A TAG guarantees admission to the campus, not to a specific major. If you sign a TAG and meet every condition in it (the required GPA, the completed and in-progress coursework, the minimum transferable units, and an approved major), the campus commits in writing to admit you. It removes the uncertainty from the single UC you care about most. It does not waive the regular UC application: after your TAG is approved you still submit the standard UC transfer application by its own deadline, and you still complete your major-preparation courses and general education.
TAG exists only for California community college transfer students. Students transferring from another four-year school, from out of state, or from a UC or CSU are not eligible to file one.
Six of the nine UC undergraduate campuses offer a TAG: UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Merced, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Santa Cruz. The three most selective UCs do not: UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego have no TAG program, so every applicant there competes through the regular transfer review.
Because you may file only one TAG per year, the practical question is which of the six guaranteed campuses fits your major and GPA. The floors and major rules below are the deciding factors.
Each campus sets its own GPA floor, and several raise it for impacted majors. The floors below come from the 2026-27 UC TAG matrix as tracked in the TransferRoute dataset. Meeting the floor makes you eligible to file; it does not by itself win a competitive major, where admitted students often present higher.
| UC campus | TAG GPA floor | Notable major rules |
|---|---|---|
| UC Merced # | 2.8 | Every major is TAG-eligible (SSHA 2.8, Natural Sciences 2.9, Engineering 3.0, Psychology and Public Health 3.0). |
| UC Riverside # | 2.8 | Most colleges 2.8; Computer Science 3.6, Computer Engineering and CS-Business 3.3, Mechanical Engineering 3.1, Psychology 3.3. |
| UC Santa Cruz # | 3.0 | All majors except Computer Science (BA and BS), which is excluded. |
| UC Davis # | 3.2 | 3.2 for Agriculture, Biology, and Letters and Science; 3.5 for Engineering. Computer Science and Data Science are excluded. |
| UC Irvine # | 3.4 | Excludes all ICS (computing) majors, business administration, nursing, art, dance, and music. |
| UC Santa Barbara # | 3.4 | Excludes the entire College of Engineering (including CS), Creative Studies, and several arts programs. |
GPA floors and major eligibility are from the 2026-27 TAG matrix. Confirm your exact major and term on the official UC TAG matrix before you rely on a floor.
The TAG filing period is September 1 to 30 for the following fall term. That window closes two months before the December 1 UC transfer application deadline, and the two are separate submissions: filing a TAG does not submit your UC application, and submitting your UC application does not file a TAG. Miss the September window and the guarantee is gone for that cycle, even though you can still apply through the regular application.
The pattern is consistent: the most competitive majors are the ones campuses hold back from the guarantee. Computer science is excluded at UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, UC Irvine, and within the College of Engineering at UC Santa Barbara. Engineering, business, and selective arts programs are frequently excluded or carry a higher GPA floor. UC Merced is the exception: every major there is TAG-eligible, which is one reason it is the most accessible UC for a guaranteed transfer.
If your target major is excluded at a campus, a TAG at that campus will not cover it. You would either file your TAG at a different campus that guarantees your major, or apply to the excluded program through the regular review without a guarantee.
Six University of California campuses offer a Transfer Admission Guarantee: UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Merced, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Santa Cruz. UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego do not offer a TAG.
The GPA floor depends on the campus and major. The lowest floors are 2.8 at UC Merced and UC Riverside, then 3.0 at UC Santa Cruz, 3.2 at UC Davis (3.5 for engineering), and 3.4 at UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara. Many impacted majors require a higher GPA than the campus floor.
The TAG filing period is September 1 to 30 for the following fall term. That is two months before the December 1 UC transfer application deadline, and the two are separate submissions. This is verified against the UC dates and deadlines page as of July 4, 2026.
Usually not. The most selective majors are commonly excluded from TAG. Computer science is excluded at UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, UC Irvine, and within engineering at UC Santa Barbara. UC Merced is the only TAG campus where every major is TAG-eligible. Always confirm your exact major on the official UC TAG matrix.
No. You may submit a TAG to only one UC campus per year, so you choose the single campus where your guarantee matters most. You can still apply to other UCs through the regular transfer application without a guarantee.
Add your major, GPA, and completed courses, and TransferRoute lines them up against each campus so you can see where a TAG is within reach and what is left to complete.
Build your profileTransferRoute is an independent planning tool and is not affiliated with the University of California. Confirm every figure for your major and term on the official sources:
TAG GPA floors and major rules reflect the 2026-27 UC TAG matrix. Filing dates verified July 4, 2026 against the UC dates and deadlines page.