Mt. San Antonio College to UCSB
Psychology Transfer Plan
Semester-by-semester courses, IGETC requirements, and major prerequisites — verified from real articulation data.
From
Mt. San Antonio College
To
UC Santa Barbara
PsychologyGPA Reality Check
The UC minimum GPA to transfer is 3.0, but the mid-50% of admitted UCSB transfer students landed between 3.46 and 3.91 — meaning half of the people who got in had GPAs above 3.7. For the PBS B.S. specifically, your science and math grades carry the most weight: CHEM 60, CHEM 70, MATH 180, and PSYC 10 are the courses UCSB's reviewers will look at most carefully. A 3.0 gets you eligible; a 3.5 or better in those courses makes you genuinely competitive.
Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG)
UCSB's Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) is available for the Psychological & Brain Sciences B.S. — and it's one of the most underused tools Mt. San Antonio College students have. Hit a 3.4 cumulative GPA in UC-transferable coursework, finish at least 30 semester units and your first English composition course by the fall term you apply, then submit your TAG application in September through the UC Transfer Admission Planner before filing your regular UC application in November. One critical warning straight from UCSB: you must list the same major on both applications, or the TAG will not protect you.
Major Requirements
Psychological & Brain Sciences, B.S. (College of Letters & Science) Major Preparation
Psychological & Brain Sciences, B.S. (College of Letters & Science) at UC Santa Barbara
Courses at Mt. San Antonio College that satisfy UC Santa Barbara's Psychology major preparation, verified via ASSIST.org.
UCSB does not offer a traditional Psychology B.A. The department is called Psychological & Brain Sciences (PBS), and it awards a B.S. — meaning it has a science-heavy curriculum including General Chemistry and Calculus. Students confusing this with a liberal-arts-style psychology program will be caught off guard by the chemistry requirement. UCSB also offers a separate Biopsychology B.S. in the same department, which has a heavier biology emphasis. Neither is the same as the Clinical/Counseling track some students expect — PBS is experimentally focused.
| Course at Mt. San Antonio College | Satisfies at UCSB | Units |
|---|---|---|
| PSYC C1000 — Introduction to Psychology | PSY 1 — Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 10 — Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences | PSTAT 5A — Statistics | 4 |
| MATH 180 — Calculus I | MATH 3A — Calculus with Applications I | 4 |
| CHEM 60 — General Chemistry I | CHEM 1A — General Chemistry | 5 |
| CHEM 70 — General Chemistry II | CHEM 1B — General Chemistry | 5 |
| No equivalent at Mt. SAC | PSY 10A — Research Methods and Data Analysis I | — |
| No equivalent at Mt. SAC | PSY 10B — Research Methods and Data Analysis II | — |
Courses with no equivalent must be taken at UC Santa Barbara after transfer. Factor this into your first-year course plan.
General Education
Foundation GE at Mt. San Antonio College
Complete these five courses at Mt. San Antonio College to start your UCSB 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 |
PSYC C1000 → PSYC 10 → PSYC 22
Introduction to Psychology is the prerequisite for Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, which is itself a prerequisite for Research Methods — creating a three-course chain that must run across three separate semesters. Start PSYC C1000 in your very first semester at Mt. SAC, or you will run out of time to complete the full chain before applying to transfer.
Mt. SAC runs on semesters — UCSB runs on quarters
You have two long semesters per year at Mt. SAC to build your prep, but once you transfer you'll be moving through 10-week quarter terms at UCSB, so pace your major coursework at Mt. SAC to finish as much prep as possible before you arrive — there will be less time to catch up once you're on the quarter system.
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
File Your TAG in September, Not November
The TAG application opens in September through the UC Transfer Admission Planner — and it's a separate deadline from the UC application, which is due in November. Mt. San Antonio College students who wait until November to start thinking about UCSB have already missed the TAG window. Get your 3.4 GPA locked in before the fall term ends and submit your TAG early, then follow up with the standard UC application listing the exact same major: Psychological & Brain Sciences.
Chemistry Is Not Optional for This Major
Unlike a traditional psychology program, UCSB's Psychological & Brain Sciences B.S. sits firmly in science territory and expects at least one full year of General Chemistry before transfer. At Mt. San Antonio College, that means completing both CHEM 60 and CHEM 70 — a two-semester sequence — before you leave. Students who skip chemistry planning and spend two semesters only on psychology and IGETC courses often arrive at UCSB unable to meet the pre-major requirements on schedule.
