What is the Direct Admission to Major Pilot program?
Traditionally, Berkeley Letters & Science (L&S) transfer students select their intended major on the UC application. After students are offered admission to L&S, they officially declare their major (following department application procedures, policies and requirements) during their first semester on campus.
For transfer students admitted for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic years, L&S is piloting a program that offers direct admission into a selection of majors. The Gender & Women's Studies (GWS) major is part of the pilot program. This pilot is designed to improve the transfer student experience.
Why is L&S piloting a Direct Admission to Major Program?
This pilot program is intended to assess the viability of direct admission into L&S majors for transfer students starting in fall 2023 with a subset of L&S majors. L&S aims to explore the direct admission process which aligns with how transfer students are currently admitted to other colleges and schools on campus and in the UC system, and is also expected to foster a more diverse and sustainable student enrollment.
This pilot program enables the College to shift the student’s advising conversations with their major from focusing on declaration to focusing on graduation.
How does the Direct Admission to Major pilot program work?
Transfer students who are offered admission to L&S during academic years 2023-24 and 2024-25, and have selected the GWS major on their application, will be directly admitted into the major. These students will not have to go through the process of applying to or officially declaring their major because they will have already been admitted (or declared) into their major.
If you are directly admitted to the GWS major but do not have all major preparation courses completed prior to matriculation, plan to take those remaining courses (GWS 10, 14 or LGBT 20AC) during your first semester on the Berkeley campus.
Contact the GWS undergraduate adviser in to create a program plan that will guide you to completing all of your remaining major requirements within the unit ceiling.
For information on the pilot program, please refer to the Direct Admission-to-major FAQ page on the Admissions website.