Irvine Valley College to UCSB
Psychological and Brain Sciences Transfer Plan
IVC covers 9 of the 11 prep requirements for UCSB's Psychological and Brain Sciences major, including PSYC C1000, your calculus option and the full chemistry and biology sequences. The other two, PSY 10A and PSY 10B, must be taken at UCSB itself.
From
Irvine Valley College
To
UC Santa Barbara
Psychological and Brain SciencesUC TAG for Santa Barbara
UCSB is one of six UC campuses that offers TAG. Meet a 3.4 GPA and the other TAG terms, and admission to the Pre-PBS pre-major is guaranteed, though full major status still needs the department's own GPA rules met.
Major Requirements
Psychological and Brain Sciences Major Preparation
Courses at Irvine Valley College that satisfy UC Santa Barbara's Psychological and Brain Sciences major preparation, mapped and verified by Transfermatic's transfer engine.
| Course at Irvine Valley College | Satisfies at UCSB | Units |
|---|---|---|
| PSYC C1000 or PSYC C1000H — Introduction to Psychology | PSY 1 — Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| MATH 11 — A Brief Course in Calculus | MATH 34A — Calculus for Social and Life Sciences (choose 1) | 4 |
| MATH 3A or MATH 3AH — Analytic Geometry and Calculus I | MATH 3A — Calculus with Applications, First Course (choose 1) | 5 |
| ECON 10 (or another listed option) — Statistics for Business and Economics | PSTAT 5A — Understanding Data | 3 |
| No IVC match | PSY 10A — Research Methods in Psychological & Brain Sciences | — |
| No IVC match | PSY 10B — Statistical Methods in Psychological & Brain Sciences | — |
| (CHEM 1A or CHEM 1AH) and (CHEM 1B or CHEM 1BH) — General Chemistry I | CHEM 1A, CHEM 1B | 5 |
| BIO 81 (or another listed option) — Integrated Biology: From DNA to Organisms | MCDB 1A, EEMB 2 (choose 1) | 4 |
| ANTH 2 or ANTH 2H — Cultural Anthropology | ANTH 2 — Introductory Cultural Anthropology (choose 4) | 3 |
| ANTH 1 or ANTH 1H — Introduction to Biological Anthropology | ANTH 5 — Introductory Biological Anthropology (choose 4) | 3 |
| (CHEM 1AH or CHEM 1A) and (CHEM 1B or CHEM 1BH) — General Chemistry 1 Honors | CHEM 1C — General Chemistry (choose 4) | 5 |
| CS 10 — Introduction to Programming Using Python | CMPSC 8 — Introduction to Computer Science (choose 4) | 3 |
| CS 36 or CS 37 — C Programming | CMPSC 16 — Problem Solving with Computers I (choose 4) | 3 |
| GEOL 1 — Physical Geology | EARTH 2 — Principles of Physical Geology (choose 4) | 4 |
Courses with no equivalent must be taken at UC Santa Barbara after transfer. Factor this into your first-year course plan.
General Education
Foundation GE at Irvine Valley College
Complete these five courses at Irvine Valley College to start your UCSB GE pattern. Finishing full IGETC/Cal-GETC at the CC is ideal — these five give you the broadest head start, and CCN-tagged courses stay portable if you switch community colleges.
BIO 1
The Life Sciences
CHEM 12A
Organic Chemistry
HIST 1
The History of World Civilizations to 1500
ENGL C1000
Academic Reading and Writing
ENGL C1001
Critical Thinking and Writing
| Area | Course at Irvine Valley College | Units |
|---|---|---|
Life Science | BIO 1 — The Life Sciences | 3 |
Physical Science | CHEM 12A — Organic Chemistry | 5 |
Humanities | HIST 1 — The History of World Civilizations to 1500 | 3 |
English CompositionCCN | ENGL C1000 — Academic Reading and Writing | 4 |
Critical ThinkingCCN | ENGL C1001 — Critical Thinking and Writing | 4 |
Chemistry needs three semesters minimum
MATH 124 feeds into CHEM 1A, which feeds into CHEM 1B. That's three semesters back to back at minimum, so start the math prerequisite your first term at IVC.
IVC runs semesters, UCSB runs quarters
IVC runs on semesters and UCSB on quarters, so PSY 10A, PSY 10B and everything else you take after transfer come in ten-week terms, three a year.
Preview
Your First Semester
A preview of what Transfermatic generates — exact courses, in the right order, every semester.
Watch Out
Common Mistakes for This Transfer Path
Pick one calculus course
Area I asks for MATH 34A or MATH 3A, not both. At IVC that's MATH 11 for MATH 34A, or MATH 3A or MATH 3AH for MATH 3A. MATH 3B counts only as an Area III option.
Statistics has eight accepted options
PSTAT 5A can come from ECON 10, HLTH 10, MGT 10, PSYC 10 or STAT C1000, honors versions included. Take whichever section fits your term, not a specific one.
One C- is the ceiling, not the floor
UCSB's psych department caps you at a single grade of C- across the Area I and Area II courses, and nothing below that. Plan retakes before it becomes a problem.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Does IVC PSYC C1000 transfer to UCSB for psychology?
Yes. PSYC C1000, or the honors PSYC C1000H, satisfies UCSB's PSY 1 requirement directly, no separate approval needed.
What classes does IVC not cover for UCSB psychology?
PSY 10A and PSY 10B. UCSB's notes say both must be taken at UCSB, with 10A before 10B, so they aren't an IVC gap. Nothing specific is required for admission, but UCSB highly recommends intro psych, calculus, statistics and general chemistry before transfer.
What's the admit rate for UCSB Psychological and Brain Sciences?
72% of all transfer applicants to the major were admitted in UCSB's 2025 data. That's across every applicant, not specific to IVC.
What order should I take my IVC psych prep in?
Start MATH 124, since it leads into the CHEM 1A and CHEM 1B sequence that takes three semesters minimum. Fit PSYC C1000 and your calculus course in alongside it.
Explore More
Related Transfer Plans
Irvine Valley College students heading toward UC Santa Barbara's Psychological and Brain Sciences, B.S. can cover most of the department's pre-major list before they leave IVC, from PSYC C1000 through the CHEM 1A and CHEM 1B sequence. The two research-methods courses, PSY 10A and PSY 10B, must be taken at UCSB, so they wait until after transfer. A tool like Transfermatic can lay out which IVC sections to register for each term so the math prerequisite, chemistry sequence and statistics option line up before you apply.
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