PSY 10A and 10B Cannot Be Done at Mt. SAC
UCSB's Research Methods sequence — PSY 10A and PSY 10B — has no community college equivalent anywhere in California; the PBS department confirmed these courses are only offered at UCSB. You will take them after you transfer. What you can do at Mt. SAC is strengthen your quantitative readiness by completing PSYC 10 (Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences) and MATH 180 (Calculus I), which signal to admissions that you are prepared to handle the research sequence once you arrive.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What GPA do I need to transfer from Mt. San Antonio College to UCSB for Psychology?
The UC minimum is 3.0, but the mid-50% of admitted UCSB transfer students had GPAs between 3.46 and 3.91. For the Psychological & Brain Sciences B.S. pre-major specifically, UCSB flags 3.4 and above as the selective threshold, and your science coursework — including CHEM 60 and CHEM 70 — factors into how reviewers read your application. Aim for 3.5 or higher to be a genuinely competitive applicant.
Does UCSB offer a Psychology B.A., or is it only a B.S.?
UCSB does not offer a Psychology B.A. The department is called Psychological & Brain Sciences (PBS), and it awards a B.S. This matters for your planning at Mt. SAC because the B.S. requires General Chemistry — both CHEM 60 and CHEM 70 — which a typical B.A. program would not. The department also offers a separate Biopsychology B.S. if you want more biology emphasis.
Can I get a TAG guarantee to UCSB for the Psychology major from Mt. San Antonio College?
Yes — the TAG is available for the Psychological & Brain Sciences B.S. since it sits in the College of Letters & Science. You need a minimum 3.4 cumulative UC-transferable GPA and at least 30 UC-transferable semester units completed before the September TAG application deadline, plus your first English composition course done by end of the fall term. Submit your TAG in September through the UC Transfer Admission Planner, then file your regular UC application in November under the same major.
What Mt. San Antonio College courses count toward UCSB Psychological & Brain Sciences preparation?
The key lower-division prep courses at Mt. SAC are PSYC C1000 (Introduction to Psychology), PSYC 10 (Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences), MATH 180 (Calculus I), CHEM 60 (General Chemistry I), and CHEM 70 (General Chemistry II). Note that UCSB's PSY 10A and PSY 10B have no community college equivalent and must be taken after you transfer. IGETC is accepted for the PBS B.S., so completing your general education at Mt. SAC is a smart use of your remaining units.
How many Mt. San Antonio College students apply to and get into UC campuses each year?
According to Mt. SAC's own transfer data, 912 Mt. SAC students applied to UC campuses in a recent cycle and 678 were admitted — a roughly 74% admit rate across all UC campuses combined. Mt. SAC consistently ranks among the top 10 community colleges in California for total transfers to the UC system, which means UCSB admissions reviewers recognize the school's academic preparation quality.
Explore More
Related Transfer Plans
Students at Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) planning to transfer to UC Santa Barbara as Psychological & Brain Sciences majors are pursuing one of the more science-intensive psychology pathways in the UC system. Unlike a traditional B.A. program, the UCSB Psychological & Brain Sciences B.S. — housed in the College of Letters & Science — requires General Chemistry, Calculus, and Statistics as lower-division preparation, meaning transfer planning needs to start in your very first semester at Mt. SAC. The mid-50% GPA range for admitted UCSB transfer students runs from 3.46 to 3.91, a significant jump above the UC minimum of 3.0, so every grade in CHEM 60, MATH 180, and PSYC 10 matters. Completing IGETC at Mt. SAC is accepted for this major and can free up room in your schedule for the required science sequence, but don't let IGETC crowd out major prerequisites — PSYC C1000 (Introduction to Psychology) must come before PSYC 10 (Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences), which must come before Research Methods, creating a three-semester chain that has to start on day one. One of the biggest advantages available to Mt. SAC students is the Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) with UCSB: earn a 3.4 cumulative GPA in UC-transferable coursework, finish 30 units and your first English composition course before the fall term you apply, and submit a separate TAG application in September through the UC Transfer Admission Planner. Tools like Pipeline help students map out this exact kind of multi-semester sequence — pairing major prerequisites, IGETC completion, and TAG eligibility checkpoints into a single personalized plan so nothing falls through the cracks before the transfer deadline.
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