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Last updated January, 2021

The University

The University of California family includes more than 220,000 students, more than 170,000 faculty and staff, 37,000 retirees and more than 1.5 million living alumni.

University of California campuses

A map outlining the University of California campus locations

  • UC Berkeley
  • UC Davis
  • UC Irvine
  • UC Los Angeles
  • UC Merced
  • UC Riverside
  • UC Santa Barbara
  • UC Santa Cruz
  • UC San Diego

Exchange information

  • Students wishing to attend the University of California on exchange will be required to apply to three different UC campuses and be prepared to attend any one of them. Admission to your first choice of campus is not guaranteed. The University of California Education Abroad Program (UCEAP) office will assess your application and decide which campus you will attend.
  • Exchange is available only at Undergraduate level.
  • Academic year at UCB (Berkeley) and UCM (Merced): August to May (Fall semester: August - December; Spring semester: January - May) / Academic year at all other UC campus: September to June (Fall quarter: September - December; Winter quarter: January - March; Spring quarte: April - June)
  • Each University of California Campus has different course offerings and different requirements. Otago students must complete prerequisites prior to starting at UC.
  • UC course level: Lower-division courses numbered 1–99 are introductory (Otago's 100); Upper-division courses numbered 100–199 are usually taken by students with some experience in the major (Otago's 200-300).
  • Minimum/maximum course load: at least 13 semester units at most Berkeley colleges; at least 12 quarter units at all other UC campuses. Most UC students enrol in 14-17 units per term.
    UC/Otago credit transfer guideline: UCB and UCM: 13 UC semester credits = 54 Otago points; UCSD, UCI, UCR, UCLA, UCSB, UCSC and UCD term credits: 12 UC = 36 UO; 16 UC = 54 UO; 24 UC = 72 UO; 36 UC = 126 UO
  • Commerce students: Applicants to business or economics must be specializing in this field at home and meet prerequisites to apply. Applicants must be willing to attend any UC campus where their major is offered; At UC, the fields of business administration and economics are separate. Due to the high demand for these courses, UC cannot guarantee access to more than one major. If a UC campus has both majors, students must be prepared to select coursework in only one of their majors, that is business or economics; Marketing - UC does not have a major in Marketing and the few classes offered at UC in this subject can be found under Econ or Business Econ. Student should look into UCR (Business Administration), UCSD (Econ) or UCD (classes are listed under Econ or Agricultural and Resources Economics). Some flexibility is required because UC cannot guarantee that courses in Marketing will be offered or that students will get a space in class.
  • Suitable Otago papers to meet UC's requirements: BSNS112, BSNS113, ECON112 (Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Statistics); FINQ 102 or MATH 160 (Calculus); STAT 110 or STAT 115 (Statistics for non-commerce students)
  • UC will assist students in organizing accommodation for the duration of their exchange. Accommodation is however not guaranteed and students are encouraged to apply for their accommodation as soon as possible.

Relevant Links

Exchange experiences

Further information

For further information about Otago Global Student Exchange, please contact an Exchange Adviser.

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