UC Davis' international admission specialists offer these tips for students with foreign academic records.
Am I Considered An International or Domestic Student?
You are considered an international applicant if you need a visa in order to reside and study in the United States. If you are a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, refugee or asylee, you are considered a domestic applicant even if you currently reside outside the U.S.
If you will be residing in the United States on a visa, learn about special requirements for international students.
Applying with Foreign Education
All transfer applicants are considered using the same eligibility requirements and are included in the same selection process. If you have attended both foreign and U.S. colleges or universities, both your foreign and U.S. courses and grades will be considered. You may also be required to demonstrate English proficiency.
English Proficiency
If you have been studying in the U.S. for less than two years and your native language and school language of instruction prior to your study in the U.S. was not English, you must demonstrate English proficiency. You may do so in one of the following ways:
- Complete the two transferable college courses (3 semester or 4-5 quarter units each) in English composition required for transfer eligibility. The courses must be taken at an accredited U.S. college or university and you must receive "C" grades or better.
- Achieve a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), 213 on the computer-based TOEFL, or 80 on the Internet-based TOEFL. For more information, visit the TOEFL Web site.
- Achieve a minimum score of 7 (academic module) on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). For more information see the IELTS Web site. Your IELTS score must be sent directly to the following address: Undergraduate Admissions University of California One Shields Avenue Davis, CA 95616-8507
- Achieve a score of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP Exam in English Language and Composition or English Literature and Composition.
- Achieve a score of 5, 6 or 7 on the International Baccalaureate (IB), Higher Level examination in English (Language A).
- Achieve a score of 6 or higher on the International Baccalaureate (IB), Standard Level examination in English (Language A).
- Achieve a score of 560 or higher on the Writing section of the SAT Reasoning Test.
Foreign Academic Records
When you apply, you must report all foreign coursework as it would appear on your foreign academic records. Find out how to report foreign education in your application and get answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about foreign academic records.
Transferring to UC Davis after Earning a Degree in Your Home Country
If your degree is recognized by the university as comparable to a U.S. bachelor’s degree, it may be possible to apply for undergraduate admission for a second degree. Contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office to discuss your situation. When applications can be considered, the second degree must be in a different subject area from that which your first degree was awarded. If you have completed a three-year bachelor’s degree in India you should apply as a transfer student, not as a second baccalaureate student.
Meeting English Composition Coursework Requirements
One of the eligibility requirements for all transfer students is two transferable courses in English composition with grades of "C" or better. If you are applying to transfer directly from a foreign college or university where English is not the language of instruction, you are strongly encouraged to take as much English as your curriculum will allow. It is very unlikely that any of your English courses will transfer to UC Davis, but your English preparation will make your application more competitive. You will need to demonstrate your English proficiency with one of the approved examinations listed above in the section labeled “English Proficiency.”
Determining Course Transferability
- Check to see if your school is recognized by your country's Ministry of Education (or the appropriate government agency) or a U.S. accrediting agency. The school must be well recognized in order for us to accept any credit.
- You must also be enrolled in a university level academic degree program comparable to a U.S. Associate's or Bachelor's degree. Terminal vocational or technical programs are often not transferable to UC Davis even if taken at recognized institutions.
- Get descriptions of all of your subjects and the UC Davis catalog, available online at registrar.ucdavis.edu.
- Determine if your subjects are similar to any subjects offered at UC Davis. We will only consider transfer credit for subjects that are similar to those offered in the UC system.
- If you cannot find a comparable course at UC Davis, then look in the catalogs of the other UC campuses. A course may also be transferable if it is offered somewhere in the UC system.
- Remedial academic subjects, such as English taught as a second language and high school level math, are not transferable. Although there are some remedial subjects offered at UC Davis, you will notice in our catalog that they are also worth no credit toward a degree.
Whether or not you believe your coursework will be transferable, you will be required to report ALL college and university coursework undertaken in your application. No final decisions on transfer credit will be made until you officially apply and enroll at UC Davis.
Transferable Secondary School Credit
Transfer credit is considered for students who have taken the GCE or Hong Kong Advanced Level Examinations and earned grades of “C” or higher. UC Davis does not routinely award transfer credit for the German Abitur, the Swiss Federal Maturity Certificate, the Italian Maturita, or the French Baccalaureate. If you completed GCE A-level or the HKALE, you must report your scores in your application. If you did not receive “C” grades please report your exam scores anyway. Poor A-level/HKALE scores will not be counted against you as a transfer student.
Foreign Junior Colleges and Diploma Programs
You are required to report your junior/community college or diploma program courses along with all other post secondary coursework in your application. However, UC Davis generally does not transfer credit from junior/community college programs that are technical or vocational in nature, or that do not lead on to further academic study at a university. Usually, coursework from Japanese and Malaysian junior colleges does not transfer. Limited transfer credit may be considered for Indian engineering diploma programs when students have continued their education in a bachelor’s degree program. Applicants usually are not able to transfer directly from Indian diploma programs to UC Davis. |
