Mt. San Antonio College to UCLA
Psychology Transfer Plan
Semester-by-semester courses, IGETC requirements, and major prerequisites — verified from real articulation data.
From
Mt. San Antonio College
To
UCLA
PsychologyGPA Reality Check
UCLA's published minimum GPA for transfer applicants is 3.0, but the mid-50th percentile for admitted Psychology students in fall 2024 was 3.81–4.00 — meaning half of admitted students were at or above a 3.81. The 3.0 floor is what gets your application read; a 3.81 or higher is what gets you admitted. Your grades in PSYC C1000, STAT C1000, and PSYC C1002 matter most because they are the exact courses reviewers check to gauge your readiness for upper-division Psychology at UCLA.
Transfer Alliance Program (TAP)
Mt. SAC is a confirmed Transfer Alliance Program (TAP) partner with UCLA, which means you have a real structural advantage — TAP-certified applicants receive priority consideration for Psychology and other College of Letters and Science majors. To qualify, you need a 3.2 cumulative GPA, 15 units of Honors coursework with a 3.2 GPA in those courses, and you must sign the TAP Applicant Form online when Honors staff notifies you in late January or mid-February. Missing that digital signature — even if you've done everything else — means you won't be certified.
Major Requirements
Psychology B.S. — College of Letters and Science Major Preparation
Psychology B.S. — College of Letters and Science at UCLA
Courses at Mt. San Antonio College that satisfy UCLA's Psychology major preparation, verified via ASSIST.org.
UCLA also offers a Cognitive Science B.S. and a Psychobiology B.S. Cognitive Science blends psychology with linguistics, philosophy, and computer science. Psychobiology sits in the Life Sciences division and has a heavier biology and chemistry prerequisite load — it is a separate, more science-intensive track. Make sure you apply to the Psychology major specifically in the College of Letters and Science, not Psychobiology.
| Course at Mt. San Antonio College | Satisfies at UCLA | Units |
|---|---|---|
| PSYC C1000 — Introduction to Psychology | PSYCH 10 | 3 |
| STAT C1000 — Introduction to Statistics | STATS 13 | 3 |
| PSYC C1002 — Research Methods in Psychology | PSYCH 100A — Research Methods in Psychology | 4 |
General Education
Foundation GE at Mt. San Antonio College
Complete these five courses at Mt. San Antonio 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.
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 |
Statistics + Intro Psych → Research Methods
PSYC C1002 (Research Methods in Psychology) requires both STAT C1000 and PSYC C1000 as hard prerequisites — you cannot enroll without both on your transcript. Delay either one and you push your entire major prep completion into a semester that may be too late for a competitive UCLA application.
UCLA runs on quarters — Mt. SAC runs on semesters
When you transfer to UCLA, your course load and pacing will shift significantly: a quarter is only 10 weeks long compared to Mt. SAC's 16-week semester, so plan for a faster tempo in every class from day one.
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
TAP Certification Requires an Easy-to-Miss Signature
Completing your Honors coursework at Mt. SAC is only part of the TAP process. You must also sign the UCLA TAP Applicant Form online in the narrow late-January to mid-February window — Honors staff will alert you by email. Many students do all the hard work, miss the email, and lose their TAP-certified status entirely.
Take Statistics and Intro Psych the Same Semester
PSYC C1002 (Research Methods in Psychology) requires both PSYC C1000 and STAT C1000 as prerequisites. If you stagger those two courses across different semesters, you push Research Methods back by a full term. Take PSYC C1000 and STAT C1000 together in your very first semester so you can hit Research Methods the next term and finish all major prep before your application deadline.
Mt. SAC's Semester Calendar Compresses Your Prep Timeline
Mt. SAC runs on semesters — you get two full terms per year, not three quarters like at UCLA. That means you have fewer enrollment windows to complete PSYC C1000, STAT C1000, and PSYC C1002 before you apply in November. Map out your exact sequence before your first semester, not after, so you don't arrive at application time with Research Methods still on your to-do list.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the major prep courses I need at Mt. San Antonio College to transfer to UCLA Psychology?
