San Diego Mesa College to UCSB
Economics Transfer Plan
Mesa covers four of the six courses UCSB screens Economics transfers on: ECON 121, ECON 120 and a calculus pair, either MATH 150 and MATH 151 or MATH 121 and MATH 122. ECON 10A and a statistics course have no Mesa match, so both wait until after you transfer.
From
San Diego Mesa College
To
UC Santa Barbara
EconomicsUCSB Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG)
Mesa students who reach a 3.4 GPA can apply for UCSB TAG in Economics. TAG guarantees only the Pre-Economics pre-major, and reaching the full major still requires a 2.85 GPA in ECON 1, 2 and 10A once you're enrolled.
Major Requirements
Economics Major Preparation
Courses at San Diego Mesa College that satisfy UC Santa Barbara's Economics major preparation, mapped and verified by Transfermatic's transfer engine.
| Course at San Diego Mesa College | Satisfies at UCSB | Units |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 121 — Principles of Microeconomics | ECON 1 — Principles of Economics-Micro | 3 |
| ECON 120 — Principles of Macroeconomics | ECON 2 — Principles of Economics-Macro | 3 |
| MATH 150 — Calculus with Analytic Geometry I | MATH 3A — Calculus with Applications, First Course (choose 1) | 5 |
| MATH 121 — Basic Techniques of Applied Calculus I | MATH 34A — Calculus for Social and Life Sciences (choose 1) | 3 |
| MATH 151 — Calculus with Analytic Geometry II | MATH 3B — Calculus with Applications, Second Course (choose 1) | 4 |
| MATH 122 — Basic Techniques of Calculus II | MATH 34B — Calculus for Social and Life Sciences (choose 1) | 3 |
| No Mesa match | ECON 10A — Intermediate Microeconomic Theory | — |
| No Mesa match for any of 2 options | ECON 5 — Statistics for Economics and others (choose 1) | — |
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 San Diego Mesa College
Complete these five courses at San Diego Mesa 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.
BIOL 100
Natural History - Environmental Biology
CHEM 100
Fundamentals of Chemistry
HIST 100
World History I
ENGL C1000
Academic Reading and Writing
ENGL C1001
Critical Thinking and Writing
| Area | Course at San Diego Mesa College | Units |
|---|---|---|
Life Science | BIOL 100 — Natural History - Environmental Biology | 4 |
Physical Science | CHEM 100 — Fundamentals of Chemistry | 3 |
Humanities | HIST 100 — World History I | 3 |
English CompositionCCN | ENGL C1000 — Academic Reading and Writing | 3 |
Critical ThinkingCCN | ENGL C1001 — Critical Thinking and Writing | 3 |
Mesa semesters, UCSB quarters
UCSB counts each Mesa semester unit as one and a half quarter units. Your two-course calculus sequence, whichever track you pick, still maps one-to-one onto UCSB's two-term requirement.
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
Neither calculus path is a single class
Mesa has no one-course shortcut through UCSB's calculus screen. Both routes take two semesters: MATH 150 then MATH 151 for the STEM track, or MATH 121 then MATH 122 for the business track.
AP scores won't replace ECON 121 or 120
UCSB screens Economics applicants on completed coursework, not AP scores. ECON 121 for micro and ECON 120 for macro both need a grade of C or better at Mesa, whatever your AP results say.
2.75 GPA covers four courses, no exceptions
UCSB averages ECON 121, ECON 120 and your calculus pair into one number. A 2.75 average clears the screen, but any single grade below C in those four courses stops your admission regardless.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What Mesa classes transfer to UCSB for economics?
ECON 121 for micro, ECON 120 for macro, and calculus: MATH 150 then MATH 151, or MATH 121 then MATH 122. Every course needs a C or better for the screen.
Is there a one-class calculus option at Mesa for UCSB economics?
No. Mesa's business calculus track is two separate courses, MATH 121 and MATH 122, matching UCSB's MATH 34A and MATH 34B one to one. The STEM option, MATH 150 and MATH 151, is also two courses.
What doesn't Mesa cover for UCSB economics?
ECON 10A and a statistics course, either ECON 5 or PSTAT 120A. Mesa has no articulated match for either, and UCSB requires you to finish both there, with ECON 10A counted in your post-transfer GPA.
How competitive is transferring into UCSB economics?
62% of every 2025 applicant to the major was admitted, a rate across all feeder colleges, not Mesa specifically. Admission starts you as a Pre-Economics pre-major, and the full major needs a 2.85 GPA later in ECON 1, 2 and 10A.
Explore More
Related Transfer Plans
San Diego Mesa College has no single-class shortcut through UCSB's calculus screen: both the STEM route, MATH 150 and MATH 151, and the business route, MATH 121 and MATH 122, take two semesters. Combined with ECON 121 and ECON 120, Mesa students can reach the 2.75 GPA UCSB wants, and TAG opens at 3.4. UCSB leaves ECON 10A and a statistics course for after you enroll. Transfermatic can sequence Mesa's two-course calculus track around the rest of your plan.
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