University of California
Source: https://employability.uq.edu.au/host/university-california Parent: https://employability.uq.edu.au/global-experiences-expo
California
United States of America
University of California exchange website
Language of instruction
English
The University of California is the foremost public research university in the state of California, made up of ten campuses. The UC system is located throughout California, encompassing the state’s cultural and geographic diversity.
Each campus offers attractive and distinct facilities, specialised schools, and creative and challenging learning opportunities. UC Berkley and UCLA are currently tied as the top public university in the US, and UC Berkley is ranked as the 4th best public university globally.
Semester dates
Semester system campuses:
Berkeley and Merced
| UQ Semester | Host Semester | Dates |
| Semester 1 | Spring Semester | February–May |
| Semester 2 | Fall Semester | August–December |
Quarter system campuses:
Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz
| UQ Semester | Host Quarter | Dates |
| Semester 1 | Winter & Spring Quarters | January–March & April–June |
| Semester 2 | Fall Quarter | September–December |
View UC's academic calendar.
Guides and additional information
UC has online resources available to help get the most out of your exchange:
Campuses
The University of California has 10 campuses across the state. UC exchange programs are available at:
- UC Berkeley
- UC Davis
- UC Irvine
- UC Los Angeles
- UC Merced
- UC Riverside
- UC San Diego
- UC Santa Barbara
- UC Santa Cruz
UC San Francisco is not available for exchange.
When applying to UC, students must be prepared to attend any of UC's campuses - even if it is not one of your four nominated choices.
Exchange deadlines
Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 1:\ Open: 24 April (for Semester 1 of the following year)\ Close: 31 May (for Semester 1 of the following year)
Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 2:\ Open: 24 September (for Semester 2 of the following year)\ Close: 31 October (for Semester 2 of the following year)\ Last Chance Apps Close: 31 January 2026 for Sem 2, 2026 exchange
Book your Global Experiences Appointment
Report any problems with this web page
Student testimonials
B Science
Semester 1, 2023
The highlights of the experience were the trips I was able to go on. I had the opportunity to go on an eight-day trip to Mexico as well as a road trip to Joshua Tree National Park. - Remy - University of California (UCLA)
B Criminology and Criminal Justice
Semester 2, 2024
Best 4 months of my life! - Thejaswee - University of California (Berkeley)
B Engineering
Semester 1, 2019
Everything will workout even better than you hoped for.
Full-time study load
Semester campuses:
- 15 units at UC is equivalent to 8 UQ units.
Quarter campuses:
- 15 units in UC's fall quarters is equivalent to 8 UQ units.
- 24 units across UC's winter and spring quarters is equivalent to 8 UQ units. (12 per quarter)
Host university requirements
GPA\ You will need a minimum cumulative GPA of 5.2 to study at UC campuses.
Study Options\ You will be required to select a major at UC and usually be expected to take 2-3 courses from within your major per term.
Semester Restrictions
- All students who apply for exchange in UQ Semester 1 to a Quarter campus must complete both the winter and spring quarters.
Other requirements
- Course Profiles: Students should obtain course profiles before submitting an application to UQ. The University of California does not publish course profiles (CP). Course profiles are required for UQ Faculty to assess credit for compulsory courses, discipline electives, and general electives in subjects related to your UQ program. Students may request course profiles from the relevant UC academics directly, however releasing CP is at the discretion of the academic.
- Course Flexibility: Given the above, you must have at least 6 units of general electives, unless:
- You can access recent course profiles for all courses on your study plan (including backups), or;
- There are valid credit precedents in the Credit Precedent Database for all courses on your study plan, or;
- A combination of the above.
- Note: BEL faculty students may be able to select UC with a full load (8 units) of discipline electives wihtout recent course profiles.
- Major course load: UC's major courses require a more intensive study load than most UQ majors. Most UC students enrol in 15–17 units per semester or fall quarter, through a combination of major and general education courses. It is advised, when planning your course schedule, to take no more than two courses within a UC major.
- Campus Preferences: You must be willing to attend any of the 9 UC campuses where courses in your area of study are available. Further details are outlined in the Additional Academic Information section below.
Note: Host university eligibility criteria are at the discretion of the host and may change without notice.
