National Transfer Student Week

National Transfer Student Week

National Transfer Student Week is an annual event dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the unique experiences, achievements, and challenges faced by transfer students.

Did you know that transfer students make up about 21% of our undergraduate population at UC Berkeley? (Source: University of California, 2024). 

At UC Berkeley, we actively listen to our transfer community through efforts like the semesterly Pulse Surveys, which explored how transfer students receive campus information and which resources they find most useful (see Spring 2024 Pulse Survey #2). This work builds on earlier studies, such as the Fall 2022 report on transfer student experience with course enrollment experiences, to better support their academic journey.

Student Resources

Student Orgs and Advocacy Groups

Task Forces/Advisory Bodies

Sign up for the Transfer Student Center monthly newsletters (Current UCB students and staff only)

Prospective Student Resources

  • Incoming transfer students can enroll in the Transitioning to Cal seminar in their first semester 
  • Transfer Student Hubs and Transfer Student Housing Guarantee
  • Transfer Prep at UC Berkeley: Unlocking Potential for California’s Community College Students
  • Community College Transfer Services (CCTS): Serving All Students Interested in Transfer
  • The Transfer Alliance Project (TAP): Increasing Diversity to UC
  • Increasing Opportunity and Supporting Successful Transitions to 4-year Institutions: New Initiatives 
    • Targeted Services to Low-Sending Community Colleges
    • Expansion to Central Valley
    • TAP into Community College (HS to CC to Transfer)

Read and Watch

Collection of Berkeley Life articles for transfer students, including:

Making Cal a habitat as a transfer student on getting involved and finding community, sense of belonging

fire trails poppy flowers blooming

Her sisters — and growing up working class in Sacramento — inspired this student to push for climate justice

Sam Ward, left, and her older sister Alex, right. Both sisters studied public health-related fields at Berkeley.

The new leader scholarship: An interview with Bill and Ruth Goldman

Bill and Ruth Goldman, who founded the New Leader Scholarship.

From Cal dad to Cal history graduate

Thomas and his daughter, Maria

After wilderness therapy, this graduate found her own path at UC Berkeley

Changed by a wilderness program as a teenager, student parent Emily Thompson is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in film and media this May. “The wild isn’t this daunting, unknown place,” she says. “It is all home.”

In focus: The arts at Berkeley are greater than the sum of their parts

Elizabeth Estrada says having a dedicated art studio enables her to get messy and experiment. Photos by Jen Siska (left) and Brian Wollitz (right)

Donate to the Transfer Student Fund

Students transferring from other schools and nontraditional students — those who are 25 and older and have returned to school — face unique challenges. You can help them thrive at the number-one public university in the world. You’ll be empowering them to achieve and lead.

National Transfer Student Week 2025

A message from leadership to the campus community.

Events

  • October 14, 2025 from 5:30-7pm: Basic Needs Center x Transfer Student Center Game Night
  • October 21, 2025 from 12-2pm at Anchor House: Nacho-nal Transfer Student Week Kickoff! Come by for some nachos, and stay for a while to network and connect with fellow transfer students, and celebrate yourself as part of our incredible transfer community. In partnership with the Transfer Student Center, ResLife, ASUC Office of the Transfer Representative.
  • October 22, 2025 from 6-8pm at ASUC Senate Chambers: Transfer Student Forum. The Transfer Forum is a space to connect with fellow transfers, share your ideas for what you want to see from the ASUC and the broader campus, learn about new transfer programs, and the revitalized Transfer Caucus.
  • October 23, 2025 from 12-2pm at 100 Student Center: You’ve Got a Pizza Our Hearts, Transfer Appreciation Mixer Share in the transfer love with our culminating NTSW event. Join us for Pizza, giveaways and celebrate our transfer community! First 50 students get a free ticket to the Cal vs. Virginia Tech football game  and TSC mug. Hosted by the Transfer Student Center.
  • November 1, 2025: Transfer Night at Cal Football for Cal vs. Virginia Tech

Community College Transfer Services (CCTS) presents: TransferChella!

Transferchella flyer with events from october 20 to 23

  • October 20, 2025 from 2-3pm on Zoom: Transfer Spotlight: Latine Community

  • October 20, 2025 from 1-2:30pm: Totes, Treats & Tranquility: A Halloween Social for Transfers

  • October 21, 2025 from 11am-5:30pm: Pin Your Path - Place a pin on our giant map to show which community college you transferred from

  • October 22, 2025 from 2-3pm on Zoom: Transfer Spotlight: Black/African American Community

  • October 23, 2025 from 2-3pm on Zoom: Transfer Spotlight: Asian American and Pacific Islander Community

CCTS events are open to all. You do not need to apply to UC Berkeley to join these events.

RSVP

Research

Associate Professor Tolani Britton

Researches how educational policies impact students' access to and retention in higher education. Her work focuses on racial and gender disparities in college enrollment, using quasi-experimental methods to study policy effects. Recent studies reflect her interdisciplinary approach to understanding equity and institutional dynamics in education.

Britton, T., Rall, R. M., & Commodore, F. (2023). The keys to endurance: An investigation of the institutional factors relating to the persistence of historically Black colleges and universities. The Journal of Higher Education, 94(3), 310–332.

Shirrell, M., Bristol, T. J., & Britton, T. A. (2024). The effects of student–teacher ethnoracial matching on exclusionary discipline for Asian American, Black, and Latinx students: Evidence from New York City. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 46(3), 555–580.

Perdomo, J. C., Britton, T., Hardt, M., & Abebe, R. (2025). Difficult lessons on social prediction from Wisconsin public schools. Proceedings of the 2025 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (pp. 2682–2704).

Associate Professor Tolani Britton headshot

Associate Professor Zachary Pardos

Is doing research on using AI to improve credit mobility and help transfer students plot their path to a Bachelor's degree.

Associate Professor Zachary Pardos headshot

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