Get Guaranteed Admission to UCSC!
A Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) is a formal agreement ensuring fall admission in your desired proposed major, as long as you are transferring from a California community college and as long as you agree to certain conditions.
Note: TAG is not available for the Computer Science major.
UCSC TAG Step-by-Step
- Complete the UC Transfer Admission Planner (TAP).
- Submit your TAG application between September 1 and September 30 of the year before you plan to enroll.
- Submit the UC application between October 1 and November 30 of the year before you plan to enroll. For fall 2025 applicants only, we are offering a special extended deadline of December 2, 2024. Note: The major on your UC application must match the major on your TAG application.
TAG Decisions
TAG decisions are normally released on November 15 of each year, ahead of the deadline for the regular UC application. If you have submitted a TAG, you can access your decision and information by logging into your UC Transfer Admission Planner (UC TAP) account on or after November 15. Counselors will also have direct access to their students' TAG decisions.
UCSC TAG Eligibility
The last school you attend prior to transfer must be a California community college (you may have attended colleges or universities outside of the California community college system, including institutions outside of the U.S. prior to your last term).
At the time the TAG is submitted, you must have completed a minimum of 30 UC-transferable semester (45 quarter) units and earned an overall transferable UC GPA of 3.0.
By the end of the fall term prior to transfer, you must:
- Complete the first course in English composition
- Complete the mathematics course requirement
In addition, by the end of the spring term prior to fall transfer, you must:
- Complete all other courses from the seven-course pattern, required for admission as a junior transfer
- Complete the minimum of 60 UC-transferable semester (90 quarter) units for admission as a junior transfer
- Complete a minimum of 30 UC-transferable semester (45 quarter units) of coursework from one or more California community colleges
- Complete all required major preparation courses with the required minimum grades
- Non-native speakers of English must demonstrate proficiency in English. Please go to UCSC's English Proficiency Requirement page for more information.
- Be in good academic standing (not on academic probation or dismissal status)
- Earn no grades lower than C (2.0) in UC-transferable coursework the year prior to transfer
The following students are NOT eligible for UCSC TAG:
- Students in or approaching senior standing: 80 semester (120 quarter) units or more of combined lower-and upper-division coursework. If you only attended a California Community College, you will not be considered in or approaching senior standing.
- Former UC students who are not in good standing at the UC campus they attended (less than a 2.0 GPA at UC)
- Former UCSC students, who must apply for readmission to the campus
- Students who have earned a bachelor’s degree or higher
- Students who are currently enrolled at a high school
UCSC TAG Major Preparation Selection Criteria
For all majors except those listed below, TAG is based on the criteria above only. Please see our Non-Screening Majors page for more information about these majors.
For the majors listed below, in addition to the criteria above, additional major selection criteria apply. To access these criteria, please click on the link for each major, which will take you to the screening criteria in the General Catalog.
You must complete your major preparation coursework and satisfy any major selection criteria by the end of the spring term prior to transfer.
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Earth Sciences (starting in fall 2026)