Santa Monica College to UCLA
Psychology Transfer Plan
Semester-by-semester courses, IGETC requirements, and major prerequisites — verified from real articulation data.
From
Santa Monica College
To
UCLA
PsychologyGPA Reality Check
UCLA's minimum transferable GPA is 3.0, but the mid-50th percentile for admitted Psychology transfers in Fall 2024 ran from 3.81 to 4.00 — with a median around 3.90. The floor and the reality are miles apart. Your major prep GPA is weighted most heavily, so the grades you earn in PSYCH 1, MATH 54, and your science and philosophy courses matter more than anything else on your transcript. Psychology is listed by UCLA itself as a highly selective major, which means they expect most or all of your prep to be done before the fall semester prior to your application year — not just by spring.
Transfer Alliance Program (TAP)
The Transfer Alliance Program (TAP) gives SMC students a real edge — certified applicants get priority consideration for admission to majors in the UCLA College, which includes Psychology. To get certified, you need to enroll in the SMC Scholars Program, complete the required honors coursework, and be certified by your Scholars Program counselor before submitting your UC application. In Fall 2023, TAP-certified SMC Scholars Program students were admitted to UCLA at a 91% rate — compared to the broader transfer admit rate of around 22% for Psychology.
Major Requirements
Psychology (College of Letters and Science B.S.) Major Preparation
Psychology (College of Letters and Science B.S.) at UCLA
Courses at Santa Monica College that satisfy UCLA's Psychology major preparation, verified via ASSIST.org.
UCLA offers both Psychology (B.S.) and Psychobiology (B.S.) — they sound similar but are very different tracks. Psychobiology is a life-sciences-heavy program with a much heavier chemistry, biology, and lab requirement and is more pre-med oriented. Cognitive Science is a third option that blends psychology, linguistics, and computer science. You must be admitted directly into your intended major — you cannot switch into Psychology after admission, so pick the right one before you apply.
| Course at Santa Monica College | Satisfies at UCLA | Units |
|---|---|---|
| PSYCH 1 — General Psychology | PSYCH 10 | 3 |
| MATH 54 — Elementary Statistics | STATS 10 — Introduction to Statistical Reasoning | 4 |
| BIOL 21 — Cell and Molecular Biology | Life Science preparation requirement | 4 |
| CHEM 11 — General Chemistry I | Physical Science preparation requirement | 5 |
| PHILOS 7 — Introduction to Logic | Philosophy preparation requirement | 3 |
| HIST 1 — History of Western Civilization I | Social Science / Historical Studies preparation requirement | 3 |
| MATH 7 — Calculus 1 | Mathematics preparation requirement (calculus-level) | 5 |
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 |
PSYCH 1 → PSYCH 100B
UCLA enforces PSYCH 10 (equivalent to SMC's PSYCH 1) as a hard prerequisite for PSYCH 100B, one of the required research methods courses you'll need to declare full major standing. If you arrive without PSYCH 1 completed, the system will lock you out of 100B your first quarter — costing you at minimum one full quarter of on-track progress.
UCLA runs on quarters — SMC runs on semesters
When you transfer, your pace shifts dramatically: UCLA quarters are only 10 weeks long, courses move fast, and you'll get your first enrollment pass before many of your classmates — so map out your first two quarters of Psychology prep before you even arrive on campus.
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
Don't Stack Science and Stats in One Semester
SMC runs on semesters while UCLA runs on quarters — that means your two years at SMC have to cover what UCLA quarter-system students spread across three years of prep work. Resist the urge to load up: taking BIOL 21, CHEM 11, and MATH 54 all in the same semester is a GPA disaster waiting to happen, and your major prep GPA is exactly what UCLA is scrutinizing. A smarter plan is to take PSYCH 1 and MATH 54 together in your first semester, then hit the sciences in your second and third semesters when you're in a stronger study groove.
Finish All Seven Prep Courses Before Fall — Not Just by Spring
UCLA explicitly calls Psychology a 'highly selective' major and strongly encourages applicants to complete all prep by the fall term before transfer — not the spring. That means if you're applying in November for fall transfer, UCLA wants to see all seven prep courses either already done or in progress by that prior fall. If you wait to finish CHEM 11 or PHILOS 7 in the spring semester, you're taking a real risk with how competitive your app looks.
