Transfer Services

General education patterns like the IGETC or CSU-GE are specific lists of transfer-approved courses that address basic learning requirements in a given area. By following an institution's general education requirements, students can increase their chances of admission. Private institutions may have different transfer requirements than CSUs and UCs, while specific programs at any university may have additional admission requirements.

• IGETC, or Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum: The IGETC is a course pattern that satisfies the lower division general education requirements for both the CSU and UC systems.

• CSU-GE, or California State University General Education: The CSU-GE is a course pattern that satisfies the lower division general education requirements for the CSU system only.

There are four basic transfer areas that students will focus on prior to transfer:

1. General Education Requirements
2. Preparation for Major Courses
3. Minimum Required Transferable Units
4. Minimum Required GPA

Specific requirements vary depending on the college/university and major.

There are three important decisions you need to make in order to choose the right courses to prepare you for transfer:

• Your career objective, which determines the type of degree you need and your choices for selecting a major.
• Your major, which is the field of study you will emphasize at the university (your major at the university might be different than your major at community college).
• Your transfer university.

It's best to begin exploring your options for each of these decisions while you also begin taking the most common courses required for transfer.

If you are not already a student at Moreno Valley College, you should go through the steps to apply and enroll.

If you are already a student at Moreno Valley College, get started by following these steps:

1. Ensure that official transcripts from all previously attended institutions have been sent to Moreno Valley College, including Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate scores.
2. Request to have your previous transcripts evaluated by the Evaluations Officer.
3. Meet with a Moreno Valley College counselor to discuss your options and your best path to transfer.

Enroll in the Math and English courses recommended to you as a result of your assessment, as well as any other courses you decide on during your meeting with your counselor. (For example, students often enroll in a college
success class, one or more transfer general education classes, or other transfer-level courses).

A major is a field of study that you emphasize in your college education. It is what you "specialize" in with your degree. It’s important to remember that your major is what you will study at the university you transfer to. At Moreno Valley College, you can prepare to transfer into virtually any major at any university—there are literally thousands to choose from.

Most students attend college because they believe it will lead them to better employment. Since careers are related to employment, simple logic suggests that if you are attending college to obtain better employment, there should be a relationship between majors and careers. While it's true that some majors, do relate to specific careers, most majors do not. In fact, the majority of majors will actually help prepare you for many career possibilities.

To narrow down the options, students often begin to select their major by one of the following techniques:

• If you have an idea of the career field you want to enter, you can find majors that are related to, or prepare for, that career field. Majors and career fields are not always "perfectly matched." However, knowing your intended career field can help narrow your options. You can visit the Counseling Office or Career Center for assistance in researching career fields.
• If you know what university you want to attend, you can select from the list of majors at that university. Lists of majors at California public universities are available at www.assist.org (click on "Explore Majors")
• If you think you might be interested in a particular major but are not sure, try taking a general education class in the major and see how you like it. Students often select their major based simply on the courses that are the most interesting to them.

Many occupations today require a college educated individual who can write and speak well, solve problems, learn new information quickly and work well in teams. This means that college graduates use their education in a wide variety of fields, and your future career may relate more to your personal career interests, work values and transferable skills than any specific academic major.

Non-Vocationally Specific

The non-specific major is not oriented toward employment in a specific career or a particular field. When combined with related experience and internships, such a program results in a career-oriented degree. Some good examples are history, political science, and sociology. For some, these types of majors are preparation for advanced training, either on the job or in graduate school.

Vocationally Oriented

Vocationally oriented majors are aimed at a specific field of employment but not at a particular job. With this major, you'll be ready for entry employment at a trainee level.

Vocationally Ready

The vocationally ready major involves specific preparation for a particular job or occupation. Often times these programs are designed to meet the educational requirements of licensure or certification in a profession.

It is important to investigate transfer universities early in the transfer planning process. This is because each university typically has different transfer requirements, including different sets of courses you should complete prior to transfer. Students who do not select a transfer university early often complete many more courses than necessary.

Choosing a transfer university is also important because:

• The majors offered at each university are different.
• Each university has unique features, including factors like its student body, its location, and its extracurricular activities.
• You are more likely to do well academically in a university environment that you enjoy.

We recommended selecting at least three universities that interest you. Your first choice university should be the university you would choose to attend if you knew for sure that you would be admitted. Your second choice university should be a university you would be happy attending and where you feel you have a good chance of being admitted. Your third choice university should be a university you would be happy attending and where you believe you would definitely be admitted. (This is a "safety net" choice in case for some reason you are not admitted to your other two choices).

Once you have decided what major you plan to pursue and your transfer university, the next step is to plan out your transfer courses and create an Educational Plan. An education plan is a pattern of courses you take at community college that prepares you to transfer to a university in a specific major. It usually includes:

• General Education, which are courses from a variety of disciplines that help you develop a well-rounded education.
• Minimum transferable units, which is typically 60 semester units for public schools and varies for private institutions (additional courses may be necessary to meet the overall units required to transfer, be aware that not all courses may be transferable).
• GPA: most schools require a minimum overall GPA with additional major requirements depending on impaction.
• Preparation for Major courses, which are courses you take to prepare to study your major at the university.
• Electives, which are additional courses taken to meet the number of units required to transfer or earn a degree.

An educational plan serves as a crucial step in the transfer process ensuring that you are completing the necessary courses to be eligible for admission at your transfer university and determining a realistic timeline to transfer. Transfer students are encouraged to make an appointment with a counselor to develop an educational plan early in the transfer process. You can also schedule an appointment to meet with an university representative in the Transfer Center. Contact the Transfer Center as to who is coming to the college.