Find courses
Search UC's course catalogue by selecting your campus of interest and view Course enrollment.
Crosscheck the courses you found in the host course catalogue with the Credit Precedent Database to see if UQ credit has previously been granted. The database should be used as a general guide only. Few courses from each host will be in the database and many course precedents in the database may have expired. Note, the credit precedent database does not replace the host course catalogue. If a course is not listed in the CPD, you can still ask for it to be assessed on your study plan.
Study areas taught in English
Undergraduate
Aerospace engineering
Agriculture
Animal studies
Anthropology
Architecture
Art history
Biological sciences
Biomedical engineering
Biomedical science
Biotechnology
Business administration
Business analytics
Business information systems
Chemical engineering
Chemistry and biochemistry
Chinese
Civil engineering
Classical languages
Communication, digital media and PR
Computer engineering
Data Science
Design
Development
Drama
Earth and Geographical Sciences
Economics
Electrical engineering
English
English literature
Environmental engineering
Environmental studies
Film, TV and media
Finance
Food science
French
Gender Studies
General Electives
German
Health sciences
History and ancient history
Innovation and entrepreneurship
International relations
Italian
Japanese
Leadership and Management
Linguistics
Marketing
Materials engineering
Mathematics and statistics
Mechanical engineering
Microbiology
Music
Nutrition science
Peace and conflict studies
Philosophy
Physics
Political science
Psychology
Public policy
Regional and town planning
Religion
Russian
Sociology
Spanish
Structural engineering
Writing
Academic restrictions
Study Load Restrictions\ UC cannot guarantee enrollment in courses across two UC majors. Further, students are unable to enrol in a full-time study load in the following disciplines, however, enrolment in one or two courses may be possible:
- Business Analytics
- Data Science
- Religion
Course Restrictions\ A full list of restricted fields can be found on the UC Instructions for undergraduate majors webpage.
- General Electives & courses needing credit assessment: Compulsory Courses, Discipline Electives and General Electives if within similar disciplines to your UQ Program, all require full course profiles for a credit assessment. Therefore, student must have at least 6 units of General Electives in their UQ program and plan to take courses at UC that are not of the same discipline as their UQ program. Exceptions to this are outlined above under 'Host University Requirements'.
- Course Profiles: UC does not publicly release detailed course information, including syllabi. Select the UC campus where you wish to study to find course descriptions.
- Pre-requisites:
- All students must check they meet the pre-requisites for their intended Major at UC.
- Students wishing to study upper-division courses (numbered 100-199) in Biology, Business Administration, Economics, Engineering or Psychology must meet the pre-requisites outlined for your major and all courses you wish to undertake.
- Students wishing to study Business/Commerce at UC must have successfully completed either Maths B and Maths C in their final year of high school, MATH1040 and MATH1050 at UQ, or equivalent.
- Computer Science: Computer Science (CS) at the University of California is a very impacted program. CS or IT courses are not available to reciprocity students at UCB, UCLA and UCSB
Disciplines/Faculties Restrictions\ The following are not open to exchange students at UC:
- UC San Francisco campus
- Law
- Postgraduate studies
- Computer Science and Information Technology courses are not available to exchange students at UC Berkeley, UC LA and UC Santa Barbara.
If you are nominated to apply to UC and choose to withdraw from the Global Experiences program, you will not be eligible to apply to UC in future semesters, due to the university's high demand.
Additional academic information
Campus Preferences\ The University of California system has 9 campuses across the state at which UQ students can complete an exchange (see the Campus section on the Overview tab).
- You are required to provide your top campus preferences (minimum 3 preferences).
- Each campus has a wide variety of discipline offerings.
- Campus preferences are never guaranteed due to the availability of courses and places.
- UQ students must be willing to attend any campus where their field of study is available.
- When applying to UQ, students should prepare a study plan for their first preference campus.
