Business Economics transfer to UC

Business Economics has no UC Transfer Pathway, so each campus sets its own preparation. 8 of the nine campuses offer it, and UCLA admitted 10% of applicants for fall 2025.

Checked against official UC and campus sources in November 2026.

At a glance

UC campuses offering it: 8 of 9
Admit transfers to it: 8
Publish selection criteria: 8
UCLA admit rate, fall 2025: 10%

UC has no Transfer Pathway for business economics, so there is no shared course list. Each campus publishes its own major preparation, and ASSIST shows which of your college’s courses match it.

Campus by campus

Campus	Program	Admits transfers	Selection criteria	Courses
UC Berkeley	Not offered	—	—	—
UCLA	Business Economics (pre-major)	Yes	Yes, see below	ASSIST
UC San Diego	Business Economics BS	Yes	Yes, see below	ASSIST
UC Irvine	Business Economics, B.A.	Yes	Yes, see below	ASSIST
UC Davis	Managerial Economics, Business	Yes	Yes, see below	ASSIST
UC Santa Barbara	Economics & Accounting, B.A., Economics, B.A.	Yes	Yes, see below	ASSIST
UC Santa Cruz	Business Management Economics B.A.	Yes	Yes, see below	ASSIST
UC Riverside	Business Economics	Yes	Yes, see below	ASSIST
UC Merced	Management and Business Economics, B.S.	Yes	Yes, see below	ASSIST

“None stated” means the campus page we checked lists preparation without extra selection criteria. Every UC campus still reviews your whole application.

What each campus expects

UCLA
Business Economics (pre-major)
Courses to finish
Required: one course each in microeconomics and macroeconomics, one year of calculus from the math and physical science sequence, and introductory financial accounting and managerial accounting. Completing all preparation by the fall term before transfer is strongly recommended. Source
Selection
Business Economics is a capacity-limited, highly selective pre-major and demand significantly exceeds space. Admission is direct only and no minimum GPA is stated. Source
Also note
Applicants must be admitted as Pre-Business Economics or Pre-Economics and cannot switch into or add Business Economics after enrolling at UCLA. Source
For Fall 2027 applicants, requests to change to a major in The College, Education, Engineering, Public Affairs or Public Health are due January 1, 2027. Source
UC San Diego
Business Economics BS
Courses to finish
Business Economics screening requires MATH 20A and 20B (or 10A and 10B), ECON 1 or ECON 3, and MGT 45 or ECON/MGT 4 plus MGT 5. UC San Diego also recommends MATH 20C (or 10C) and the STEM calculus sequence when the college offers two. Source
Selection
Business Economics applicants must earn C- or better in each screening class and a minimum 2.3 overall GPA across the major preparation classes. Source
Also note
Required minimum major preparation for screened majors must be completed by the end of the spring term before fall admission. The page does not name a specific admission year. Source
The minimum transfer GPA for UC San Diego eligibility is 2.4 for California residents and 2.8 for nonresidents. Source
UC Irvine
Business Economics, B.A.
Courses to finish
Business Economics requires one course in microeconomics, one in macroeconomics and two terms of first-year calculus equivalent to UCI Mathematics 2A-B, all with a grade of B or better. Source
Selection
Business Economics requires a cumulative UC transferable GPA of 2.8 (3.4 for TAG). Source
UC Davis
Managerial Economics · Business
Courses to finish
Managerial Economics requires ECN 001A/B, a calculus series (MAT 017A/B/C, 019A/B/C or 021A/B/C) and STA 013 or 032. Source
Business (Graduate School of Management) requires Economics 001A/B, Management 011A/B, a calculus series (MAT 017A/B/C, 019A/B/C or 021A/B/C) and Statistics 013 or 032. Source
Selection
Managerial Economics is a selective major requiring a 2.00 GPA across its prep courses. TAG for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences requires at least a 3.20 GPA. Source
Also note
Business is a selective major that requires a 3.20 GPA across its prep courses and is not available via TAG. Source
Selective major courses must be taken for a letter grade with no grade below C and completed by the end of spring before fall enrollment. Summer coursework completed before transferring does not count toward admission requirements. Source
UC Santa Barbara
Economics & Accounting, B.A. · Economics, B.A.
Courses to finish
For Fall 2027, macroeconomics, microeconomics and first and second semester calculus are required before transfer. Economics & Accounting applicants are also strongly recommended to take one or two semesters of financial accounting. Source
Selection
The required courses must have no individual grade below C and a cumulative major preparation GPA of 2.75 or better. Source
Also note
UCSB's admissions majors list has no business or business economics major. Economics & Accounting and Economics are the closest listed majors. Source
Required courses must be completed by the end of the spring term before transfer. The guide is not comprehensive and directs California community college students to ASSIST. Source
UC Santa Cruz
Business Management Economics B.A.
Courses to finish
Required before transfer are one calculus course (AM 11A, MATH 11A or MATH 19A) plus ECON 1 and ECON 2, done by the end of spring term before fall entry (2026-27 catalog). Source
Also recommended before transfer are the next calculus course (AM 11B, or MATH 22 and 23A) and lower-division accounting equivalent to ECON 10A and 10B. Source
Selection
A minimum 2.8 GPA is required in the three screening courses, and the admissions office screens transfer applicants for these criteria (2026-27 catalog). Source
Also note
Business Management Economics is on UCSC's Fall 2026 screening majors list, alongside Economics and Global Economics. Source
Transfers must complete ECON 100A, 100B and 113 plus a disciplinary communication course at UCSC, and take at least three upper-division economics electives at UCSC. Source
UC Riverside
Business Economics
Courses to finish
For Business Economics (CHASS), the guide lists Math 9A as the only required preparation course. Source
Selection
Business Economics falls under the College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences minimum of a 2.4 GPA in UC-transferable coursework, with required courses passed at C or better unless noted. Source
UC Merced
Management and Business Economics, B.S.
Courses to finish
Management and Business Economics B.S. requires ECON 001 and MATH 011 or 021 (Fall 2027). Source
Selection
Management and Business Economics follows the general 2.4 GPA minimum for California residents and allows no D or F grades in major coursework (Fall 2027). Source
Also note
Course numbers are UC Merced's own. The page directs community college students to ASSIST.org for equivalent courses. Source

