Community Colleges
The Economic Option
Community colleges have relatively low tuition and/or free tuition. As a result, students who spend two years at a community college and then transfer to a four-year college spend less money for the same bachelor's degree as their classmates.
The Transfer Option
Most community colleges maintain transfer or "articulation" agreements with a number of four-year colleges. These agreements map out exactly which courses will transfer to a specific four-year college. Some guarantee admission to students who fulfill certain course work and grade requirements.
The Associate Degree Option
The two-year associate's degree is a goal in itself for many community college students. Community colleges offer a wide variety of programs that train students to work in specialized fields, such as dental hygiene, computer technology, nursing, & culinary arts.
Local Community Colleges
The ASSIST website maintains a database that allows students to check the transferability of community college credits to all of the California State Universities and the University of California. This is the official articulation site for the California Community College, the CSU, and UC. Transfer agreements & IGETC courses between these institutions are available at this website.
The Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) is a series of courses that California community college students can complete to satisfy freshman/sophomore level general education requirements before transferring to most colleges and majors at UC campuses. If you choose to follow IGETC, we recommend that you complete all the IGETC courses before you transfer. Otherwise you'll need to satisfy the specific freshman/sophomore level general education requirements of your UC college or school. You can refer to ASSIST or your transfer adviser to make sure your courses satisfy IGETC requirements.
