UC Supplemental Applications
See below for a complete list of UC campuses and majors that require a supplemental application for admission (freshman and transfer applicants).
I also included majors that have a required or optional audition, interview, and/or portfolio that you need to submit AS PART OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS (majors that require audition or portfolio AFTER you have been admitted are NOT included). The list is based on information provided in the Quick Reference Guide to UC Admissions (pages 61-63).
Remember, if a supplemental application is required for the major you selected, you must submit one by the deadline to be considered for admission to the major. Depending on the UC campus, not submitting a required supplemental application can mean an automatic rejection from that campus. If you did not or do not plan to submit a supplemental application before the deadline for a major that requires it, contact the UC campus to find out if you can change your major.
Berkeley
Business Administration (freshman & transfer applicants): expect to receive instructions on the supplemental application after UC Application submission (freshman deadline is usually early January; transfer deadline is usually end of January). NOT submitting a supplemental application will result in an automatic rejection. Learn more about supplemental application and selection criteria here.
Global Management Program (freshman applicants only): expect to receive instructions on the supplemental application after UC Application submission (deadline is usually early January). Students not admitted to the GMP program will be considered for admission to Undeclared in the College of Letters and Science. Learn more about supplemental application and selection criteria here.
Management, Entrepreneurship, & Management (freshman applicants only): expect to receive instructions on the supplemental application after UC Application submission (deadlines vary). Students not admitted to the MET program will be considered for admission to the corresponding engineering major in the College of Engineering. Learn more about supplemental application and selection criteria here.
Irvine
Art (freshman & transfer applicants): expect to receive instructions on how to submit a portfolio after UC Application submission (deadline is usually early January). Learn more about the portfolio requirements here.
Dance (freshman & transfer applicants): schedule required audition through the Claire Trevor School of the Arts here (registration deadline is usually early January).
Music (freshman & transfer applicants): submit the required audition video through the Claire Trevor School of the Arts here (deadline is usually mid-December) if you have selected Music as your first choice OR alternate major.
UCLA
If you selected one of the following as your FIRST CHOICE MAJOR for freshman or transfer admission, you are required to submit a supplemental application. NOT submitting a supplemental application will result in an automatic rejection.
- Architectural Studies
- Art
- Dance
- Design | Media Arts
- Ethnomusicology
- Film and Television
- Global Jazz Studies
- Music Composition
- Music Education
- Music History and Industry
- Music Performance
- Musicology
- Nursing
- Theater
- World Arts and Cultures
Find information about the supplemental applications and deadlines for these programs here.
Merced
SJV PRIME+ (freshman applicants only): Learn more about the supplemental application requirements here (deadline is usually mid-December).
Riverside
Art (transfer applicants only): Learn more about the portfolio requirements here (deadline is usually late February).
San Diego
Music (freshman & transfer applicants): Learn more about the OPTIONAL portfolio here (deadline is usually early December).
Theatre & Dance (freshman & transfer applicants): Learn more about the OPTIONAL portfolio here (deadline is usually early December).
Visual Arts (freshman & transfer applicants): Learn more about the OPTIONAL portfolio here (deadline is usually early December).
Santa Barbara
If you applied to any major in the College of Creative Studies for freshman or transfer admission, you are required to submit a supplemental application. Even if you do NOT submit the supplemental application, you will still be considered for admission to the campus PROVIDED that you selected one of your majors from the College of Letters & Science. Learn more about the supplemental application here (deadline is usually late December).
Dance (freshman & transfer applicants): schedule the required in-person audition or submit a video audition through the Department of Theater and Dance here; video audition submission deadline is usually early January.
Music (BM for freshman & transfer applicants): schedule the required in-person audition or submit a prerecorded audition through the Department of Music here (deadline is usually early January).
Santa Cruz
Art (transfer applicants only): Learn more about the portfolio requirements here (deadline is usually early April).
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8 Comments
Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.
UC Berkeley doesn’t require an art supplement for freshman majors in fine arts? Also, what about UC Davis?
Having gone to Berkeley, I think the campus genuinely believes anyone can learn anything (I had very little artistic talent but somehow graduated from the Landscape Architecture program just fine – can’t say my professors loved my work though) so demonstration of talent isn’t necessary (although the same can’t be said about engineering).
Davis also does not require any portfolio submission (although formal acceptance of transfer students into the Landscape Architecture program does require a portfolio, but that happens after the transfer students enroll at Davis).
Just to confirm… Supplemental applications(Business) are required only for UC Berkeley?
Supplemental application is required for UC Berkeley if you are applying to Business Administration as a transfer applicant OR MET or GMP as a freshman applicant.
If a student applies as a dance major to UCSD/UCSB/UCI and doesn’t demonstrate the level the program is looking for, will they still be considered and be possible accepted as a regular student?
This year UCSD and UCSB mentioned they are still considering alternate major; however, UCI stated that it no longer guarantees review for alternate major (I should clarify that, based on what I heard in previous years, UCs are not as inclined to admit students who do not have an alternate major selected on the application, since that would be somewhat indicative that the student isn’t necessarily interested in the campus if not admitted to the first choice major, so I always advise students to select an alternate major).
Do the UC email back to let you know they accept the supplemental application or some kind of confirmation they received it?
It could vary depending on the campus, but I think if the student logs back into the supplemental application portal, there should be some sort of status indicator.