satisfy UC San Diego's Business Administration major preparation, verified via ASSIST.org.
Students often confuse Business Administration (Rady School of Management B.S.) with Business Economics (B.S., offered through the Division of Social Sciences). Business Economics is more quantitative and economics-theory-heavy, while Business Administration focuses on management, strategy, accounting, and organizational behavior. They are separate majors with different prep requirements — make sure you're applying to the right one on your UC application.
| Course at Mt. San Antonio College | Satisfies at UCSD | Units |
|---|---|---|
| MATH 181 — Calculus and Analytic Geometry I | MATH 10A — Calculus I | 5 |
| MATH 160 — Statistics | MATH 11 — Calculus-Based Introductory Statistics | 4 |
| ECON 1 — Principles of Microeconomics | ECON 1 — Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
| ECON 2 — Principles of Macroeconomics | ECON 2 — Principles of Macroeconomics | 3 |
| ACCT 1A — Financial Accounting | MGT 4 — Financial Accounting | 4 |
General Education
Foundation GE at Mt. San Antonio College
Complete these five courses at Mt. San Antonio College to start your UCSD 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 |
MATH 181 → MATH 160
MATH 181 (Calculus and Analytic Geometry I) should be completed before MATH 160 (Statistics) — both are required for the Business Administration prep sequence, and taking them in the wrong order or simultaneously without the calculus foundation means you'll struggle with the more rigorous inferential content in statistics when it counts most for your transfer application GPA.
Mt. SAC runs on semesters — UCSD runs on quarters
Enjoy the semester pacing while you're at Mt. SAC, but start practicing faster study turnarounds now — at UCSD, you'll have roughly 10 weeks per quarter to cover the same depth of material, with less room to recover from an early stumble.
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
UCSD Does Not Offer TAG — Plan Differently
A lot of students at Mt. San Antonio College build their whole timeline around getting a Transfer Admission Guarantee, but UC San Diego does not participate in the TAG program — only UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Merced, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Santa Cruz offer it. If UCSD is your target, your admission is not guaranteed regardless of GPA, so apply broadly, use the UC Transfer Admission Planner (TAP) to keep your coursework on track, and consider TAGging to a backup UC while applying to UCSD in the regular pool.
Don't Skip Financial Accounting Before Applying
ACCT 1A (Financial Accounting) is a lower-division prep requirement for the Rady School, and UCSD screens applicants on completion of major prep courses — skipping it before you apply can cost you your admission shot entirely. Unlike ECON 1 or MATH 181, accounting isn't always on students' radar as a transfer-critical course, so plan it into your first or second semester at Mt. SAC, not as an afterthought.
Mt. SAC Semesters Feel Long — UCSD Quarters Will Not
Mt. San Antonio College runs on semesters, so you're used to 16 weeks to learn material and recover from a slow start. UCSD operates on quarters, meaning each term is only 10 weeks long and the pace is dramatically faster. Start building the habit of staying current week-to-week in courses like MATH 181 and MATH 160 right now — because at UCSD, falling even one week behind in a quantitative course can compound quickly with no buffer time left in the term.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Does UCSD have a TAG program for Mt. San Antonio College students?
No — UC San Diego does not participate in the UC Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) program. TAG is only available at six other UC campuses: Davis, Irvine, Merced, Riverside, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz. Mt. SAC students targeting UCSD should use the UC Transfer Admission Planner (TAP) to organize coursework and apply through the regular UC application between October 1 and November 30.
What courses do I need to take at Mt. San Antonio College to transfer to UCSD Business Administration?
The lower-division major prep for UCSD's Rady School of Management includes MATH 181 (Calculus and Analytic Geometry I), MATH 160 (Statistics), ECON 1 (Principles of Microeconomics), ECON 2 (Principles of Macroeconomics), and ACCT 1A (Financial Accounting). Business Administration is a selective major at UCSD, meaning these courses must be completed — not just in progress — by the end of the spring semester before you transfer. Always verify the current agreement on ASSIST.org.
What GPA do I need to transfer from Mt. SAC to UCSD for Business Administration?
The UC-wide minimum is a 3.0 in all transferable coursework, but the middle 50% of enrolled transfer students at UCSD had GPAs between 3.45 and 3.92. Because Business Administration is a selective major with limited enrollment, hitting close to or above a 3.7 gives you a meaningfully stronger shot. Your grades in major prep courses like MATH 181 and ACCT 1A are weighted heavily in the review.
Can I use IGETC to satisfy general education requirements when transferring from Mt. SAC to UCSD?
Yes — IGETC is accepted at UCSD and clears lower-division general education requirements at most of UCSD's residential colleges, including Muir, Marshall, Warren, Roosevelt, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth College. One exception: Revelle College requires additional math and science courses on top of IGETC. Completing IGETC at Mt. SAC before you transfer means you can focus entirely on your upper-division major coursework once you arrive at UCSD.
Is Business Administration a competitive major at UCSD?
Yes — UCSD officially classifies Business Administration as a selective major, meaning it has limited enrollment and screens applicants based on completion of major prep courses and the grades earned in them. The overall UCSD transfer acceptance rate for 2024-2025 was about 53% across all majors, but selective programs like Business Administration are more competitive than that average suggests. Completing all five prep courses (including ACCT 1A) with strong grades before applying is non-negotiable.
Explore More
Related Transfer Plans
Planning to transfer from Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) to UC San Diego (UCSD) as a Business Administration major takes more upfront strategy than most students expect. The Rady School of Management's Business Administration B.S. is a selective major at UCSD, which means the admissions office screens applicants on whether they've completed required lower-division preparation — not just on overall GPA. Transfer planning for this pathway should start in your very first semester at Mt. SAC, because the prep sequence includes five courses — Calculus and Analytic Geometry I (MATH 181), Statistics (MATH 160), Principles of Microeconomics (ECON 1), Principles of Macroeconomics (ECON 2), and Financial Accounting (ACCT 1A) — and those courses have prerequisite chains that take multiple semesters to navigate correctly. The overall UCSD transfer acceptance rate was approximately 53% for fall 2025, but the middle 50% of admitted transfer students held GPAs between 3.45 and 3.92, so the 3.0 minimum is a floor, not a target. One common mistake Mt. SAC students make is assuming UCSD participates in the UC Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) program — it does not. TAG is only available at six other UC campuses, so UCSD admits are earned through the regular competitive application process. On the general education side, completing IGETC at Mt. SAC before transferring satisfies lower-division GE requirements at most UCSD residential colleges, freeing you to focus on major courses once you arrive. Because Mt. SAC operates on semesters while UCSD runs on quarters, the pacing adjustment after transfer is real — UCSD's 10-week quarters move fast, and students who coasted on semester timelines often find the adjustment jarring. Tools like Pipeline help students from Mt. San Antonio College map out a personalized transfer plan, track major prerequisites like ACCT 1A against application deadlines, and stay on course toward a competitive UCSD application.
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