Not offered at UC Berkeley.

UC Berkeley has no business economics major. Its closest options are Business Administration at the Haas School of Business and Economics, each covered on its own page.

UCLA’s numbers

Admit rate: 10%
Applicants: 3,379
Admitted GPA, middle half: 3.89–4.00

UCLA reports these for Business Economics (pre-major), fall 2025, counting all transfer applicants. The GPA range is the middle half of admits. Its community college applicants as a whole were admitted at 26%.

Transfer Admission Guarantee

Six campuses offer TAG. These are the fall 2027 terms for business economics at the TAG campuses that offer it, from UC’s TAG matrix.

Campus	TAG	GPA line	What the matrix says
UC Davis	Yes	3.20	Managerial Economics is a selective major open to TAG at the 3.2 minimum plus major prep GPA requirements. Only the Business major is excluded.
UC Irvine	Yes	3.40	Business Economics is open to TAG for fall 2027, but the matrix lists it among majors excluded starting with fall 2028 admission.
UC Merced	Yes	2.80	Management and Business Economics is open to TAG at the 2.8 School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts minimum, with ECON 001 and a math prerequisite.
UC Riverside	Yes	2.80	Business Economics is a CHASS major open to TAG at the 2.8 CHASS minimum and requires major preparation.
UC Santa Cruz	Yes	3.00	Business Management Economics is a UCSC screening major open to TAG with added major preparation criteria.

How TAG works at all six campuses

Questions

Which UC campuses offer business economics?

8 of the nine: UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz, UC Riverside, UC Merced. UC Berkeley doesn’t offer it.

Is there a UC Transfer Pathway for business economics?

No. Each campus sets its own business economics preparation, listed on this page. Use ASSIST to match your community college courses to each campus.

Can I get a TAG for business economics?

Yes at UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Merced, UC Riverside, UC Santa Cruz, under the fall 2027 TAG matrix.

How hard is it to transfer to UCLA for business economics?

UCLA admitted 10% of 3,379 transfer applicants to Business Economics (pre-major) for fall 2025, and the middle half of admits had GPAs of 3.89–4.00.