<p>I'm currently attending Santa Monica College and intend to transfer next year. I'm deciding to take a number of psychology courses to fulfill my general education requirements when I transfer, but there is something that I can't understand. Most of the classes after general psychology seem to be identical to some of the upper division courses taught at UCs such as Berkeley and San Diego along with some private universities I looked up. When I compared the syllabi of some courses from my junior colleges and that of some others, I found the content covered to be the same. I considered rigor to be a possible differing factor until I noticed that the books used for some of the courses were the same as well. However, I have read from different sites that no course offered at a junior college can count as upper division credit. Can someone please explain to me why? If they don't transfer as credit for the equivalent upper division course, then what exactly happens to that credit? [For UC's, they are all UC-transferrable courses]</p>
<p>That’s a question you will need to address to admissions at the schools you are applying to. Although I am unfamiliar with the UC transfer agreements, the CC I went to listed specific courses that were transferable to the university I attend now. Some were listed alongside the corresponding course number of the university I transferred into, while others were only listed as departmental credit. Departmental credit can only be evaluated by the specific department itself, not those assessing the credit initially. Usually, departments want you taking upper-level courses there, but many pre-reqs are transferrable. For instance, with psychology you likely won’t find methods-based labs or elective courses that will be transferrable at the 300+ level at your junior college, but you will find, I imagine, the courses needed to declare. But this is merely speculative, talk to advisors at the schools you’re applying to.</p>