New Student Advising - FAQ

Transfer coursework and exam credit are not yet visible in TSS for incoming students. If you have sent your official exam scores to UC San Diego, you do not need to resend them. Additional records and functionality will continue to appear in the coming weeks as UC San Diego completes the transition to TSS. Thank you for your patience during this important campus-wide technology upgrade.

Send your official scores: Your official test scores must be sent to UCSD directly from the testing agency; they cannot be posted to your UCSD record if they appeared only on another institution’s transcript. If you have not already, request your official AP scores from the College Board (send to college code 4836) or your IB scores from International Baccalaureate.

Wait for credit to post.  AP and IB scores will appear on your degree audit once the official test scores are received and processed. In the meantime, you can find the credit you should expect by using the official charts:

• See the UC San Diego AP Chart (PDF)
• See the UC San Diego IB Chart (PDF)
• A-Level exams: Check the department’s website for details. Contact the department via the Virtual Advising Center (VAC.ucsd.edu) with any questions.

To prepare to book classes, if you fulfilled a prerequisite course through test-based credit that is not posted, you will need to submit a pre-authorization request (called Triton Enrollment Authorization - TEA request). Attach proof of your test scores for the department to review with your request. Learn about TEA requests.

After your credit is posted, if you believe the credit should appear different than how it is, contact the home department via the Virtual Advising Center. For example, contact the Math department if your Calculus AP credit looks odd, or contact the Physics department if your Physics IB score is not giving you the correct course credit.

Due to the transition to TSS, transfer coursework and exam credit are not yet visible for incoming students and may not be available until closer to or after your booking window. 

Undergraduate Admissions review transcripts received by the July 1 deadline throughout the summer. No action is required if your transfer credit is not displaying as long as you have sent all your required transcripts. Admissions will contact you directly if there are questions about your documents. Please continue monitoring your UC San Diego email for updates and guidance.

If you have not yet submitted your final, official transcript from every previous institution to the UC San Diego Office of Undergraduate Admissions, make sure you submit them. Your Required Documents page in the Applicant Portal will show once a transcript has been received and reviewed by Admissions, but it will still take several weeks to have individual courses posted to your UCSD degree audit.

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions receives and processes tens of thousands of transcripts each summer. Due to this volume and the date many of these are sent by other institutions, many transcripts for incoming students are not expected to be posted until September.

Until your coursework is posted:

• If you took a course at a California Community College, use assist.org to review transfer articulation agreements for how the course will transfer to UC San Diego. 

• Some departments share information about course equivalencies beyond the California Community Colleges, so you can see how common classes from some UC campuses, out of state institutions, and other four-year universities may transfer. Check the department’s website. Examples: Biology |  Chemistry | Math

• To prepare to book classes, if you fulfilled a prerequisite course through transfer work that is not posted, you will need to submit a pre-authorization request (called Triton Enrollment Authorization - TEA request). Plan to attach an unofficial transcript or test scores for the department to review with your request. Learn about TEA requests. 

Your Required Documents page in the Applicant Portal will show once a transcript has been received  and evaluated,  but it can still take several weeks to have individual courses posted to your UCSD degree audit. If your transcript had final grades posted for all courses, you do not need to resend it. 

The UCSD Office of Admissions receives and processes thousands of transcripts each summer. Due to this volume and the date many of these are sent by other institutions, many transcripts for incoming students are not expected to be posted until September.

Even if your transfer coursework is not yet posted to your academic record and visible on your degree audit, there are still many resources to help! Follow these two steps to first understand what you need for your degree, and then understand what requirements you already have fulfilled.

