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Transfer Credit Equivalency

This information is intended to assist you in receiving chemistry course credit for courses taken outside of UC San Diego.

The courses listed below have been pre-approved for equivalency with UCSD Chemistry and Biochemistry coursework.

If you see your coursework listed below, you will need to send the chemistry department a VAC message letting us know which coursework you took and the UCSD equivalency in order for us to attach your credit.

Important Note Regarding Pre-Requisites

If you are planning to take a course at another institution that is equivalent to a course at UCSD, but you need to enroll in the following course in the sequence (i.e. completing CHEM 6A over the summer elsewhere but enrolling in CHEM 6B here in the Fall), please know that we cannot approve you to enroll in the subsequent course until you have proof you have completed the pre-requisite. You may submit an unofficial transcript that shows your final grade via an EASy request to enroll in the course. Any requests for in-progress courses will be denied until the course is completed. 

If you do NOT see your institution or coursework listed below, you will need to submit a course substitution petition or pre-approval petition to the Chemistry and Biochemistry department. Approval is not guaranteed.

If you will be taking coursework as part of a Study Abroad program, please refer to the Study Abroad as a Chemistry Major page for additional guidelines on how to apply coursework to your chemistry major.

If you are a visiting (non-UCSD) student:

Please consult your home campus department to ensure accepted transfer courses and verify policies and procedures for transfer credit.

Organic Chemistry: If your organic chemistry course was taken during or after Fall 2022, whether it is approved on one of the lists below or petitioned with our department, it will credit to your Academic History as CHEM 41. This is to reflect the changes to our Organic Chemistry sequence and the new CHEM 40 series, please see our FAQ for more details.

Requirements to Note

48 Upper-Division Major Requirement

All majors in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department are required to complete a minimum of 48 upper-division units within the major at UCSD. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that they meet this residency requirement, especially those who plan to take major upper-division coursework at another institution (e.g. via Study Abroad or another university).

Department Residency

All Chemistry/Biochemistry majors are required to complete at least six (6) upper-division courses within the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that they meet this residency requirement, especially those who plan to take major upper-division coursework at another institution (e.g. via Study Abroad or another university).

Additional Major Requirements

Policies and Deadlines

Previously Approved Courses Equivalency List

University of California (UC) Schools

  • UC classes taken Fall 2018 and later: Once your UC transfer course has posted to your Academic History, you should receive the UCSD credit automatically. If you do not, send a message via the VAC to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry requesting to have UCSD course credit attached to your transfer course. Ex. CHEM 1A (UC Irvine) = CHEM 6A (UCSD) 
  • UC classes taken prior to Fall 2018: You will not receive UCSD chemistry credit automatically. Send a message via the VAC to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry requesting to have UCSD course credit attached to your transfer course.

If you are a UCSD student planning to take a course at another UC:

  • Find an approved course on our list.
  • Take the course for a letter grade. You must receive a passing grade* in order to have the class count toward any major requirement within the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department. You may not take these classes P/NP. If your major is outside of the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department, please contact your major department for grade requirements.
  • Submit transcript as soon as possible to UCSD Admissions and wait for course to post to your academic history. This may take up to 8 weeks to process

California Community Colleges

  • Please check assist.org to see the pre-approved course equivalencies for your coursework
  • If you took your coursework at 2 different community colleges in two different districts, you will need to submit a course substitution petition in order for our department to review your coursework for UCSD equivalency
  • If you took chemistry coursework at two different colleges within the same district and if both colleges use the same course numbering, it is likely that you will NOT need to petition. However, you will need to send us a  VAC message so that your record can be updated. 

Out of Country Universities

For Study Abroad Courses

  • If the course you wish to take meets the minimum criteria listed in the Applying Coursework Taken Abroad Toward the Major section of the Study Abroad page and is listed below, please send the Chemistry and Biochemistry department a message via the VAC after the course has posted to your UCSD academic history. We will then apply the stated UCSD equivalent credit to your record.
  • If you wish to receive credit for conducting lab research abroad, see instructions here.