This page will explain important guidelines to prepare the Berkeley Economics major as a new transfer student. It is important to know that you are not officially admitted to the Economics major yet; all new transfer students must apply to the major during their first semester on the Berkeley campus. This means completing all prerequisite courses (or their equivalent) and enrolling in any remaining courses immediately during the first semester at Berkeley.
Transfer students should have the following courses COMPLETED before their first semester at Berkeley:
To find equivalent coursework at a California Community College, use https://assist.org/. Click here to learn more about transferring Economics credit to the major.
Economics Major Advising for Transfer Students
There are five prerequisite courses for the Economics Major. All five classes (or their equivalent) must be completed prior to acceptance to the major and all must be taken for a letter grade. For a detailed explanation of the Economics admission process, please review our Prospective Student Page. If you are transferring from a California community college, check your courses on assist.org to ensure that they are equivalent to the Berkeley courses.
Introduction to Economics: ONE course or equivalent required.
*Calculus: You must take both A and B of either sequence. TWO courses or equivalent required.
*Introduction to Statistics: ONE course or equivalent required.
* At least one math or stat prerequisite course must be taken at UC Berkeley. For most transfer students, this is typically the statistics course. Please note: For students choosing STAT 88 to fulfill the statistics requirement, STAT/COMPSCI/INFO C8 must be completed before or at the same time as STAT 88.
**Intermediate Economic Theory: ONE course required to apply for the major.
** The prerequisite intermediate theory course must be taken at UC Berkeley. UGBA 101A cannot be used as a prerequisite for the major. No exceptions. UGBA 101B is considered outside the department. Economics majors are allowed to complete up to two courses from outside the department to count towards major requirements
Please view our Sample Transfer Student Plan for details on your first semester schedule and information on how to plan for your next four semesters at Berkeley.
Students transferring economics prerequisite credit from another UC campus, other 4-year, or out-of-state institution are encouraged to consult with an economics advisor to determine acceptable alternative prerequsite coursework. An upper division Economics course and one of our quantitative prerequisites must be taken in the first semester. Students should follow petition procedures below. Contact an economics advisor at ugrad@econ.berkeley.edu if you have any questions.
Enroll in any remaining prerequisite courses you did not fulfill with transfer credit. Remember, you need at least a total of 13 units to be considered full-time in L&S. We recommend a balanced course load of 13-16 units in your first semester to help with your transition to Berkeley. For most transfer students, your first semester schedule might look similar to this:
This schedule assumes that the equivalent of a year of calculus and ECON 1 were completed prior to the student's first semester at Berkeley.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact an advisor at ugrad@econ.berkeley.edu.
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