Step 1: Understand what you need for your degree

• Read your emails and check your VAC messages (vac.ucsd.edu)! Your academic advisors may have already reached out to you to tell you what to take. Your major department/program may have a Canvas course designed to orient new students to the major. If applicable, review the Canvas course for major specific information.
• Use plans.ucsd.edu to find the combination of major and college you are pursuing.  These quarter by quarter plans are general and not specific to your individual record. If you are referencing plans.ucsd.edu and notice that you have already completed a course, such as MATH-020A and MATH-020B with your AP scores, you will move on to the next course in the series (MATH-020C) or the next course listed in a future quarter.
  • If you have a math placement of MATH 2, MATH 3B, or MATH 3C and are pursuing a major that requires calculus, use the modified majors plans instead of plans.ucsd.edu.
• Review your College’s general education requirements (visit their website) and re-review the information you were given in New Triton Advising (vac.ucsd.edu).
• Review your major’s requirements (visit their website).
• Visit catalog.ucsd.edu to read course descriptions and confirm you've met any prerequisites. 
• To begin building your own personalized long-term plan, follow these steps to Create Your Plan and use the Academic Planning Worksheet. 
• Run your degree audit once it is available in early September. This will show you the degree requirements for your declared College and major. Once transfer coursework is posted, they will appear on your degree audit. Find your degree audit here.

Step 2: Understand what you expect to already have credit for (don’t retake these!)

• Do not enroll in courses for which you already earned credit. If credit is posted later, you will not receive duplicate credit. “Ask a Question” in the VAC (VAC.ucsd.edu) if you have any questions.
• Are you expecting AP, IB, or A-level credit? Check the UC San Diego AP Chart (PDF) and the UC San Diego IB Chart (PDF). For A-Level exams, check the department’s website for details. 
• If you took a course at a California Community College, use assist.org to review transfer articulation agreements for how the course will transfer to UC San Diego.  Some departments share information about course equivalencies beyond the California Community Colleges, so you can see how common classes from some UC campuses, out of state institutions, and other four-year universities may transfer. Check the department’s website. Examples: Biology |  Chemistry | Math. 
• Learn more about transfer course petitions if you expect your coursework will not transfer to a directly-equivalent exact UCSD course.
• To prepare to book classes, if you fulfilled a prerequisite course through transfer work that is not posted, you will need to submit a pre-authorization request (called Triton Enrollment Authorization - TEA request). Plan to attach an unofficial transcript or test scores for the department to review with your request. Learn about TEA requests.

• Math Placement Exam: Log in to http://mathplacement.ucsd.edu/. Contact mathtesting@ucsd.edu with questions.
• Writing Placement: Visit Writing Placement Process. If you took the WPP exam, log in to see your results. Contact awp@ucsd.edu with questions.
• Language Placement: This depends upon the language. View Language Placement information and contact the specific department administering your test. 
  • If you took the online placement test for Spanish, French, Italian, or German in Canvas, the “After Test Announcement” module at the end of the test will show you the course you should book.

This depends on your major and College. In the first pass, you can enroll in up to 11.5 units (which is usually two 4-credit classes). Check your VAC messages and UCSD emails. Academic advisors often give proactive advice if you should prioritize certain classes during first pass. Contact your academic advisors via VAC with any questions.

Your first pass window is open for a limited number of days. If you miss your first pass,  you will need to wait until your second pass booking window opens. See Understanding Your Booking Window. If you are locked out of your first pass booking window due to technical reasons for TSS, contact tss@ucsd.edu immediately for assistance.

You will be able to book classes without meeting with an advisor. Use these resources to prepare you for booking.

• Preparing to Book Courses
• Planning Tools to help build your class schedule
• Booking Courses in TSS 

New incoming students can change their major after they book courses for the first time. The TSS tool to allow major changes is anticipated to be ready later in September (read more at How to Declare a Major). Until then, students cannot officially change their major.

If you want to change into a selective or screened major, new incoming students cannot do that before starting at UCSD. Please see the Selective and Screened Majors page for more information about that process. If you want to pursue a selective or screened major, you should plan to book courses in Fall to start taking the screening courses for your intended major.

International Students: Before changing your major, you should consult the International Services and Engagement Office. See Academic Major Change.