UCLA, which has a large Korean and Korean American student body, will establish a new Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) pilot program.
Students and parents are already excited about the new transfer program, which is expected to increase the number of transfer students admitted to UCLA.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill (AB1291) on October 10 that allows UCLA to create new Associate Degrees for transfer students. UC officials, including UC President Michael V. Drake attended the signing ceremony.
Under the new law, UCLA will launch an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) pilot program beginning in fall 2026 to accept transfer students who have completed a relevant degree.
UCLA will partner with select community colleges to accept transfer students, including Santa Monica, El Camino, and Pasadena, which have high transfer rates each year.
The initial launch will include at least eight majors by the 2026–27 academic year, with plans to expand to 12 by the 2028–29 academic year.
This bill also provides for an admissions guarantee to the UC system for transfer students who meet the necessary admissions requirements and are not offered a space at a campus of their choice, rerouting those students to at least one other campus in the University of California system.
Based on the success of the UCLA Transfer Pilot Program, UC will expand it to at least four campuses beginning in the 2028-29 academic year and increase the number of ADT majors to 12, including at least four in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields.
The state legislature created the program to increase transfer opportunities for California students.
Currently, UC offers Transfer Admission Guarantees (TAGs) for students who complete transfer courses at community colleges with good academic performance, but the pilot program was prompted by the state legislature, which noted that the transfer process is still complicated and transfer rates are low.
According to UC statistics, 27 percent of all undergraduate students transfer from community colleges. UC also has a 75 percent acceptance rate for California community college applicants.
BY NICOLE CHANG [chang.nicole@koreadaily.com]
