Santa Monica College to UCLA
Nursing Transfer Plan
Semester-by-semester courses, IGETC requirements, and major prerequisites — verified from real articulation data.
From
Santa Monica College
To
UCLA
NursingGPA Reality Check
UCLA's minimum GPA to apply is 3.0 — but the School of Nursing sets its own floor at 3.5, and admitted transfer students typically sit near the very top of that range. This is one of the most competitive programs at any UC campus, admitting roughly 10 students per transfer cycle from a pool of 200 or more applicants. Your science GPA matters most: CHEM 11, CHEM 12, CHEM 21, BIOL 3, BIOL 22, and ANATMY 1 are the courses reviewers will scrutinize most closely — a C in any of them is a serious red flag in this applicant pool.
Major Requirements
Nursing, B.S. (Joe C. Wen School of Nursing) Major Preparation
Nursing, B.S. (Joe C. Wen School of Nursing) at UCLA
Courses at Santa Monica College that satisfy UCLA's Nursing major preparation, verified via ASSIST.org.
Students sometimes confuse this with UCLA's Public Health B.S. or Human Biology and Society B.A./B.S. in the College of Letters and Science. Those programs are meaningfully different — Public Health and Human Bio focus on population health and research, not clinical licensure. Only the School of Nursing B.S. prepares you to sit for the NCLEX and become a licensed RN.
| Course at Santa Monica College | Satisfies at UCLA | Units |
|---|---|---|
| CHEM 11 — General Chemistry I | CHEM 20A — Chemical Structure | 5 |
| CHEM 12 — General Chemistry II | CHEM 20B — Chemical Energetics and Change | 5 |
| CHEM 21 — Organic Chemistry I | CHEM 30A — Organic Chemistry I | 5 |
| BIOL 3 — Cell and Molecular Biology | Life Sciences 7A — Cell and Molecular Biology | 4 |
| BIOL 22 — Human Physiology | Life Sciences 7C / Physiological Science 13 — Physiology and Human Biology | 4 |
| ANATMY 1 — General Human Anatomy | Physiological Science 3 — Human Anatomy | 4 |
General Education
Foundation GE at Santa Monica College
Complete these five courses at Santa Monica 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 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 |
CHEM 11 → CHEM 12 → CHEM 21
These three courses must be taken in sequence, one per semester — and UCLA requires all seven prep courses finished by the end of your final spring at SMC. If you start late, CHEM 21 will not be complete by the time you apply in November of your second year, making you ineligible.
UCLA runs on quarters — SMC runs on semesters
Once you transfer, your coursework will move in 10-week quarters instead of 18-week semesters, which means material moves significantly faster — build strong study habits and time management routines at SMC now, because the pace at UCLA will feel like a gear shift.
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 CHEM 11 Your Very First Semester
The science sequence for UCLA Nursing — CHEM 11 → CHEM 12 → CHEM 21, plus BIOL 3, BIOL 22, and ANATMY 1 — spans all four of your semesters at SMC. If you delay CHEM 11 even one semester, you risk not finishing CHEM 21 (Organic Chemistry) before your November application deadline. Map out every science course from day one and treat this sequence like it has zero flexibility, because it doesn't.
TAP Does Not Help You for Nursing
Santa Monica College's Scholars Program (SMC's TAP-certified honors pathway) gives you a genuine edge for most UCLA majors in the College of Letters and Science — but the School of Nursing explicitly does not participate in TAP. Completing the Scholars Program won't give you priority consideration for Nursing admission. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it — the rigor and support are real — just don't plan your strategy around a TAP boost that won't apply here.
Submit a Complete IGETC — Partial Won't Cut It
Unlike most UCLA majors that will accept a partial IGETC certification, the School of Nursing requires full IGETC completion from California community college applicants — no exceptions. If you're missing even one IGETC area when you apply, your application can be disqualified. Check your IGETC progress every semester with an SMC counselor, and aim to finish it by the spring before you transfer.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
How hard is it to transfer from Santa Monica College to UCLA Nursing?
Extremely hard — the UCLA School of Nursing admits roughly 10 transfer students per year from a pool of 200 or more applicants, putting the transfer admit rate around 2%. The School also sets its own GPA minimum of 3.5, well above UCLA's campus-wide floor. Coming from SMC, you have no TAP advantage for Nursing, so your grades in CHEM 11, CHEM 12, CHEM 21, BIOL 3, BIOL 22, and ANATMY 1 have to be exceptional.
Does the SMC Scholars Program (TAP) help with UCLA Nursing admission?
No — the UCLA School of Nursing explicitly does not participate in the Transfer Alliance Program (TAP). TAP gives priority consideration only for majors in the College of Letters and Science and a few others. Completing the SMC Scholars Program is still worthwhile for academic rigor and support, but it will not give you a priority review for Nursing.
Do I need to complete IGETC before transferring to UCLA Nursing?
Yes, and the School of Nursing is stricter than most UCLA programs — it requires full IGETC certification from California community college applicants. Partial IGETC is not accepted. You must complete all IGETC requirements by the end of the spring semester before you transfer, so start tracking your IGETC progress from your first semester at SMC.
What science courses do I need to take at Santa Monica College for UCLA Nursing?
UCLA Nursing requires seven specific lower-division prep courses, and SMC has articulated equivalents for all of them: CHEM 11 (General Chemistry I), CHEM 12 (General Chemistry II), CHEM 21 (Organic Chemistry I), BIOL 3 (Cell and Molecular Biology), BIOL 22 (Human Physiology), and ANATMY 1 (General Human Anatomy). All must be completed with a C or better, though in a pool this competitive, you should be targeting As.
What GPA do I need to transfer to UCLA Nursing from Santa Monica College?
The School of Nursing sets a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5 for transfer applicants — significantly higher than UCLA's campus-wide minimum of 3.0. In practice, admitted students tend to sit well above that floor given how few spots exist. The average GPA of admitted UCLA transfers overall runs between 3.77 and 4.00, and Nursing applicants should expect the bar to be at least that high.
Explore More
Related Transfer Plans
Planning to transfer from Santa Monica College (SMC) to UCLA as a Nursing major is one of the most challenging — and rewarding — academic paths a California community college student can pursue. The Joe C. Wen School of Nursing at UCLA admits only about 10 transfer students per year, making the transfer admit rate roughly 2% from a competitive pool. That means transfer planning at SMC has to start on day one. Students need to map out a full four-semester science sequence: CHEM 11 (General Chemistry I), CHEM 12, CHEM 21 (Organic Chemistry I), BIOL 3 (Cell and Molecular Biology), BIOL 22 (Human Physiology), and ANATMY 1 (General Human Anatomy) — all required major prerequisites that must be finished before you apply. On top of that, the School of Nursing requires full IGETC certification from California community college applicants, and unlike most UCLA majors, partial IGETC will not be accepted. It's also worth knowing that UCLA's Transfer Alliance Program (TAP) — in which SMC participates through its Scholars Program — does not extend to the School of Nursing, so students can't count on that pathway for an admissions edge here. The minimum cumulative GPA to apply is 3.5, but admitted students typically come in near the top of the 3.77–4.00 range. Coordinating all of this — IGETC areas, science prerequisites, application timelines, and supplemental materials — is a lot to manage alone. That's where tools like Pipeline come in, helping Santa Monica College students build a personalized, semester-by-semester transfer plan so nothing falls through the cracks on the road to UCLA.
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