Cognitive Science transfer to UC

At a glance

UC campuses offering it

7 of 9

Admit transfers to it

7

Publish selection criteria

6

UCLA admit rate, fall 2025

26%

UC has no Transfer Pathway for cognitive science, 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

“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

• UC Berkeley

  Cognitive Science

  Courses to finish

  To be eligible for L&S admission, students must complete all major preparatory courses listed as required on ASSIST.org for their intended major. Courses that are not articulated should be taken in the first semester at Berkeley. Source

  Selection

  Letters and Science requires a minimum 3.0 UC-transferable GPA by the end of the fall term when the application is submitted. Reading and Composition, Quantitative Reasoning and Language are no longer required for admission, though finishing the Language requirement first is strongly encouraged. Source

  Also note

  Cognitive Science is on the L&S Direct Admission Program list for transfer students admitted fall 2023 and after. Source

  Starting Fall 2027, all transfer students offered admission to L&S will be directly admitted into the major they selected, with no separate internal process to declare. Source

  Berkeley guarantees review only of the primary major, so applicants should list their intended major first on the UC application. Source

• UCLA

  Cognitive Science

  Courses to finish

  The Fall 2026 guide lists one year of calculus and Introduction to C++, plus four or more additional courses from psychology, biology, physics or chemistry or linguistics, philosophy and further programming. Source

  Selection

  The College lists Cognitive Science as a pre-major with direct admission only. No minimum GPA is stated. Source

  Also note

  Students admitted to this major are classified as pre-majors until they complete the lower-division preparation courses at UCLA. Source

  UCLA says transfer students must complete major preparation by the end of spring before transfer. 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

  UCLA admits transfer students for fall quarter only. Source

• UC San Diego

  Cognitive Science BA/BS · Cognitive Science with Specialization in Clinical Aspects of Cognition BS · Cognitive Science with Specialization in Design and Interaction BS · Cognitive Science with Specialization in Machine Learning and Neural Computation BS · Cognitive Science with Specialization in Neuroscience BS · Cognitive Science with Specialization in Language and Culture BS

  Courses to finish

  UC San Diego does not screen this major for minimum transfer preparation. The admissions page encourages applicants to still complete the major preparation shown on ASSIST.org. Source

  Also note

  The minimum transfer GPA for UC San Diego eligibility is 2.4 for California residents and 2.8 for nonresidents. Source

• UC Irvine

  Cognitive Sciences, B.S.

  Courses to finish

  Complete calculus equivalent to UCI MATH 2A and 2B and psychology equivalent to UCI COGS 9A and 9C, all with a grade of B or better. Also complete three semesters or three quarters of lower-division science courses (six courses recommended). Source

  Selection

  A cumulative UC transferable GPA of 3.2 is required (3.4 for TAG). Source

• UC Davis

  Cognitive Science, B.A. · Cognitive Science, B.S.

  Courses to finish

  The 2026-27 catalog lists B.A. preparatory courses in introduction to cognitive science, introduction to linguistics, symbolic logic, minds brains and computers, general psychology, research methods in psychology and elementary statistics. Source

  The B.S. adds calculus, linear algebra, discrete math and a programming series for the Computational Emphasis, or biology, calculus and physics series for the Neuroscience Emphasis. Source

  Selection

  Cognitive Science is not marked as a selective major in the Fall 2027 transfer brochure and has no major-specific GPA requirement listed. Source

  Also note

  TAG for the College of Letters and Science requires at least a 3.20 GPA for all majors. Source

  The Fall 2027 transfer brochure encourages transfer students to complete as much major preparation coursework as possible before transfer. Fall 2027 applicants use ASSIST academic year 2025-26. Source

• UC Santa Cruz

  Cognitive Science B.S.

  Courses to finish

  Required before transfer are one calculus course (AM 11A, MATH 11A, 16A, 19A or 20A), one statistics course (PSYC 2, STAT 5, or STAT 7 with 7L) and one programming course (CSE 13S, CSE 20, CSE 30 or ECE 13), done by the end of spring term before fall entry (2026-27 catalog). Source

  PSYC 20 (Cognition) is recommended but not required before transfer, and completing Cal-GETC is encouraged. Source

  Selection

  Each required course must be passed with a C (2.0) or higher, with a cumulative GPA of 2.8 across the required courses. Applicants with exam credit for a course need a 2.8 GPA in the remaining coursework (2026-27 catalog). Source

  Also note

  Cognitive Science is on UCSC's Fall 2026 screening majors list. Source

• UC Merced

  Cognitive Science, B.A. · Cognitive Science, B.S.

  Courses to finish

  Cognitive Science requires COGS 001 or PSY 001, PSY 010, and one of MATH 005, 011 or 021 (Fall 2027). For the B.A., applicants with under 60 units are limited to MATH 005 or 011. Source

  Selection

  UC Merced requires a minimum 2.4 GPA for California residents (2.8 for nonresidents). Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts majors allow no D or F grades in major coursework and at most two in non-major coursework (Fall 2027). Required courses need a C or better. Source

  Also note

  Course numbers are UC Merced's own. The page directs community college students to ASSIST.org for equivalent courses. Source

  Cognitive Science is not among the SSHA pilot majors that waive major-specific criteria through Fall 2027. Source

Not offered at UC Santa Barbara, UC Riverside.

UCLA’s numbers

Admit rate

26%

Applicants

306

Admitted GPA, middle half

3.82–3.95

UCLA reports these for Cognitive Science (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 cognitive science at the TAG campuses that offer it, from UC’s TAG matrix.

How TAG works at all six campuses

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Questions

Sources

1. Berkeley: Cognitive Science preparation
2. Berkeley: Cognitive Science selection criteria
3. Berkeley: Cognitive Science notes
4. UCLA: Cognitive Science preparation
5. UCLA: Cognitive Science selection criteria
6. UCLA: Cognitive Science notes
7. San Diego: Cognitive Science preparation
8. San Diego: Cognitive Science notes
9. Irvine: Cognitive Science preparation
10. Davis: Cognitive Science preparation
11. Davis: Cognitive Science preparation
12. Davis: Cognitive Science selection criteria
13. Davis: Cognitive Science notes
14. Santa Cruz: Cognitive Science preparation
15. Santa Cruz: Cognitive Science notes
16. Merced: Cognitive Science preparation
17. Merced: Cognitive Science notes
18. UCLA Transfer Profile by Major, Fall 2025
19. UC TAG Matrix, fall 2027
20. UC TAG Matrix, fall 2027
21. UC TAG Matrix, fall 2027
22. ASSIST