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Finish in Two Curriculum for Transfer Students

Updated: 05/04/23

The USP Major consists of 17 courses:

  • Five (5) lower division courses
  • Twelve (12) upper division courses

The following charts are helpful guides for transfer students to ensure successful completion of all required courses in time to graduate at the end of one's senior year.

Plan A:

Year

Fall

Winter

Spring

Junior
  • USP 1. History of US Urban Communities
  • USP 4. Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  • USP 124. Land Use Planning
  • USP 2. Urban World System
  • USP Research Methods
  • USP Technical Elective
  • USP 3. The City and Social Theory
  • USP Second Foundation Course
Senior
  • USP 186. Senior Sequence Research Proposal (Fall Only)
  • USP Upper Division Elective
  • USP Upper Division Elective
  • USP 187. Senior Sequence Research Project (Winter Only)
  • USP Upper Division Elective
  • USP Upper Division Elective
  • USP Upper Division Elective
  • USP Upper Division Elective

Plan B:

If you aren't able to enroll in the planned USP courses above for your first Fall at UC San Diego, we suggest the following plan for remaining on track with your major requirements:

Year

Fall

Winter

Spring

Junior
  • USP 1. History of US Urban Communities
  • USP 2. Urban World System
  • USP Research Methods
  • USP 4. Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
  • USP 124. Land Use Planning
  • USP 3. The City and Social Theory
  • USP Second Foundation Course
  • USP Technical Elective
Senior
  • USP 186. Senior Sequence Research Proposal (Fall Only)
  • USP Upper Division Elective
  • USP Upper Division Elective
  • USP 187. Senior Sequence Research Project (Winter Only)
  • USP Upper Division Elective
  • USP Upper Division Elective
  • USP Upper Division Elective
  • USP Upper Division Elective

 

Important note for Fall 2023 new transfer student registration:

This summer there have been delays in incoming students' transfer credits being applied to their accounts.  In order to prepare for your registration if you do not have 90 transfer credits applied to your account by one week prior to your registration window please submit an EASY request for each USP department upper division class you plan to register for in Fall quarter.
Why? Our upper division courses (course with numbers 100-199) require upper-division standing which is 90 or more units transferred in or completed at UCSD.  If you try to register for these courses before your transfer credits are completely applied the registration system will block you and say that you do not meet the restrictions.
How to avoid this: Submit an EASY request at easy.ucsd.edu for each upper div USP class (such as USP 124).  Please attach all of your unofficial transcripts to show that you have transfer credits that haven't been applied yet.  The department will then review and approve your EASY request which will allow you to override the upper div standing restriction when you go to register for that fall class.
This is NOT needed for lower division classes (USP 1, USP 2, USP 4, etc - courses #1-99).
If you are trying to also take upper division classes outside of our department you'll need to check the UCSD catalog to see if they also require upper division standing and if they do also submit an EASY request for them.
Be sure to do this ahead of time so that everything is worked out and approved during business hours and in advance of your registration time.  Staff hours are M-F 8-4:30pm which is when EASY requests are reviewed.

 

Remember

This plan does not include any college or university requirements. Please consult with your college advising office to add any missing coursework. 

This plan assumes that the lower division statistics requirement (POLI 30D or PSYC 60 or SOCI 60) was completed as major preparation before transfer to UC San Diego. If you do not have transfer credit for the USP Statistics requirement, please plan to take the course in your first year at UCSD.

All USP courses taken to satisfy the major must be taken for a letter grade and a C- or better must be earned for major credit.

USP 186 and USP 187, should be taken the last consecutive fall and winter quarter enrolled. There are three prerequisite courses for the senior sequence (USP 186): USP 124, the research methods, and the technical elective. It is recommended that students prioritize these prerequisites in their junior year.

Lower division courses should generally be taken before upper division courses, but overlapping is allowed. It is also recommended that you take one Foundation course before taking Upper Division Electives. Options for major requirements with options to choose from can be reviewed at the lists below:

Students are encouraged to review their major requirements on the USP Website frequently as major changes that occur throughout the academic year will be updated there. Customizable Academic Plans with a major requirement checklist can be found on the USP Academic Advising page of the USP website under the "Class Planning Tools" section.

While Summer Session is not a requirement for UCSD students, many major courses may be available during summer terms. Students wishing to graduate early or who have missed a prerequisite course during the academic year are encouraged to consider summer courses.

Additional Resources for Transfer Students: