Global studies transfer to UC

Global and International Studies has no UC Transfer Pathway, so each campus sets its own preparation. 7 of the nine campuses offer it.

Checked against official UC and campus sources in November 2026.

At a glance

UC campuses offering it: 7 of 9
Admit transfers to it: 7
Publish selection criteria: 5
TAG campuses covering it: 3

UC has no Transfer Pathway for global and international studies, 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	Global Studies	Yes	Yes, see below	ASSIST
UCLA	Global Studies, International Development Studies	Yes	Yes, see below	ASSIST
UC San Diego	International Studies BA	Yes	None stated	ASSIST
UC Irvine	International Studies, B.A., Global Cultures, B.A.and 1 more	Yes	Yes, see below	ASSIST
UC Davis	International Relations	Yes	Yes, see below	ASSIST
UC Santa Barbara	Global Studies, B.A.	Yes	None stated	ASSIST
UC Santa Cruz	Not offered	—	—	—
UC Riverside	Global Studies	Not stated	Yes, see below	ASSIST
UC Merced	Not offered	—	—	—

“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
Global Studies
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
Global Studies is not on the L&S Direct Admission Program list for students admitted up to fall 2026. 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
Global Studies · International Development Studies
Courses to finish
The Fall 2026 guide lists at least six courses for Global Studies from a list that includes globalization, statistics, sociocultural anthropology, world literature and micro- or macroeconomics. No more than one semester of foreign language counts and high school language does not. Source
The Fall 2026 guide lists at least six courses for International Development Studies from development studies, economics, statistics, anthropology, geography, globalization, politics, sociology and gender studies. Source
Selection
The College lists Global Studies and International Development Studies as highly selective pre-majors. 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
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
International Studies BA
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 2026-27 degree list also shows 5-year International Studies BA/MIA options in Economics, International Business and Political Science. Source
The minimum transfer GPA for UC San Diego eligibility is 2.4 for California residents and 2.8 for nonresidents. Source
UC Irvine
International Studies, B.A. · Global Cultures, B.A. · Global Middle East Studies, B.A.
Courses to finish
International Studies lists no specific lower-division courses beyond the GPA requirement. Source
Global Cultures and Global Middle East Studies require two UC transferable English composition courses and recommend lower-division coursework in composition, literature, history and philosophy. Source
Selection
International Studies, Global Cultures and Global Middle East Studies each require a cumulative UC transferable GPA of 2.7 (3.4 for TAG). Source
UC Davis
International Relations
Courses to finish
The 2026-27 catalog lists microeconomics (or cultural anthropology), macroeconomics, Western civilization or world history, comparative politics, international relations, scientific study of politics and one statistics course. Source
The major also requires working knowledge of one modern language other than English, about 24 to 30 units or equivalent fluency. Source
Selection
International Relations is not marked as a selective major in the Fall 2027 transfer brochure and has no major-specific GPA requirement listed. Source
Also note
The Fall 2027 transfer brochure lists no Global Studies major. Source
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 Barbara
Global Studies, B.A.
Courses to finish
For Fall 2027, UCSB strongly recommends completing general education, IGETC or Cal-GETC plus two history courses and two years of a modern foreign language. Source
Also note
The Fall 2027 guide lists only recommended courses for this major, with no required courses or GPA screen. Source
UC Riverside
Global Studies
Selection
UCR's Majors Preparation Guide states that all CHASS majors require a minimum 2.4 GPA in UC-transferable coursework, with required courses passed at C or better unless noted. Global Studies itself is not listed in the guide. Source
Also note
Global Studies is listed as a CHASS major. Political Science also offers an International Affairs option. Source
The Majors Preparation Guide directs students to ASSIST.org for majors it does not include. Source

Not offered at UC Santa Cruz, UC Merced.

UC Santa Cruz has no global studies or international relations major. Its closest options are Global Economics B.A. and Politics B.A.

UC Merced has no global studies major. Its Political Science B.A. offers an International Relations emphasis.

Transfer Admission Guarantee

Six campuses offer TAG. These are the fall 2027 terms for global and international studies 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	Davis offers International Relations, which is not on the matrix exclusion list, so TAG applies at the 3.2 minimum.
UC Irvine	Yes	3.40	Global Cultures B.A. and International Studies B.A. are not on the fall 2027 exclusion list, and UCI lists a 3.4 GPA for TAG for both.
UC Santa Barbara	Yes	3.40	Global Studies B.A. is a Letters and Science major not on the exclusion list. If it has a pre-major, TAG guarantees only the pre-major.

How TAG works at all six campuses

Questions

Which UC campuses offer global and international studies?

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

Is there a UC Transfer Pathway for global and international studies?

No. Each campus sets its own global and international studies preparation, listed on this page. Use ASSIST to match your community college courses to each campus.

Can I get a TAG for global and international studies?

Yes at UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, under the fall 2027 TAG matrix.

At a glance

Campus by campus

What each campus expects

UC Berkeley

UCLA

UC San Diego

UC Irvine

UC Davis

UC Santa Barbara

UC Riverside

Transfer Admission Guarantee

Related majors

Questions

Sources