SMC's Scholars Program Is Your Fastest Path to TAP
Unlike some community colleges where TAP certification is a separate honors contract process, at SMC the path runs entirely through the Scholars Program. You need to be enrolled in and complete the Scholars Program to get certified — there's no workaround. Sign up as early as your first semester, because honors coursework takes time to complete and late enrollment can make certification impossible before your application deadline.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What GPA do I need to transfer from Santa Monica College to UCLA Psychology?
The official minimum is a 3.0 transferable GPA, but admitted Psychology transfer students in Fall 2024 had a mid-50th percentile GPA range of 3.81 to 4.00 — with a median of around 3.90. Your grades in major prep courses like PSYCH 1 and MATH 54 at SMC carry the most weight, so treat those courses as your most important GPA opportunities.
What courses do I need to take at Santa Monica College for UCLA Psychology?
UCLA requires seven lower-division prep courses for Psychology: an intro psychology course (SMC's PSYCH 1), a statistics course (SMC's MATH 54), a life science, a physical science, a math course at the calculus level, a philosophy course, and a social science or history course. You should verify the exact articulated equivalents on ASSIST.org, since course-to-course matches are confirmed there and can change year to year.
Does the UCLA Transfer Alliance Program help SMC students get into Psychology?
Yes — TAP gives priority consideration to certified applicants for majors in the UCLA College, and Psychology is one of them. At SMC, TAP certification flows through the Scholars Program, and in Fall 2023, TAP-certified SMC Scholars Program students were admitted to UCLA at a 91% rate overall. You need to enroll in the Scholars Program early to complete the honors coursework before your application deadline.
How many SMC students apply to UCLA each year?
In 2024, 1,715 Santa Monica College students applied to UCLA — making SMC the single largest community college feeder to UCLA by applicant volume. Of those, 32% were accepted overall across all majors. SMC has been the top transfer college to the entire UC system for 35 consecutive years, which reflects the strength of the SMC-to-UCLA pipeline.
Can I switch into UCLA Psychology after I transfer in a different major?
No — UCLA explicitly states that you must be admitted directly into Psychology (or Pre-Psychology) and that you will not be able to change into this major after admission. This means picking the right major on your UC application is critical. If you're a TAP participant and aren't admitted to Psychology, UCLA will consider you for an alternate major you listed, but that alternate also cannot be Psychology if you weren't originally admitted to it.
Explore More
Related Transfer Plans
Transferring from Santa Monica College (SMC) to UCLA as a Psychology major is one of the most competitive — and most achievable — transfer pathways in California, if you plan it right. SMC has been the number-one community college feeder to the UC system for 35 consecutive years, and in 2024, 1,715 SMC students applied to UCLA with a 32% overall acceptance rate. Psychology at UCLA sits in the College of Letters and Science as a B.S. program and is classified by UCLA as a highly selective major, with Fall 2024 admit GPA ranges running from 3.81 to 4.00 for the middle half of admitted transfer students. Transfer planning for this pathway means nailing seven lower-division major prerequisites before you arrive — starting with PSYCH 1 (General Psychology) and MATH 54 (Elementary Statistics) at SMC, which articulate to UCLA's required PSYCH 10 and STATS 10, respectively. Completing IGETC at SMC is accepted for this major and takes significant GE pressure off your plate, but IGETC and major prep are separate checklists — finishing one does not mean the other is done. UCLA strongly encourages Psychology applicants to complete all major prep requirements by the fall term before applying, not just by spring. SMC students have an additional advantage through the Transfer Alliance Program (TAP), run through the SMC Scholars Program, which gives certified students priority consideration for admission to majors in the UCLA College. Tools like Pipeline can help you map out exactly which semesters to take each prerequisite, track your IGETC progress, and plan around the critical timing difference between SMC's semester calendar and UCLA's quarter system — so you arrive on campus ready to move directly into upper-division coursework.
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