There are three core lower-division prep courses: PSYC C1000 (Introduction to Psychology), STAT C1000 (Introduction to Statistics), and PSYC C1002 (Research Methods in Psychology, with lab). PSYC C1002 is the capstone of the sequence and cannot be taken until you've completed both PSYC C1000 and STAT C1000, so start those two in your very first semester at Mt. SAC.
How competitive is UCLA Psychology transfer admissions for Mt. SAC students?
UCLA Psychology (Pre) had a 22% transfer admit rate in fall 2024, with a mid-50th percentile GPA range of 3.81–4.00 among admitted students. Psychology is explicitly listed by UCLA as a 'highly selective' major, meaning they strongly recommend you complete all major prep — including PSYC C1002 — by the fall semester before you apply.
Does the UCLA Transfer Alliance Program (TAP) help Mt. SAC students get into Psychology?
Yes — Mt. SAC is a confirmed TAP partner school, and TAP-certified students receive priority consideration for Psychology as a College of Letters and Science major. You'll need a minimum 3.2 cumulative GPA, 15 units of Honors coursework with at least a 3.2 GPA in those courses, and you must sign the TAP Applicant Form in the late-January to mid-February window. A higher GPA — the Mt. SAC Honors page specifically notes Psychology is competitive enough to require 3.7 or above — will make your TAP application much stronger.
Can I use IGETC to satisfy general education requirements when transferring from Mt. SAC to UCLA Psychology?
Yes, IGETC is accepted for the UCLA Psychology B.S. in the College of Letters and Science. Completing IGETC at Mt. SAC — starting with ENGL C1000 for Area 1A — means you arrive at UCLA without a backlog of lower-division GE courses, freeing up your schedule for the upper-division Psychology coursework you'll take there.
What is the difference between UCLA Psychology and UCLA Psychobiology for transfer students?
Psychology at UCLA is a B.S. housed in the College of Letters and Science with major prep centered on PSYC C1000, STAT C1000, and PSYC C1002 at Mt. SAC. Psychobiology is a separate, more science-heavy program with additional biology and chemistry prerequisites — it's a different major entirely on the UC application. Make sure you're applying to the right one, because you cannot switch after submission without going through a formal process.
Explore More
Related Transfer Plans
Students at Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) planning to transfer to UCLA for Psychology are navigating one of the more competitive pathways in the California community college system. Transfer planning for this route starts with understanding that UCLA's Psychology B.S. in the College of Letters and Science admitted students with a mid-50th percentile GPA of 3.81–4.00 in fall 2024 — a number that should recalibrate how seriously you treat every grade in your major prerequisites. The three lower-division prep courses you'll complete at Mt. SAC are PSYC C1000 (Introduction to Psychology), STAT C1000 (Introduction to Statistics), and PSYC C1002 (Research Methods in Psychology), and their order matters: both PSYC C1000 and STAT C1000 are hard prerequisites for PSYC C1002, which means your sequencing decisions in your first semester have downstream consequences. Alongside major prerequisites, Mt. SAC students should complete IGETC — the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum — beginning with ENGL C1000 for the English Composition requirement, since IGETC is accepted for this program and clears your lower-division general education obligations before you ever set foot on the Westwood campus. Mt. SAC is also a Transfer Alliance Program (TAP) partner, giving students who complete the Honors program a meaningful structural advantage during UCLA's review of College of Letters and Science applications. Because Mt. SAC runs on semesters while UCLA operates on quarters, the transfer calendar shift is real — you'll move from 16-week terms to 10-week quarters, which compresses the pace of every course. Tools like Pipeline help students at Mt. San Antonio College build personalized, semester-by-semester transfer plans that account for prerequisite chains, IGETC completion, TAP certification deadlines, and the UCLA application timeline — all in one place, so nothing falls through the cracks.
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