Course Numbering\ Course numbering at UC:
- 001-099: Undergraduate first and second-year courses
- 100-199: Undergraduate third and fourth-year courses
- 198-199: Usually thesis or research exchange student courses
Additional Academic Resources\ UC has online resources to help navigate academic life at UC:
Exchange deadlines
Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 1:\ Open: 24 April (for Semester 1 of the following year)\ Close: 31 May (for Semester 1 of the following year)
Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 2:\ Open: 24 September (for Semester 2 of the following year)\ Close: 31 October (for Semester 2 of the following year)\ Last Chance Apps Close: 31 January 2026 for Sem 2, 2026 exchange
Book your Global Experiences Appointment
Report any problems with this web page
Accommodation
UC cannot guarantee university-owned housing for exchange students. Due to the application process at UC, you will not be allocated a UC campus until May (for Semester 2 applicants) or November (for Semester 1 applicants). The allocation date will impact your ability to plan, apply for and secure accommodation. Please keep this in mind when selecting your first preference host university as the campus allocation date is beyond the control of the Global Experiences Team. Many campuses offer special housing for international students. Check your host campus housing website for details on the accommodation options available to you.
Housing information for available campuses:
- UC Berkeley
- UC Davis
- UC Irvine
- UC Los Angeles
- UC Merced
- UC Riverside
- UC San Diego
- UC Santa Barbara
- UC Santa Cruz
Cost of living
The cost of living varies across UC campuses, with some located in big cities and others in smaller, more rural areas. If cost is a deciding factor, recommended campuses are ones located outside the large metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Proximity to the ocean is a considerable factor impacting the cost of living. The University of California provides a general outline of the estimated costs of attending for exchange students (listed under Money Matters). The estimated living expenses at each UC campus are also provided.
Additional Mandatory Fees
Each UC campus also has additional mandatory fees which are outlined on the UC Before you Arrive page (per campus under Financial Information. These fees cannot not be waived.
Students are also responsible for the shipping cost of their DS-2019 visa certificate and any other fees associated with the issue of their US visa.
Financial support
A range of funding for student exchange including scholarships, grants and loans are available to UQ students.
Insurance
Students approved to participate in a Semester-based Exchange are automatically covered by UQ’s Travel Insurance for the country of their host university only.
For more information, read the Student Travel Insurance Policy Summary on UQ’s Travel Insurance web page (login required).
If you plan to travel outside of your host country, you should purchase additional insurance.
All UC students are required to have UC Student Health Insurance Plan (UCSHIP)and will be automatically enrolled in the host campus' insurance plan. Insurance coverage and costs vary by campus. The cost of insurance will be applied to your student billing account.
Exchange students may be eligible to waive the Health Insurance Plan, if the campus permits, and if they have additional cover that meets UC campus' minimum waiver requirements.
Before purchasing an additional policy, students should confirm that the policy meets the UC campus' minimum waiver requirements. Please note that the waiver of the Health Insurance Plan is not guaranteed and subject to approval from the UC campus.
A waiver is not automatic. Do not assume that a waiver will be approved or that you will receive a waiver based on the experience of a friend from UQ who studied at the same institution on exchange.
Exchange deadlines
Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 1:\ Open: 24 April (for Semester 1 of the following year)\ Close: 31 May (for Semester 1 of the following year)
Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 2:\ Open: 24 September (for Semester 2 of the following year)\ Close: 31 October (for Semester 2 of the following year)\ Last Chance Apps Close: 31 January 2026 for Sem 2, 2026 exchange
Book your Global Experiences Appointment
Report any problems with this web page
Organise your visa
It is your responsibility to ensure you have the correct visa for the country where you will be studying. As the Global Experiences team is not a visa-issuing authority we cannot provide visa advice.
UC has visa and immigration information for exchange students.
Contact the US Embassy and Consulates for more visa information.
Travel risk levels
The University of Queensland cannot and does not allow students to travel to any country with a risk level of 3 (Reconsider your need to travel) or above, as assessed by the Australian Government.
If a country's risk level changes to 3 or above, experiences to that country are suspended until the risk level improves.
Find out the risk level and travel advice, and sign up to receive updates for your host country on the Smartraveller website.
Exchange deadlines
Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 1:\ Open: 24 April (for Semester 1 of the following year)\ Close: 31 May (for Semester 1 of the following year)
Application for Exchange in UQ Semester 2:\ Open: 24 September (for Semester 2 of the following year)\ Close: 31 October (for Semester 2 of the following year)\ Last Chance Apps Close: 31 January 2026 for Sem 2, 2026 exchange