Transfer Admission Guarantee Agreements (TAG)

• Be a community College student
• Completed 30 transferable units at the time of applying for TAG
• Meet the course requirements for the major
• Meet the minimum required GPA for the campus and for the major
• Complete 60 transferrable units
  • By the end of Spring term for the fall admission
  • By the end of Fall term for Spring Admission (applies only for UC Merced, UC Riverside, and UC Santa Cruz)
• Complete the first year of English, Critical Thinking and Math courses by the given deadline
• Complete Admission Application by the deadline
• See the UC TAG Matrix for the deadlines to complete the basic admission requirements

Out of nine UC Campuses  that offer undergraduate programs, six of them offer Transfer Guarantee Admissions (TAG). You may find detailed information about TAG criteria and requirements  for specific majors at each campus by clicking on the links below:  

• UC Davis *
  • TAG criteria and selective majors
• UC Irvine 
  • Transfer Requirements and TAG Criteria
• UC Merced**
  • Major preparation Criteria
• UC Riverside
  • Major Preparation
• UC Santa Barbara
  • Criteria for selective major 
• UC Santa Cruz - this link includes the criteria for selective majors

 

*UC Davis will review TAGs and notify students of their decision by mid-November. 

** UC Merced will review TAGs and notify students of their decision by November 15^th for fall term, and by July 1^st for Spring term.

Other campuses will review TAG applications along with the UC Admission Application and notify students in April.  

You may file a TAG application to only one UC campus during the following dates and deadlines:

• Fall term -  September 1^st to September 30^th   (a year prior to transferring)

 

• Winter/Spring - May 1^st to May 30^th     Only the following campuses accept TAG for these terms:
  • UC Merced (Spring)
  • UC Riverside (Winter)
  • UC Santa Cruz (Winter)

You must also file general admission application between October 1^st and November 30^th

• To start your UC TAG application, you may create an account at UC Transfer Admission Planner (TAP).    The TAP application is an online tool where you can record courses that you have completed, and  to track your progress toward TAG. 
• You may create an account as soon as you enroll at Cañada College
• Enter your coursework in TAP application after completing each term 
• Upload all your courses from TAP to TAG application, once you have entered all your courses into TAP application,  including the courses that you plan to take during the last term of your attendance  
• You may attend the UC TAG application Workshop offered by the Transfer Center to learn about how to complete the application step by step.   You may also find additional information under the "Resources" of the Transfer Center main webpage.  

The following documents summarize the TAG eligibility and criteria:

• UC TAG PowerPoint - you may find this workshop under the "Resources" on the Transfer Center main page
• UC TAG Page - This is the main page providing information and access to the TAG Application by UC System Office 
• UC TAG matrix - This chart you will have a summary of the TAG criteria for individual campuses including the deadlines and limitations.
  
• UC TAG Application Process - Brief information on starting your TAG application

UC Davis:

• Computer Science
• Data Science
• Landscape Architecture - (applicants are approved in pre-Landscape Architecture with no guarantee to the major).
• Undeclared programs

UC Irvine:

• Art
• Business Administration
• Dance
• Music
• Nursing Science
• ALL majors in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences

UC Merced: 

• Global Arts and Studies Program
• Public Health

Note: Subject to change

UC Riverside:

• Art Studio

Note: for Winter 2025: Art Studio, and other major may be subject to change

UC Santa Barbara:

• All majors in the College of Creative Studies
• All majors in the College of Engineering
• Following majors in the College of Letters & Science:
  • Dance B.A.
  • Dance B.F.A.
  • Music B.M.
  • Theater B.F.A.

UC Santa Cruz:

• Computer Science B.A. and B.S.

• Meet with a counselor to review your eligibility before submitting your TAG.
• Start your TAP application as soon as possible.
• Complete your TAP/TAG application using  your Transcript.  You should not guess your courses, your grades, and the terms you took them.  Failure to report your courses correctly  and accurately will cause denial of your TAG application.
• Enter all courses that appear on your transcripts, including non-transferrable courses, courses with substandard grades, and courses that you withdrew from.
• Enter the courses that you plan to take during the last term of your attendance at a Community College prior to transfer.
• Attend the workshops offered by Transfer Center and/or UC campuses

• It is a contract between students and the University of California (UC) that is offered to eligible students who are seeking guaranteed admission to one of the 6 UC campuses offering TAG. 
• Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) will guarantee admission to students who meets the TAG criteria for the UC TAG campus and for the major.

You may file a TAG application to one UC Campus only.  However, you may file admission application to several UC Campuses.

Students who

• Are in senior-level transfer - you may not have more 80 or 90 semester units, if you have a combination of community college and university coursework
• Have already earned a Bachelor or higher degree/are applying for second Bachelor degree
• Are seeking re-admission to a UC campus
• Are in high school

No, the major you list on the TAG application must be the same major that you list on your UC Admission application for the TAG campus.  For example, if you complete TAG to UC Davis for Biology major,  on your UC application, you must also select Biology for UC Davis.

However,  you may select any other major for non-TAG campus.

Yes, TAG requires additional criteria compared to the minimum admission requirements.  There is still possibility for students to be accepted to a UC campus through the general admission process without TAG, if they meet the admission requirements.  

You may meet with your counselor before submitting your TAG application to review your eligibility and accuracy of your application.

 Students with the following status can not apply for TAG:

• Students who have already obtained a Bachelor degree
• Students in high school (concurrent high school students)
• Students in senior status - students who has 80 or 90 semester units with a combination of Community College and four year university credits.
• UC returning student to the same campus
• UC returning students who are not in a good academic standing

YES.  Students must file an admission application regardless of TAG, to be considered for Admission.  TAG application allows UC campuses to review the coursework only, and it does not give a comprehensive view of student background.

 UC application allows students to speak to their backgrounds, challenges and achievements, and more.

• The TAG application submission period is between September 1^st  and 30^th
• The Admission application submission period is between October 1^st  and November 30^th

NO. The TAG application mainly requires students to report Academic background:

• High schools attended
• Colleges attended
• courses Completed in Colleges and universities  

If you find your error during the TAG submission cycle, September 1st and 30th, you may retrieve your TAG application, make the correction, and resubmit it.

If you find the error after September 30^th, you should:

• Contact the Transfer Center
• Notify the TAG coordinator/Adviser at the UC campus - see the TAG Matrix Chart for contact information
• Make the correction on the UC admission application, and make a note in the "additional Comment" box explaining the the change you made due to the error on your TAG application.

YES, you must report all colleges and universities attended including the courses you took.  You may use your transcript to report courses and grades as they appear on the transcript.