Santa Monica College to UC Berkeley
Business Administration Transfer Plan
Semester-by-semester courses, IGETC requirements, and major prerequisites — verified from real articulation data.
From
Santa Monica College
To
UC Berkeley
Business AdministrationGPA Reality Check
The minimum GPA to even be considered by Haas is 3.0, but the mid-50th percentile of admitted UC Berkeley transfers was 3.61–3.96 — and Haas admits are drawn from the most competitive end of that range, with insiders noting admit rates near or below 5% for the business major specifically. Your grades in the quantitative prep courses — MATH 7, MATH 8, MATH 54, and ACCTG 1 — carry the most weight, because Haas is explicitly evaluating whether you can handle rigorous finance and accounting coursework. A B in calculus is not going to cut it here; you need to be aiming for A's across all eight prerequisites.
Envision Haas
Envision Haas is Berkeley Haas's free virtual outreach program for community college transfer applicants — it runs multiple sessions each semester and includes a live admissions Q&A plus a panel of current Haas transfer students. There's no formal certification, but attending lets you hear directly from the admissions team about exactly what they look for in the supplemental application and video interview. Find the Zoom registration links on the Haas Admissions Events & Advising page and go early — ideally the semester before you apply.
Major Requirements
Business Administration (Haas School of Business B.S.) Major Preparation
Business Administration (Haas School of Business B.S.) at UC Berkeley
Courses at Santa Monica College that satisfy UC Berkeley's Business Administration major preparation, verified via ASSIST.org.
UC Berkeley offers several business-adjacent majors that students frequently confuse with Haas Business Administration. Economics and Business Economics live in the College of Letters & Science — they have different prerequisites, a much higher admit rate, and do NOT feed into the Haas B.S. Analytics (formerly Operations Research and Management Science) and Political Economy are also separate majors. If you want the Haas B.S., you must apply directly to Haas — you cannot transfer into L&S and then switch into Haas later.
| Course at Santa Monica College | Satisfies at UC Berkeley | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ENGLISH 1 — Reading and Composition 1 | English R1A — Reading and Composition | 3 |
| ENGLISH 2 — Reading and Composition 2 | English R1B — Reading and Composition | 3 |
| MATH 7 — Calculus 1 | MATH 1A — Calculus | 5 |
| MATH 8 — Calculus 2 | MATH 1B — Calculus | 5 |
| MATH 54 — Elementary Statistics | STAT 20 — Introductory Statistics | 4 |
| ECON 1 — Principles of Microeconomics | ECON 1 — Introduction to Economics | 3 |
| ECON 2 — Principles of Macroeconomics | ECON 2 — Introduction to Macroeconomics | 3 |
| ACCTG 1 — Financial Accounting | UGBA 102A — Principles of Business Accounting | 4 |
General Education
Foundation GE at Santa Monica College
UC Berkeley's Business Administration (Haas School of Business B.S.) program uses its own GE pattern (see note below), but these five Santa Monica College courses cover foundation requirements every UC accepts. Start here.
BIOL 10
Applied Ecology and Conservation Biology
CHEM 10
Introductory General Chemistry
ENGL C1001
Critical Thinking and Writing
ENGL C1000
Academic Reading and Writing
COMM C1000
Introduction to Public Speaking
| Area | Course at Santa Monica College | Units |
|---|---|---|
Life Science | BIOL 10 — Applied Ecology and Conservation Biology | 4 |
Physical Science | CHEM 10 — Introductory General Chemistry | 5 |
HumanitiesCCN | ENGL C1001 — Critical Thinking and Writing | 3 |
English CompositionCCN | ENGL C1000 — Academic Reading and Writing | 3 |
Oral CommunicationCCN | COMM C1000 — Introduction to Public Speaking | 3 |
UC Berkeley Business Administration (Haas School of Business B.S.): full GE notes
UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business does not accept IGETC/Cal-GETC. Haas students must complete Berkeley's own breadth requirements. Focus on prerequisite business and math courses at your CC and complete breadth requirements after transfer.
MATH 7 → MATH 8 (Calculus Sequence)
Calculus 1 (MATH 7) must be completed before you can enroll in Calculus 2 (MATH 8) — both are required Haas prerequisites. If you don't start MATH 7 in your very first semester at SMC, you risk running out of time to finish the sequence before your application is reviewed.
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 Calculus in Your Very First Semester
MATH 7 (Calculus 1) and MATH 8 (Calculus 2) are both required Haas prerequisites, and they must be taken in sequence — that's a minimum of two semesters just for calculus. SMC's semester calendar means you only get two shots at this sequence before your fall application deadline. If you wait until Spring semester to start MATH 7, you mathematically cannot finish MATH 8 in time to be eligible.
