Can you Switch Major after Transferring to UC?

Transfer Students UC Transfers
1

Hello, I am currently on my last semester at community college and am looking to transfer to a UC.

I am wondering if it will be possible to switch my major after transferring to the UC. My plan is to pick a major that will not require me to do any additional courses so I can transfer after this semester. All the majors I really want would keep me at the community college for several more semesters, something I truly want to avoid.

So, I would just pick some major that is not my first choice, but will let me transfer now without doing additional classes. Then, at the UC, I would change my major. This is my plan at least.

Is this feasible? Can you switch your major after transferring to a UC? Thank you for any input.

The UCs that I will be applying to are: UC Davis, Irvine, Santa Barbara, San Diego.

2

This means that if you transfer and then change to one of those majors after transfer, you would have to catch up for several more quarters at greater cost at the UC.

As a transfer with junior standing, it is likely that at least some of the campuses or departments may not allow you to change into a major that will result in needing extra quarters of attendance. And if the new major is “full”, you may not be allowed to change into it at all, or it may require a very competitive admission process to change into it, even if you are not automatically denied due to needing too many quarters of attendance to complete it.

Others can help you better if you name the majors in question and what course work you have completed or need for them.

3

Thank you for the reply. I tried quoting it but it looks like that isn’t possible on mobile.

The major I’ve currently chosen at the community college is Poli Sci. After some reading, it doesn’t sound like a major that is very useful for getting a job. It is a subject that interests me, and I can transfer after only one more semester at the cc with poli sci, so that is why I chose it.

Since I am concerned with getting a job down the road, the majors I truly want to pick are: Computer science, management information systems, finance, economics, or something involving engineering.

However, for all of those, several more semesters of prep courses are required at the cc, and I really would prefer to transfer as soon as possible.

So that is why I came up with the plan of declaring poli sci, applying and then transferring to one of the UCs, and then switching my major once I get there.

I’d be fine with any of the ones I listed off above, because from what I have read those are more applicable in terms of getting a job.

Is it true that poli sci is as worthless as they say? I either want to go into a career in business, marketing, or IT. Can poli sci help me get there?

Thank you

4

Your plan seems unwieldy. First, you can only switch within the same college. Poli Sci is in Letters and Science, Engineering is in College of Engineering. You also often cannot switch into a selective major, so Econ or CS may be off the table. Lastly, at Berkeley you have one semester to complete pre-requisites to switch and, I believe, two quarters at the UCs on the quarter system. Doesn’t sound like a plan, Stan.

And FWIW, Poli Sci is pretty good. There’s the international/global angle, policy, etc.

5

I see. I thought something like that would be too good to be true. Glad I came here first to check.

My college counselor told me the same thing that it wouldn’t be possible, but after a couple sessions with her, I am getting the sense she is likely incompetent. So, that is why I thought I would come here and talk to people who are actually knowledgeable.

I really do appreciate your help. So, what do you recommend? Should I just do poli sci so I can transfer and hopefully graduate sooner?

Or, go the route of one of the more attractive majors, but subject myself to incredibly difficult (calc) courses, that I have a high chance of failing because I am not good in school, and thus lowering and ruining my GPA in the process. But in the end, maybe I will get a better job if I can even do it.

The reviews on Poli sci are just so mixed I have no idea whether or not it will be one of the “worthless majors”, something that is at the top of the list of my all time fears. Nothing I want less than to spend all that time and work on college, and be left with next to nothing by the end of it.

But then I have read other reports of poli sci being satisfactory for obtaining a job, and other reports that say your major “doesn’t matter at all”!! And that employers are merely looking for college graduates because the degree shows that the applicant is able to handle complex work.

My aspiration is to land a career in either business, something involving marketing, or go the IT route. I am just very concerned whether Poli sci will make any of that possible. On the other hand, if your major truly “doesn’t matter” (!!), then, yes, I would go poli sci.

Thanks again for all the help, and if anyone has any additional input, I would really appreciate it.

6

If you like marketing, check out Communications.

7

I was strongly considering communications until I read of all the stigmas attached to it, all you need to do is google “communications major stereotypes” to see that many view this major as being lesser than other majors or the one you pick “when you can’t do anything else”. It doesn’t make any sense to me, but that is the ridiculous stigma attached to the major. I would rather not get a degree that will result in me getting made fun of by people.

If that point of view is no longer current, maybe I will consider Communications. It was what I originally chose until I read of the stereotypes attached to it.

8

Forget that baloney. People have great jobs with them. I was a Comm major.

9

No. Don’t transfer until you have settled on a career direction and major. You have thrown out a lot of possibilities but appear to have done little to investigate them or take classes in the area, writing “Computer science, management information systems, finance, economics, or something involving engineering”. There are some majors where you wake up one fine morning and decide “I want to major in History!” or “I want to major in Film Studies!”, go fill out a form, and there you are. However none of what you have listed fall into this category.

Impulsiveness is not your friend here. A hurry to “get on with college” and finding the quickest path to a UC will not serve your best interests, IMHO.

What I recommend is working with the career center to explore what it is that you want to do and how to get there. One thing confusing many students is they know majors like engineering or nursing prepare you for a specific job so they assume all majors do so. Far from it. Careers in just about every area are open to the liberal-arts major such as Comm Studies, but what is going to separate those who are successful landing a good job after college is what they do while they are in college. Good grades are important, but a real key are internships. It demonstrates you know something about your intended career field and gives a bona fide employer a few months to look at you and decide if they want to hire you when you graduate. There is an out-of-print book with lots of stories of how to do this called “Major in Success” by Combs.