IGETC Will Not Help You Here — Skip It
Haas explicitly states that IGETC is neither required nor recommended for admission to the business program. Spending time completing IGETC at SMC instead of knocking out prerequisites like ACCTG 1 and MATH 54 is a real mistake students make — those prep courses are what Haas actually looks at. Use the Haas Seven-Course Breadth pattern instead, and confirm the right GE path with an SMC counselor early.
The Haas Supplemental Is a Separate Deadline — Don't Miss It
After submitting your UC application in November, you must also file a separate Haas supplemental application — including an essay, a résumé, and a video interview — by January 31. This is not optional: if you miss this deadline, your admission is automatically denied regardless of how strong your grades are. Set a hard reminder the moment you hit 'submit' on your UC application.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What GPA do I need to transfer from Santa Monica College to UC Berkeley Haas?
The official minimum GPA to be considered by Haas is 3.0, but that number is misleading — admitted UC Berkeley transfer students in 2024 had a mid-50th percentile GPA of 3.61 to 3.96, and Haas admits come from the competitive end of that range. Your grades in quantitative courses like MATH 7 (Calculus 1) and ACCTG 1 (Financial Accounting) at SMC are especially scrutinized by the admissions committee.
What courses do I need to take at Santa Monica College to prepare for Haas Business Administration?
The core Haas prerequisites you'll complete at SMC are MATH 7 and MATH 8 (the two-semester calculus sequence), MATH 54 (Elementary Statistics), ECON 1 (Microeconomics), ECON 2 (Macroeconomics), ACCTG 1 (Financial Accounting), and both ENGLISH 1 and ENGLISH 2 for the Reading and Composition requirement. All of these must be completed with a C- or better, and none can be more than five years old at the time of transfer.
Does IGETC satisfy the GE requirements for UC Berkeley Haas Business Administration?
No — Haas explicitly states that completing IGETC is neither required nor recommended for admission to the business program. Instead, Haas has its own Seven-Course Breadth pattern based on the College of Letters & Science requirements. Students at SMC who spend time completing IGETC instead of focusing on major prerequisites are misallocating their time — talk to an SMC counselor about the Haas-specific GE path.
Is there a transfer guarantee or TAG program from Santa Monica College to UC Berkeley for Business?
There is no Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) for UC Berkeley — Berkeley does not participate in the TAG program at all. Envision Haas is an outreach and information program for community college applicants, but it does not guarantee admission or provide any kind of priority consideration. SMC students must compete in the full Haas transfer admissions process, which includes both the UC application and a separate Haas supplemental due January 31.
How many students transfer from Santa Monica College to UC Berkeley each year?
According to 2023–2024 UC data, 133 SMC students enrolled at UC Berkeley — making Cal the second most popular UC destination for SMC transfers after UCLA (which received 451). SMC transferred more students to the UC system than any other California community college for 34 consecutive years, sending 983 students total to UC campuses in that same year, though only a small fraction of those went to the highly selective Haas Business program.
Explore More
Related Transfer Plans
Students at Santa Monica College (SMC) pursuing a path to UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business face one of the most competitive transfer pathways in California. Transfer planning for this route looks very different from a typical UC transfer — Haas Business Administration is a B.S. program that requires its own supplemental application, a video interview, and a specific set of major prerequisites that cannot be substituted with IGETC. While UC Berkeley's overall transfer admit rate was approximately 25% in 2024, the Haas business program is widely understood to be far more selective, with published commentary placing the admit rate near or below 5% for eligible applicants. The mid-50th percentile GPA for all admitted UC Berkeley transfers was 3.61 to 3.96, and Haas expects performance at the top of that range. The eight lower-division major prerequisites SMC students must complete include MATH 7 (Calculus 1), MATH 8 (Calculus 2), MATH 54 (Elementary Statistics), ECON 1, ECON 2, ACCTG 1 (Financial Accounting), and the two-course Reading and Composition sequence — all verified through ASSIST.org articulation agreements. Because MATH 7 and MATH 8 must be taken in sequence, transfer planning must begin in a student's very first semester at Santa Monica College. Envision Haas, Berkeley's outreach program for community college applicants, offers free virtual information sessions that give students direct access to the admissions team — worth attending long before you apply. For students trying to map all of this out in a clear, semester-by-semester format, Pipeline is a tool that helps you build a personalized transfer plan that accounts for prerequisite chains, application deadlines, and the unique demands of competitive programs like Haas — so nothing slips through the cracks.
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